Four upsets that shook the French Open

This year’s Grand Slam season has already gotten off to a blistering start with the Australian Open raising the curtain on what promises to be a stellar campaign. Jannik Sinner reigned supreme in the Land Down Under for the second straight year. He beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets in Melbourne to rubber stamp his credentials as the dominant hard-court player on the planet, but now attention turns to the summer.

Next up comes the French Open in Paris and online betting sites are already previewing the iconic clay court showdown. The latest sports betting odds currently price reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz as the even-money favourite, with the aforementioned Sinner (+275) and all-time great Novak Djokovic (+550) expected to push the Spaniard all the way. But those three should beware, as Roland Garros has sprung plenty of upsets over the years.

Stan Wawrinka’s First Round Exit IN 2014

Back in 2014, Swiss sensation Stan Wawrinka was riding the crest of a wave. He claimed his maiden Grand Slam when he won the Australian Open just months before, and with Roger Federer then on the wrong side of 30, he looked set to take over as Switzerland’s resident Superman. He headed to the French Open as the third seed, and he was expected to make a deep tournament run, potentially even usurping longtime king Rafa Nadal.

But despite the lofty expectations, Wawrinka looked a million miles away from the blistering best which led him to gold in Melbourne. He committed a staggering 62 unforced errors in his first round against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and the Spaniard took full advantage. Ranked 41st in the world at the time, the underdog capitalised on the heavy favourite’s erratic performance, winning by three sets to one, much to the surprise of the Court Philippe Chatrier faithful in attendance.

Post-match, Wawrinka admitted, “I was trying to find my game, trying to be aggressive, trying to find anything, and I didn’t.” You certainly didn’t, Stan.

Qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild Eliminates Daniil Medvedev

Fast forward nine years and Roland Garros was treated to another Cinderella story when Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild, an unseeded qualifier, took down second seed Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling five-set encounter in the first round. The Russian headed to the French capital with genuine hopes of claiming his second Grand Slam title, building on his US Open victory in 2021. He was the second seed and an overwhelming favourite to dispatch his lowly opponent.

Despite dropping the first set, those predictions looked accurate when Medvedev reeled off two straight and seemed poised for a comfortable passage to the second round. However, his clay-court vulnerabilities came to the fore against the unknown Brazilian, who used powerful baseline strokes and innovative shot-making to dismantle the Russian’s usually impenetrable game. Seyboth Wild powered his way through to the final two sets, claiming them 6-3 and 6-4 before ultimately falling in the third round, but not before he had claimed the illustrious scalp of Medvedev.

Novak Djokovic Beats Rafael Nadal in 2021 To Confirm GOAT Status

Novak Djokovic beating Rafael Nadal is hardly an earth-shattering upset. Both players are considered as two of the three greatest of all time alongside Roger Federer, with purists debating who sits first overall. However, those debates were settled – for some – back in 2021, when Nole beat the King of Clay on his strongest surface in the semi-finals.

Nadal headed into the contest with two more Grand Slam titles than his Serbian rival, and many expected that gap to be pushed out to an unassailable-looking three in Paris. Instead, it was Djokovic who upset the odds and forced onlookers to reconsider who they had long considered the greatest of all time.

Rafa had won the last four French Opens on the spin and held an almost mythical 105-2 career record at the tournament. But Djokvic was unfazed. Widely regarded as one of the greatest matches in the tournament’s history, the Serbian recovered from a slow start to claim a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 victory, displaying fearless aggression and an uncanny ability to absorb Nadal’s relentless hitting. He went on to win the tournament and has since taken his overall slam tally to 24, two more than the recently retired Nadal.

Robin Soderling Stuns the King of Clay IN 2009

By 2009, Rafael Nadal was an unstoppable force on clay. Since his debut at the tournament four years prior, the Spaniard had never lost a match in Paris, winning four straight titles. Many expected number five to be on the way, but an unheard-of Swede was about to rip up the script.

Robin Soderling had never made it past the third round of a Grand Slam, but at the 2009 French Open, he did exactly that. However, his journey would surely come to an end in the fourth round against Nadal. But hey, a personal best is something to celebrate, right? Well, it was about to get even better.

The alarm bells were ringing loud and clear for Nadal in the very first set when the Swede romped through it 6-2. That was just the seventh time in 28 matches that the Spaniard had lost a set at the tournament and the second time in 14 matches spanning the previous two tournaments. While he rallied to claim the second set in a tiebreaker, it was clear that he had a game on his hands against the unheralded Swede.

Soderling again got his nose ahead, claiming the third set 6-4. Nadal again battled, taking the fourth to a tiebreaker. But this time around, it was the Swede that got the victory, winning the tiebreak 7-2 to secure the coveted game, set, and match. His victory sent shockwaves around the sporting world and he would ultimately go on to reach the final, where he was defeated by Roger Federer.

Nadal would get his redemption a year later when the pair met again, this time in the final. But even still, this defeat remains the greatest shocker not just in the history of the French Open, but perhaps in the sport of tennis altogether.