The 2017 French Open will feel like old times. The last two years, Rafael Nadal has not been at his best. Partly due to injuries, partly due to a loss of form, and partly due to a decrease in confidence, Nadal went through a long period of doubt mixed with very bad luck, which followed him closely over the past two and a half years. Entering 2017, Nadal faced a very uncertain future. However, Nadal has enjoyed an excellent season thus far. He has lost to only four players – Roger Federer, Sam Querrey, Milos Raonic, and Dominic Thiem. He has lost only one match on clay, winning the Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Madrid tournaments before falling short in Rome. Nadal is the favorite for this tournament. Should he win, he will become the first singles player ever to win 10 times at one major tournament. Martina Navratilova won nine Wimbledon titles but never did win 10. Nadal is going for his 10th French Open trophy.
The competition in the 128-player main draw begins on Sunday, May 28, in Paris.
Event Details
Event: French Open
Category: ITF (International Tennis Federation) Grand Slam
Date: May 28 – June 11, 2017
Location: Stade Roland Garros – Paris, France
With a prize money allotment of roughly 16.8 million Euros, the French Open’s purse speaks for itself. Players who merely get into the 128-player main draw make several tens of thousands of U.S. dollars. If they win their first-round match, they will make close to $50,000. This tournament will end with Nadal or Novak Djokovic playing, most likely, but before the big guys finish the fortnight in France, dozens of lesser-known players will try to make sure they leave Paris with a large paycheck in hand.
Points
Champion – 2,000 points
Runner-up – 1,200
Semifinal – 720
Quarterfinal – 360
Round of 16 – 180
Round of 32 – 90
Round of 64 – 45
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2016 – Novak Djokovic def. Andy Murray – 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
2015 – Stan Wawrinka def. Novak Djokovic – 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
2014 – Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic – 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4
2013 – Rafael Nadal def. David Ferrer – 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
2012 – Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic – 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
Player Info:
Once again, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were placed in the same half of the draw. They met in the 2015 quarterfinals and were scheduled to play in the 2016 semifinals, only for Nadal to get injured and drop out of the tournament. They played in the 2013 semifinals as well. They won’t be able to play in a final for the first time since 2014. This means that the other half of the draw, with Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka the highest seeds in their parts of the field, is very open. Alexander Zverev, who won the Rome Masters, has a chance to make a run in this half of the draw. He’s a player that’s worth keeping an eye on in the early rounds. He is 16-3 on the clay courts this season. He’s a young player that is on the rise and this is the type of tournament where he can really make a name for himself.
Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro will also try to take advantage. Del Potro has actually had a decent season so far on clay. He is 5-2 on the red surface this season. Dominic Thiem and David Goffin, who played well during the clay season, were stuck in Djokovic’s quarter of the draw. Goffin is 10-4 on the clay courts, so far this season.
It’s worth noting that Roger Federer will not participate in the 2017 French Open. It’s not a huge loss as the French Open is Federer’s weakest of the four grand slams. However, while he hasn’t won the event since 2009 but he has been to the quarter-finals every year from 2005-2015. That means it’ll be a lot easier for someone else to make a run.
Stade Roland Garros
The old facility, now 89 years old, is the one tennis complex of the four major-tournament venues which does not have either lights or a roof. The French Open cannot facilitate night tennis. Roland Garros cannot play matches under a roof when it rains. Renovations have been discussed, but have run into snags. The future of this facility is a genuine question in Paris. The local government has not been able to formulate a plan everyone can agree with.
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