When a grand slam loses its top three seeds in the first three rounds it brings on a mix of reactions.
Tournament organisers may worry about ticket sales, TV rights holders worry about viewership, and fans may lose interest due to the absence of the star factor.
However in this year’s Roland Garros women’s competition, a lot of things have happened that have made the event special and have definitely softened the blow of losing Serena Williams, Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska early.
The women’s event this fortnight has been a perfect blend of up-and-comers breaking through and seasoned players getting second chances.
We got to see lots of players born in the 1990s go deep in the draw, pulling off upsets and following them up with more victories.
The WTA’s top-two may be aged 32 but they both lost to players born in 1993. Besides Garbine Muguruza and Kristina Mladenovic, we have been given a glimpse of the great potential of 18-year-old Taylor Townsend and 21-year-old Ajla Tomljanovic – both are great characters with big games.
But we’re not just celebrating the arrival of new players this fortnight. The more emotional stories have come from the likes of Andrea Petkovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Sara Errani, who all seem to be handed second chances.
Petkovic was ranked 136 this time last year after peaking at No9 in the world in 2011. The German’s injury file is as thick as a Parisian phone book and she confessed that she considered retirement last year after losing in the second round of qualifying.
She had suffered her third serious injury in a year and was losing faith in her comeback.
It’s 12 months later and Petkovic is back in the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time in three years. She’s benefitted from Li Na’s absence in her section of the draw and took her chance and ran with it.
You’d struggle to find a single person who isn’t thrilled for the intellectual and equally hilarious German. Her spirit and comeback are a true inspiration.
The story is different for Kuznetsova. It’s been five years since she won a Grand Slam, here in Paris, and even though she’s reached a few quarter-finals since then, she hasn’t shown such fierce game and incredible defensive skills in a very long time.
She joked that she felt like Rafael Nadal during her win over world No6 Petra Kvitova because of all the running she did to take out the aggressive Czech and she should find lots of pride in that.
The Russian turns 29 this month but was running like a teenager out there. Another refreshing run from someone who’s been dubbed a two-Slam wonder.
Italian Sara Errani has silently been breezing through the draw, completely under the radar. She’s was a finalist in 2012 and she has a real shot at setting up a final rematch with Maria Sharapova, who beat her in the title match two years ago.
So whether we see new young faces like Eugenie Bouchard or Simona Halep in the latter stages, or slightly older ones like Kuznetsova or Petkovic, this French Open should ultimately feel a very gratifying one for all.
