Justine Henin did not defend her trophy due to her retirement from the sport on May 14. Ana Ivanovic, the runner-up to Henin in 2007, won the Women's Singles. On the men's side, Rafael Nadal won the Men's Singles, and equalled Björn Borg's record of four consecutive French Open titles in the Open Era. Other competitions included men and women's doubles, junior singles and doubles as well as wheelchair and 'veteran' competitions.
The 2008 edition marked the first time in the Open Era no American man or woman reached the singles' quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
Notable stories
Justine Henin's retirement
On May 14, 2008, less than two weeks before the start of the 2008 French Open, defending champion and world No. 1Justine Henin, announced in a press conference her immediate retirement from the sport. Four-time winner in Roland-Garros, where she defeated Kim Clijsters in 2003, Mary Pierce in 2005, Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2006 and Ana Ivanovic in 2007, Henin became the first player, at 25, to stop her career while holding the number one rank. Despite undergoing a poor run in the 2008 season, Henin was still considered to be a strong favourite for the French Open crown. Her retirement left Serena Williams, the 2002 champion and the tournament favourite this year, as the only former French Open champion remaining in the women's draw, and allowed WTA world No. 2 Maria Sharapova to be installed as the new world No. 1, and become the top seed for the tournament.[1][2] Henin's last match was against Dinara Safina, who went on to have a successful French Open, reaching the final, where she was beaten by Ana Ivanovic. Henin returned at the end of the women's tournament, and presented new champion Ana Ivanovic with the trophy.[3]
The Williams' sisters performance
Katarina Srebotnik knocked Serena Williams out of the French Open in the third round. Her triumph ensured that there would be a new champion in 2008.
Serena Williams, the only former French Open champion left in the draw, was stunned in the third round by Katarina Srebotnik, ensuring that there would be a new champion this year.[5] Williams had never previously lost to Srebotnik in four previous attempts, and had defeated her in the second round of the 2001 French Open and as recently as in the third round of the 2008 Family Circle Cup, where she won the title as part of a seventeen-match winning streak compiled between February and May. Her third round exit was her worst performance at the tournament since 1999, when she also fell in the third round. Two ESPN experts had touted Serena Williams as the pre-tournament favourite; those same two experts also predicted that Ana Ivanovic, the 2007 runner-up whom Serena Williams would have met in the quarter-finals, would make an early exit,[6][7] when, in fact, the exact opposite occurred and Ivanovic won the championship amidst a form slump which saw her suffer early defeats in Miami and Rome.[8] Williams had said prior to the French Open that she had "enjoyed her best preparation since winning the event in 2002"; entering the tournament, she had won 23 matches and lost just two (to Jelena Janković at the Australian Open and Dinara Safina in Berlin) for the season.
On the same day as Serena Williams' defeat, older sister Venus Williams was upset by world No. 26 Flavia Pennetta, who had never previously advanced past the fourth round of the French Open, in the third round,[9] adding to her recent history of early exits at the French Open. This marked the first time since the 2004 French Open that both the Williams sisters were defeated within 24 hours of each other;[4] on that occasion, both were defeated in the quarter-finals by Jennifer Capriati and Anastasia Myskina, who then went on to contest a semi-final between each other.[10]
Guga's goodbye
The 2008 French Open saw the last appearance on the ATP Tour of former world No. 1Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten.[11] The 31-year-old Brazilian champion, had been awarded a wild card to play his final tournament in Roland-Garros, where he won his three Grand Slam titles in 1997, 2000 and 2001. Kuerten played his first round, and final singles match on Court Philippe Chatrier against eighteenth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu. Kuerten conceded the victory in straight sets after a little less than two hours on the court. A ceremony followed, where Kuerten was awarded a trophy encasing the multiple layers of the French Open's clay courts. Kuerten played his last match in the men's doubles with Sébastien Grosjean. The pair was defeated after three sets by Florin Mergea & Horia Tecău on the score of 5–7, 6–3, 6–1, ending the very final appearance of Gustavo Kuerten on the tour.
Prix Orange, Citron & Bourgeon
As each year since 1981, three trophies are awarded during the tournament to the players of Roland-Garros: the Prix Orange (Orange Prize), awarded by the public to the player with the most sportsmanship, the Prix Citron (Lemon Prize), awarded by both the public and a journalists' association to the player with the strongest nature, and the Prix Bourgeon (Bud Prize), given by the journalists only to the most improved player of the year. In 2008, the Prix Orange was received, for the fourth year in a row, by Roger Federer, who came first of a tally with five choices, followed by Rafael Nadal, Gustavo Kuerten, James Blake and Carlos Moyá. The Prix Citron was obtained by Fabrice Santoro, who preceded Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Juan Carlos Ferrero in the votes. The Prix Bourgeon was given by the press to Alizé Cornet, ahead of Janko Tipsarević and Ernests Gulbis. Gustavo Kuerten, already the recipient of three Prix Orange in 1998, 2002, and 2004, was presented a special ten-year prize for fair-play, in honor of his career and his successes at the French Open.[12]
Point distribution
Below are the tables with the point distribution for each discipline of the tournament.
In the men's field, twenty-first seed Radek Štěpánek dispatched Tommy Robredo in straight sets 6–3, 6–2, 6–1, and Roger Federer advanced past Mario Ančić in little more than an hour and a half, whereas his compatriot and ninth seed Stanislas Wawrinka, who led two-sets-to-love and 3–0 in the third, saw his adversary, Chilean Fernando González make a comeback to eventually win the match 5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4, in just over three hours. Meanwhile, Lleyton Hewitt and David Ferrer battled through five sets, breaking each other repeatedly, until the Spaniard gained the final advantage, breaking the Australian at 4–4 in the fifth set, which allowed him to win 6–2, 3–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4. Former Top Ten member Ivan Ljubičić produced the biggest upset of the men's field thus far, coming back from a two sets deficit to defeat world No. 4, 2007 French Open semifinalistNikolay Davydenko 4–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–4, and obtain his first fourth round spot in a Grand Slam event since the 2006 French Open.[54][57][58]
In the women's draw, Elena Dementieva came back from the loss of the second set to defeat compatriot Vera Zvonareva 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, and reach her first quarterfinal spot in a Grand Slam since 2006. Berlin Tier I titlist, and thirteenth seed Dinara Safina saved one match point at 3–5 in the second set and overcame a 2–5 deficit in the second set tie-break, before climbing back to upset world No. 1 Maria Sharapova on the score of 6–7(6), 7–6(5), 6–2, and set up a rematch of the Berlin final against Dementieva.[67][68]
After a difficult first set, Fernando González cruised to the quarterfinals beating Robby Ginepri 7–5, 6–3, 6–1, in less than two hours. World No. 1 Roger Federer struggled during almost three hours, but eventually defeated unseeded Frenchman Julien Benneteau, by breaking in the last game of every set to win the match 6–4, 7–5, 7–5. Twenty-one-year-old, ATP No. 59 Gaël Monfils was the only French player out of the five present in the round of sixteen to advance, as he upset his opponent Ivan Ljubičić on the score of 7–6(1), 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, to reach his first quarterfinal in a Grand Slam event. David Ferrer's 4–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3 win over Radek Štěpánek allowed him to become the last man qualified for the singles' quarterfinals.[67][69][70]
In the women's singles, WTA No. 49, twenty-two-year-old Estonian Kaia Kanepi defeated unseeded Petra Kvitová 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, to advance to the quarterfinals, her best result thus far in a Grand Slam tournament. World No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova matched her 2007 Roland-Garros performance by advancing to the quarterfinals, easily defeating sixteenth-seeded Victoria Azarenka (who had showed some good form in winning her first three matches for the loss of only six games) 6–2, 6–3. The first quarterfinal saw the highest seed remaining, Ana Ivanovic, beat tenth seed Patty Schnyder 6–3, 6–2, to reach her second consecutive semifinal at the French Open. She was joined in the afternoon by another 2007 French Open semifinalist, world No. 3 and Serbian No. 2 Jelena Janković, who dispatched nineteen-year-old Spanish qualifier Carla Suárez Navarro 6–3, 6–2, in little more than an hour.[73][74][75]
The third quarter of the women's draw was a rematch of the 2001 French Open girls' singles final, but the unseeded twenty-two-year-old Estonian Kaia Kanepi, victor in 2001, was defeated this time by her opponent Svetlana Kuznetsova, now the WTA No. 4, in little less than an-hour and a half, on the score of 7–5, 6–2, allowing the Russian to reach her fourth Grand Slam semifinal, and her second at the French Open, after an appearance in 2006. Dinara Safina repeated her drama-filled performance of the fourth round as she saved one match point against Elena Dementieva at 3–5 in the second set, before climbing back and crushing her adversary in the final set to claim a 4–6, 7–6(5), 6–0 victory, secure her first Grand Slam semifinal spot, and set an all-Russian clash against Kuznetsova.[80][81]
Fernando González made a powerful start at the beginning of his quarterfinal against Roger Federer, winning the first set 6–2 in only twenty-four minutes, before the world No. 1 took back the control of the match and easily won the following sets, to end the encounter on the score of 2–6, 6–2, 6–3, 6–4, and advance to his sixteenth consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, his fourth in Roland-Garros. In the last quarterfinal of the men's singles, ATP No. 59, twenty-one-year-old Gaël Monfils, winner of the Juniors competition at the 2004 French Open, became the first French player to go past the round of eight in Roland-Garros since 2001, as he upset fifth seed David Ferrer 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–1, to set a semifinal against Federer, already the third encounter between the two players in 2008.[82][83]
On "Ladies Days", Berlin champion, WTA No. 14 Dinara Safina advanced to her first ever Grand Slam final, dominating world No. 4 and 2006 French Open runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova during nearly an-hour and a half, to eventually claim victory on the score of 6–3, 6–2. Kuznetsova's loss, following Sharapova's fourth round exit, meant that the second semifinal between Australian Open finalist and Indian Wells Tier I titlist Ana Ivanovic and Rome winner Jelena Janković was bound to decide who would be the next world No. 1. Janković took the first advantage in the match, leading 4–2 when Ivanovic made a comeback and snatched the first set, extending her dominance to the midst of the second, when she saw her adversary win seven games in a row, even the score to one-set-all, and take the early advantage in the final set. Ivanovic broke back once to 3–3 but lost her serve, before breaking again to even the score at 4–4, win her serve, and take Janković's to finally win, after over two hours of play, on the score of 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, advance to her third Grand Slam final, her second consecutive in Roland-Garros, and be assured to become the new world No. 1 on June 9, 2008.[85][86]
The first semifinal of the men's doubles, that opposed unseeded Uruguyan Pablo Cuevas & Peruvian Luis Horna to alternates Brazilian Bruno Soares & Serbian Dušan Vemić, lasted almost three hours and extended to a third set tie-break, until Cuevas & Horna took a final advantage, to score a 6–4, 6–7(6), 7–6(6) victory, and advance to their first Grand Slam final. After losing the first set to unseeded Russian pair Igor Kunitsyn & Dmitry Tursunov, second seeded Daniel Nestor, the defending champion, & new partner Nenad Zimonjić battled to take back the advantage, ultimately winning the match, and reach their first Grand Slam final together on the score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–4.[87]
The first men's singles semifinal, which opposed world No. 2 and defending championRafael Nadal to world No. 3 and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, saw the Spaniard dominating his opponent throughout two-and-a-half sets, until Djokovic made a comeback, breaking Nadal several times to extend the match to a third set tie-break. Nadal won six consecutive points in the tie-break, to finally win the encounter at his fourth match point on the score of 6–4, 6–2, 7–6(3), to advance to his fourth consecutive French Open final. World No. 1 Roger Federer made a strong start in the second semifinal that opposed him to ATP No. 59 Gaël Monfils, winning the first set in thirty minutes and breaking early in the second, before Monfils fought back, and broke the Swiss to snatch the second set. Federer cruised again in the third, before the match evened in the fourth, each player saving break points, until Federer took the Frenchman's serve at 6–5, to win on the final score of 6–2, 5–7, 6–3, 7–5, after three hours of play, and advance to his sixteenth Grand Slam final, his third consecutive one in Roland-Garros, a third time against Nadal.[88][89]
Tenth-seeded, all Spanish-team Anabel Medina Garrigues & Virginia Ruano Pascual competed with unseeded Australian Casey Dellacqua & Italian Francesca Schiavone for the women's doubles title. Dellacqua & Schiavone commanded the game in the first set, winning 6–2 in nearly forty minutes, before their adversaries broke to 6–5 in the second, and won their serve to come back to one-set-all. Garrigues & Ruano Pascual broke in the first game of the third set, kept their advantage up to 4–3, when Dellacqua & Schiavone broke back to 4–all. Garrigues & Ruano Pascual managed to immediately take their opponents' serve again and keep theirs to win the match 2–6, 7–5, 6–4, after two-hours-and-a-half. In becoming the 2008 French Open women's doubles champions, Anabel Medina Garrigues won her first ever Grand Slam doubles title, & Virginia Ruano Pascual, a fifteen-time Grand Slam doubles finalist, holder of eight titles, won her fifth victory at the French Open.[90]
The final of the mixed doubles took place between first seeds Slovene Katarina Srebotnik & Serbian Nenad Zimonjić, and third seeds Victoria Azarenka, from Belarus & Bob Bryan, from the USA. After easily winning the first set 6–2 in only twenty-two minutes, Azarenka & Bryan saw their adversaries even the competition, as Srebotnik & Zimonjic held their serve to a second set tie-break, in which they even took the early advantage, leading 4–3. Azarenka & Bryan were able to break back, and win four points in a row to eventually claim victory on the score of 6–2, 7–6(5), in little more than an hour. Victoria Azarenka, already the 2007 US Open mixed doubles champion, and the 2007 Australian Open mixed doubles runner-up, & Bob Bryan, finalist of the mixed doubles competition in Wimbledon 2006, and winner at the US Open in 2003, 2004, and 2006, won their first Grand Slam title together, becoming the new Roland-Garros mixed doubles champions.[91]
The women's singles final was played by then WTA No. 2 Ana Ivanovic, the 2007 French Open and 2008 Australian Open runner-up, assured to become world No. 1 on June 9, 2008, regardless of the result, and thirteenth seed Dinara Safina, the Berlin Tier I titlist, in her first ever Grand Slam final appearance. Ivanovic made the strongest start in the match, taking Safina's serve in the opening game, and once more at 3–1, to open a 4–1 lead in the first set. Safina started to take back the advantage, as she broke the Serbian twice and won her own serve to come back at 4–4. Ivanovic immediately recovered her break, and eventually kept her serve at 5–4, to close the first set on the score of 6–4. Ivanovic broke the Russian for a 2–1 lead in the second set, and continued to dominate Safina up to the seventh game, where she held double-break balls at 4–2. Af the end of this long game, in which both players repeatedly took and lost the advantage, Safina ultimately kept her serve, but the Russian was unable to attack Ivanovic in the following game, and found herself serving to stay in the match at 3–5. The Serbian pressured Safina, and eventually broke her a final time, to win the match on the score of 6–4, 6–3, after ninety-eight minutes of play. Both players received their trophies from the hands of former world No. 1 and 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007 French Open champion Justine Henin in the awards ceremony that followed, which crowned Ivanovic, a first-time Grand Slam winner, as the new Roland-Garros women's singles champion.[92][93] Ivanovic became the first Serbian winner of a Grand Slam women's singles title, and the second Serbian overall after Novak Djokovic's win at the 2008 Australian Open. It would be the last time that Ana Ivanovic would feature past the Round of 16 at any Grand Slam tournament until the 2012 US Open.[94]
The men's doubles final featured second seeds Canadian Daniel Nestor, a nine-time Grand Slam doubles finalist, winner of the 2007 French Open with Mark Knowles, & Serbian Nenad Zimonjić, a two-time doubles final runner-up in Wimbledon, and unseeded South American duo, composed of Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas, No. 50 in the doubles rankings, & Peruvian Luis Horna, No. 43 in the doubles rankings, on their first ever Grand Slam final appearance separately and together. The unseeded South Americans completely dominated the seasoned champions during the final, breaking them twice in each set, never losing their serve themselves, to crush Nestor & Zimonjic in only fifty-six minutes, on the score of 6–2, 6–3, and win their first doubles title together. Pablo Cuevas & Luis Horna knocked out four seeded teams, Arnaud Clément & Michaël Llodra, Lukáš Dlouhý & Leander Paes, world No. 1 pair Bob & Mike Bryan, and ultimately Daniel Nestor & Nenad Zimonjić on their way to becoming the first South American team to win a Men's Doubles Grand Slam title, and the 2008 French Open men's doubles champions.[95]
The men's singles final took place at 15:00 (UTC+2) on the Philippe Chatrier Central Court, and featured, for the third straight year after 2006 and 2007, the world No. 1 and holder of twelve Grand Slam titles, Roger Federer, and ATP No. 2 Rafael Nadal, the winner in Roland-Garros since 2005. Federer decided to serve after being given the choice, but the Spaniard immediately attacked the Swiss' serve, and broke him, winning his own service game to quickly open a 2–0 lead. Though Federer won his following serve, he was not able in the rest of the set to convert the few break points he had on Nadal's serve, or win his own service games, allowing the Spaniard to close the first set in thirty-two minutes, on the score of 6–1. Despite being broken in the beginning of the second set, Federer started to fight back, as he finally took Nadal's serve, came back to 2–2, and held to 3–3. After a long game on Federer's serve, Nadal finally broke once more, and rapidly finished the set on the score of 6–3, after forty-nine minutes. There was no competition in what would become the final set as Nadal left no chances to Federer, and the Swiss was not able to find a second breath to start a comeback, not winning any game in the twenty-seven minutes set, and suffering a bagel for the first time in a Grand Slam since a 1999 Roland-Garros first round loss to Pat Rafter.[96] Particularly relevant to the outcome of their meeting were Federer's thirty-five unforced errors to Nadal's seven during the brief match which never allowed him to gain a foothold. Rafael Nadal claimed his fourth consecutive French Open crown, on the final score of 6–1, 6–3, 6–0, and in becoming the 2008 French Open champion equalled Björn Borg's record of four straight Roland-Garros titles, and extended his win–loss record at the tournament to 28–0.[97][98]
The following are the seeded players and notable players who withdrew from the event. Seedings are based on ATP and WTA rankings as of 19 May 2008. Rankings and points are as of before 26 May 2008.
It was Nadal's 4th title of the year, and his 27th overall. It was his 1st Grand Slam title of the year, his 4th overall, and his 4th win at the event, after 2005, 2006, and 2007.
