Five reasons why this French Open was a classic - pick your favourite moment

By

BBC Sport tennis quality newsman astatine Roland Garros

There was a schoolhouse of thought that this year's French Open could extremity up being a spot of a dud.

A predictable one-horse contention was envisaged successful the men's singles, portion the women's superstars lacked signifier heading into Paris.

An ailing British contingent hampered by wounded and unwellness did not supply optimism for fans crossed the Channel, either.

Yet seismic shocks, compelling play and fairytale stories person turned this Roland Garros into 1 of the champion successful caller memory.

Jannik Sinner's aboriginal exit whitethorn person been atrocious quality for him, but it proved to beryllium highly bully for the men's singles competition.

Generational rivals Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz had won the erstwhile 9 Grand Slams betwixt them. With Alcaraz missing with a wrist injury, apical effect Sinner was the heaviest favourite since 14-time champion Rafael Nadal to assistance the title.

Ironically, Sinner recovered himself connected the receiving extremity of the biggest Paris daze since Nadal mislaid to Robin Soderling successful 2009.

The Italian struggled physically successful the 2nd circular and Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo took vantage to stroke the gully wide open.

When 39-year-old Novak Djokovic was beaten successful the 3rd round, a caller Grand Slam champion was guaranteed.

A big of seeded players falling aboriginal and plentifulness of five-set matches were signs of the hostility players felt arsenic they realised a aureate accidental had presented itself.

Eventually Germany's Alexander Zverev - after different fittingly stressful final - came done to unafraid his spot among the game's greats.

Mirra Andreeva has agelong been seen arsenic a Grand Slam champion successful waiting, contempt being lone 19.

The Russian teen demonstrated her increasing maturity implicit the fortnight to triumph the women’s rubric and fulfill those expectations.

She kept calm successful a semi-final against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk - played amid a backdrop of governmental hostility - and held some her nerves and emotions successful cheque successful a archetypal Grand Slam last wherever her hostile received much vocal support.

A big of young stars besides had their ain coming-of-age moments successful the men's draw.

Czech 20-year-old Jakub Mensik reached his archetypal large semi-final and showcased his talents - a immense serve, almighty baseline crippled and athleticism - to a wider planetary audience.

Brazilian teen Joao Fonseca and 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar made their Grand Slam breakthroughs by reaching the quarter-finals, portion French 17-year-old Moise Kouame wowed the location crowds with his fearlessness and flamboyance.

Each of these youngsters underlined wherefore the aboriginal looks bright.

Few radical extracurricular of the tennis bubble had heard of Poland's Maja Chwalinska 3 weeks ago.

The 24-year-old had ne'er earned nonstop introduction into a Grand Slam and lone made her mode done qualifying doubly successful 14 attempts.

A 500-1 outsider astatine the commencement of the main draw, Chwalinska's aboriginal has wholly changed aft finishing runner-up to Andreeva.

Most of Chwalinska’s vocation has been spent connected the little rungs of the nonrecreational ladder, travelling astir smaller tournaments trying to marque ends meets.

Winning 1.4m euros (£1.2m) successful prize wealth - tripling what she had antecedently earned - transforms her vocation and gives anticipation to those lower-ranked players warring to past financially.

Chwalinska’s tally has provided inspiration and shown the gulf to the starring players is not insurmountable.

Tennis players are accustomed to competing successful blistery upwind - but not astatine the French Open, wherever unseasonably precocious temperatures reached implicit 30C successful the archetypal week.

The prima did not initially hamper excessively galore players physically - helped by a debased humidity - but the cumulative effect caught up with some.

Mensik had to beryllium taken disconnected tribunal successful a wheelchair aft a brutal second-round triumph implicit Argentina's Mariano Navone, portion determination were 9 mid-match retirements successful the opening 4 days - including Britain's Cameron Norrie.

The scorching effect connected the courts - hardening up the clay and creating a faster aboveground - besides added to the tournament's unpredictability.

But the temperatures cooling successful the 2nd week altered conditions again.

World fig 1 Aryna Sabalenka struggled successful the resulting blustery conditions, losing 10 consecutive games successful a quarter-final exit to Russia's Diana Shnaider.

It was different reminder however Mother Nature has the imaginable to origin havoc for each player.

Grand Slams ever person the capableness to nutrient talking points - but this Roland Garros has been peculiarly newsworthy.

The starring players continued to request a greater stock of Grand Slam gross successful bid to summation the wide prize pot, with the likes of Sabalenka and Sinner starring a corporate stance to bounds pre-tournament media duties to lone 15 minutes.

Sabalenka was cardinal to different important taxable - a women's lucifer yet being picked for the nighttime league connected Court Philippe Chatrier.

After 3 years of reluctance and excuses, the organisers could not disregard Sabalenka's fourth-round blockbuster with Naomi Osaka - and the superstars provided a prime contention which near some hoping they had opened the doorway to much women's matches featuring successful the primetime slot.

The French Open was forced to enactment erstwhile a fig of players complained astir the on-court advertizing blocks that caused wounded to Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez.

The tourney besides moved rapidly to punish Paraguayan subordinate Adolfo Daniel Vallejo for making "unacceptable" and "sexist" comments astir a pistillate umpire, portion Russia's warfare successful Ukraine continued to origin hostility erstwhile players from the 2 countries met.

In a competitory sporting market, wherever the spectre of a men's shot World Cup looms, the French Open could person slipped nether the radar.

Instead it has been beforehand and centre of the sports agenda. Roll connected Wimbledon...