French Open 2016: Winners and Losers from Roland Garros
The 2016 French Open is in the books. It will be remembered for its high-profile absences, rain delays, animal-printed fashion faux pas and of course, the winners and losers.
As legendary sportscaster Jim McKay so eloquently once stated, "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat," define sports.
The juxtaposition of winners and losers clarifies the magnitude of an event.
Hard-fought victories produced Novak Djokovic's outstretched arms and Garbine Muguruza's warm smile. The awareness of an opportunity missed nearly brought Serena Williams to tears. Andy Murray seemed more resigned to having been beaten by the best.
You didn't have to see a scoreline to interpret Kiki Berten's celebratory roll in the dirt or Marcos Baghdatis' red-clay face plant. Their moods told the story.
Only a few players leave Paris with new trophies. However, many other victories were won.
The following are the biggest winners and losers from Roland Garros.
Winner: Garbine Muguruza
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Muguruza captured her first Grand Slam title and the hearts of tennis fans with her warm smile, engaging personality and fierce competitive spirit.
Fans of women's tennis are also winners, as this newest champion is only 22 and figures to have more titles in her future.
The Spaniard told the National, “My dream is to continue and win more tournaments, similar tournaments, and to dominate. When I am on the court I want to dictate my game and bring more of these cups back home."
Loser: Serena Williams
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Serena Williams has 21 Grand Slam titles and four Olympic gold medals. But the depth of the loss she suffered in the finals could be heard in her quivering voice as she gave her runner-up speech. Williams has now lost in three finals this year: Australian Open, Indian Wells and French Open.
She is 1-3 in finals this season.
Winners: Spaniards Capturing Maiden Grand Slam Titles
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Despite the absence of Rafael Nadal, it was a good tournament for Spain. Muguruza became the first Spanish woman to win the French Open since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (1998).
Spanish doubles team Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lopez defeated the venerable Mike and Bob Bryan to capture their first Grand Slam title.
Losers: Americans Past Their Prime
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This French Open did not end well for aging American champions.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, 35, lost her fourth-round match to Timea Bacsinszky. Serena Williams, 34, fell to Muguruza in the finals. And then the Bob and Mike Bryan, 38, fell to Lopez and Lopez.
Like the Williams sisters, the Bryan brothers have multiple (16) Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold medals. They too are in a bit of a Grand Slam title slump. They haven't won a Grand Slam since the 2014 U.S. Open.
Winners: Trash Talking Roofs
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After several rain delays and suspended matches, a playful twitter feud broke out among Grand Slam roofs. That's right, twitter accounts claiming to speak for retractable roofs weighed in on the rainy situation in Paris.
The following is a part of the back and forth:
Wimbledon Roof: Sounds like I should head over and help out in Paris. Reckon it would be a good warm-up for me for the main event at Wimbledon.#roofisback.
Roland Garros: You may have a roof we but have the nicest baguettes in the world that can be eaten rain, hail or shine. So there.
Wimbledon Roof: You can't play tennis under soggy baguettes though. And they are no strawberries and cream... #avantagemonsieurroof.
U.S. Open roof: Don't worry tennis fans, this is the only slam this will happen at. No need to worry when you head to New York. #illbeready.
Losers: Fair Weather Fans
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Sitting in cold rainy weather is unpleasant. However, the optics of so many empty seats on show courts looked awful.
For the first time in 16 years, an entire day of matches were rained out. This meant rescheduling to keep the tournament on course to finish by week's end. So they scheduled the women's semis during the lunch hour, practically a ritual for the French.
They even offered tickets at major discounts. With so many empty seats, why not just allow people in for free?
Stadiums were packed for both singles finals.
Winners: Underdogs
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What a fun run for a few underdogs. Bertens on a 12-match winning streak made it all the way to the semifinals. Little Yulia Putintseva reached the quarterfinals and even took a set off defending champion Serena Williams.
Unseeded and ranked No. 102 Tsvetana Pironkova came back from being down 2-6, 0-3 to upset No.2 seed Radwanska.
On the men's side, No. 55 Albert Ramos-Vinolas, upset Jack Sock and Milos Raonic en route to the quarterfinals. He lost to defending champion Stan Wawrinka. However, Ramos-Vinolas will be rewarded. The 28-year-old will move up 23 spots to a career-high No. 32.
Losers: Over-Hyped Players
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Meanwhile, it was another tough outing for Eugenie Bouchard and Grigor Dimitrov, two often hyped young players.
Bouchard lost to Bacsinszky in the second round. Dimitrov fell to Viktor Troicki in the first round. When new rankings come out Monday, Dimitrov, once ranked as high as No. 8, will be No. 36. Bouchard, who reached a career-high No. 5 in 2014, will be No. 48.
Winners: Ball Kids
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Novak Djokovic took advantage of the extra time during rain delays to have some fun with ball kids. Stan Wawrinka chose a ball boy to warm up with him while he waited for his opponent to return from a medical timeout.
Usually relegated to the background, this year ball kids got extra air time.
Losers: Zebras
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Poor Zebras. These animals spend their days minding their own business, munching on grass. Then out of nowhere, a bunch poorly-dressed tennis players come along and give Zebras a bad name.
The Zebra-striped designs worn by several Adidas-sponsored players mocked these beautiful creatures.
Winners: Roland Garros Rain Sweepers
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Faced with torrential rains, the grounds crew at Roland Garros worked hard to keep the clay as dry as possible. They rushed in to sweep water off tarps. Besides the rain, temperatures were cool, often in the low 50s.
Losers: Players Complaining About Rain
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After losing to Pironkova, Radwanska blasted tournament officials for forcing players to play in rain. She told reporters, "I mean, it's not a (low-tier) tournament. It's a Grand Slam. How can you allow players to play in the rain?''
She continued, ''I don't think they really care what we think. I think they care about other things."
Simona Halep and Tomas Berdych also complained about the rain.
The conditions and scheduling were tough on all players. Serena Williams played four matches in two days and then four consecutive days of singles matches. Not one word about the rain.
Winner: Novak Djokovic
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Although Djokovic came out looking rather flat, the Serbian reclaimed his mojo and went on to claim that elusive French Open title. It's his 12th Grand Slam title.
Now he joins the small club of men's players to win career Grand Slams. He's the first man in 47 years to hold all Gram Slam titles at once.
It was a commanding performance by the most dominant player in the game.
Winner: Andy Murray
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Yes, that's no typo. Despite his loss in the finals, Murray, too, is a winner.
When this season started, hardly anybody considered Murray among the front-runners to win the French Open.
Even after his win in Rome, Djokovic and Nadal were favored above the Scot. After falling behind two sets in his first-round match, Murray's chances of reaching the final looked even slimmer.
Yet he survived, and not just that match. Murray overcame a coaching change, a minor public spat about that change and two early round five-setters. Finishing better than expected is always a win.
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