The just concluded French Open is surely going into memory lane as a special one. It wouldn’t be out of place to say it came with a total package of drama. Thriller, action, comedy and even tears, have been part of the grand slam this year.
It began with our earlier report on Naomi Osaka, women’s world number 2, who after wining her first-round match declined attending the customary post-match conference, citing mental toll and the harsh posture of journalists in the conference room. She was fined the sum of $15,000 for not attending the conference. Few days after this, she withdrew from the tournament still citing mental health.
Next it was world number one, Ashleigh Barty, who pulled out of the competition due to a hip injury. A very emotional moment for her as she had hoped to make up missing the competition last year. She promised to be fully ready for the Wimbledon grand slam beginning in about 3 weeks’ time on the 28th of June.
Yana Sizikova, the Russian player was arrested and later released after her first-round match due to allegations of match fixing in last year’s tournament for which French prosecutors opened investigation on her last September.
It was also an edition of surprise ousting as by the second week of the slam, seven of the top 10 seeds had been ousted, including the mighty Serena Williams. The four remaining semifinalists were all participating in their first semifinal in a grand slam, a feat which last occurred in 1978 Australian open.
It finally came to a close with Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova’s 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
