2023-05-28 12:56:40
From our special correspondent Porte d’Auteuil – Roland-Garros version 2023 is a special edition: the Grand Slam tournament opens without Rafael Nadal, the man with fourteen silver bowls. If the tennis fans present on Sunday at the Porte d’Auteuil unanimously regret the absence of the legend, they are not worried about the coming generation.
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French sports fans have their annual traditions: in March, the early elimination of PSG in the Champions League; in April, Easter chicken and fries ahead of Paris-Roubaix; in July, the long naps in front of the Tour de France… When the month of May draws to a close, heralding the return of sunny terraces and warm summer evenings, it is Roland-Garros that monopolizes their attention.
This year again, Paris is adorned with orange – unless it’s ocher – to host its Grand Slam tournament. “I can’t, I have Roland” t-shirts, caps, giant tennis balls ready to be signed, the rituals are immutable. However, in this year 2023, a shadow darkens the picture: Rafael Nadal, fourteen times winner of the tournament, will not be present.
The Roland-Garros legend had to forfeit due to recurring muscle injuries. A real thunderclap in the world of tennis. Because since his first coronation on Parisian clay in 2005, two days after his 19th birthday, Nadal has never failed Porte d’Auteuil. He accumulated 112 victories there and only had three defeats (in 2009, 2015 and 2021), plus a package during the tournament (2016, because of his left wrist). The Majorcan simply forced the sports press to exhume the adjective “tetradecuple” to talk about his 14 titles, a record at Roland but also in any Grand Slam.
Its impact on the Parisian tournament is such that it was enshrined on the Roland-Garros site in 2021, even though it is still in operation. This 3-meter high steel statue, the work of the Spanish sculptor Jordi Díez Fernandez, stands just in front of the entrance and has become an essential background for public selfies upon arrival at Porte d’Auteuil.
“He’s THE Roland player. It’s his tournament”
Thierry sacrifices to this little ritual. This 59-year-old retiree with a slight southern accent is coming to experience his third Roland-Garros but regrets never having been able to see the living legend play. “We were hoping for this year, but it won’t be this time yet,” he philosophizes. “How sad !”
Same story with the Mirande brothers. Romain, 22, and Nicolas, 25, come every year from Toulouse to experience the tournament: “It’s sad. He’s not our favorite player, but he’s THE Roland player. It’s his tournament “, praises Romain.
Emmanuelle, 34, came with her son Thiméo, 10. The latter describes himself as an absolute fan of the Majorcan: “He’s my favorite player”, he says, after taking a photo with the statue of his idol.
The little tennis fan is very helpless when it comes to quoting his favorite for the upcoming edition. And for good reason, the reign of Rafael Nadal began long before his birth. He has simply always known the Spaniard who won the French Open, with a few exceptions. A figure makes you dizzy: it is the first time since 1998 that neither the Majorcan nor the Swiss Roger Federer, his great rival, are present at the tournament.
At the time, we were in the last century and millennium. France was set to “My heart will go on” by Céline Dion and the “Tribu de Dana” by Manau. The French football team had never won the World Cup final before. The next generation of French tennis, Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche, were not born. On the other hand, despite the 24 years that have passed, France is still waiting for successors to Bernard Hinault, OM and Yannick Noah, respectively the last French winners to date of the Tour de France (1985), the Champions League (1993) and the Roland-Garros gentlemen (1984).
“Son petit clone arrive”
Tennis fans surveyed are unanimous : “It’s simply the end of an era.”
However, Rafael Nadal’s reign is not yet completely over at Roland-Garros. The Spaniard is still everywhere Porte d’Auteuil : in addition to the statue, his name reigns on the prize list of the tournament, registered in the Philippe-Chatrier stadium. It is still he who is enthronedleft of the men’s tableau, which is majestically displayed between the adjoining courts. It is alsoin his skin that fans can take pictures of themselves. His name comes up in all discussions. And the king still hopes to come back for the edit 2024, in order to conclude his love affair with the French Grand Slam
In the meantime, a new generation with long teeth hopes to take its place. “Ruud”, “Rune”, “Sinner”, “Medvedev”… each announces their favorite for the years to come. But a name is on everyone’s lips, that of the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest world No. 1 in history last September, in the wake of his first Grand Slam coronation, at the US Open. What force the comparison with his elder.
Read also Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Rune… ambitious outsiders at Roland-Garros
“Fortunately, the little clone is coming. Roland-Garros will remain Spanish,” jokes Thierry.
Author of a stratospheric season on clay so far, Carlos Alcaraz is a huge favorite. Twenty matches won out of 22 played, and three titles gleaned (Buenos Aires, Barcelona and Rome). Roland-Garros has not finished writing itself in Spanish.
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