Gustavo Kurten
(Image: twitter)The Brazilian tennis icon name Guga was one of the best Clay Court players of all time. He won the French Open thrice in the years 1997, 2000 and 2001.
Kurten’s natural ability to move on Clay, his strong shot-making through forehand and backhand wings was the defining traits of his success in Paris.
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Guga called himself a natural Clay Court player. It was also true statistically as 14 of his 20 titles came on the dirt.
The former World Number 1 would have been more successful if injuries had not affected his already brilliant career.
Ivan Lendl
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The Czech powerhouse is a winner of 8 Grand Slam titles. Three of them have come on the red dirt of Paris. Lendl’s game was tailor-made to succeed on Clay.
His forehand was loaded with topspin and had such a devastating effect that it would even shield his relatively vulnerable backhand.
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Lendl played 5 finals at Roland Garros and tasted success in 3 of them. His 1st success came when he defeated John McEnroe after being 2 sets down in 1984, Lendl repeated his feat in 1986 against Sweden’s Mikeal Pernfors.
Ivan would go on to win his 3rd Roland Garros title next year in 1987 against another Swede Mats Wilander.
Lendl finished runner up in Paris twice in his Career. The first time it was against the great Bjorn Borg in 1981 and second time against Mats Wilander in 1985.
Mats Wilander
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Wilander’s 1st success at Roland Garros came in 1982. He was aged only 17 then and made history by being the 1st unseeded player ever to win a Grand Slam.
The Swede’s opponent in the final was Argentine Guillermo Vilas, who is regarded as one of the greatest clay courters ever. It was a massive upset that shocked tennis.
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Mats would play 5 French finals in his glorious career winning 3 of them in 1982, 1985 and 1988. He finished runner up in 1983 and 1987.
In fact the Wilander-Lendl duopoly dominated Roland Garros for much of 1980s.
Bjorn Borg
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Before Rafa Nadal made the French Open his fiefdom, it was Borg who was regarded as the King of Roland Garros. The Super Swede has a 49-2 win loss ratio in Paris.
In this process he lifted 6 French Open trophies . The 1st of his 6 French Open titles came in 1974 at the age of 18.
Borg dominated Paris during his time and reached 6 Roland Garros finals, winning all 6 of them He also won French Open 3 times without even dropping a set.
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Borg with his superhuman capabilities dominated the extremely slow Clay of Roland Garros and the extremely quick Grass of Wimbledon at the same time.
Had this iconic tennis sensation not prematurely retired at the age of 25, he would certainly have made more history in Paris and won more Roland Garros titles.
Rafael Nadal
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Nadal’s steak at Roland Garros has put the tennis world into disbelief. The great Spaniard has a staggering 11 French Opens to his name.
Rafa won Roland Garros in his maiden attempt in 2005. He went on to win it continuously till 2009 when he lost to Robin Soderling in the Quarters.
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Rafa came back again in 2010 to win the French Open 5 times in succession till 2014. He is the only player to win 5 continuous Roland Garros tournaments. After a hiatus of 2 years Rafa again has been victorious in Paris since last 2 years.
Nadal seems to be still hungry as he chases his 12th French trophy. Many tennis pundits believe that Rafa may well end will 15 Roland Garros titles.