Laurent Luyat’s observation on the absence of a French victory at Roland-Garros (VIDEO)

Roland-Garros is back at Porte d’Auteuil. While waiting for the official start of the tournament on Sunday May 28, clay court enthusiasts can take their troubles patiently watching the qualifying phase which begins on Monday May 22. On this occasion, Laurent Luyat was invited on the set of Telematin on France 2 to present his new book 20 years of Roland-Garros, published by Ramsey Editions. Since 2003, the journalist has been covering the French Open from the famous terrace of France Télévisions.

This edition of Roland-Garros will have a special flavor this year, since next June 5 will be the 40th anniversary of Yannick Noah’s victory in the Grand Slam tournament. An anniversary which also reminds us that a new tricolor victory is still awaited on Parisian clay since 1983 in the men’s table. Asked about this by Thomas Sotto, Laurent Luyat shared his analysis of this long shortage: “Marie Pierce won in 2000. Among the men it’s true that… There is Bernard Hinault, the last winner of the Tour de France in 1985 and Yannick Noah, the last winner of Roland-Garros in 1983. It’s a little hopeless… But in same time, we still have a magnificent generation, with the (Jo-Wilfried) Tsonga, (Richard) Gasquet, (Gaël) Monfils, (Gilles) Simon, etc. But they were in the period when there were the fantastic three who won everything…“

“You still realize that (Rafael) Nadal, (Novak) Djokovic, (Roger) Federer won 81% of the Grand Slams between 2004 and 2022!“, continues Laurent Luyat, recalling how difficult it was to win a major title in recent years for all tennis players. “That is, they left crumbs. There is only one player since 2005 who has succeeded outside of these three to win at Roland-Garros, it is (Stan) Wawrinka in 2015.” It remains to be seen whether 2023 will mark the end of the reign of the three monsters at Roland-Garros. Only Novak Djokovic can claim the crown this year, since Roger Federer is now retired and Rafael Nadal, defending champion and 14-time winner of the tournament , recently declared his forfeit.

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