Originally known as Championnat de France, the French Open at Roland Garros is one of four Grand Slam tennis events and has been held annually since 1881. The clay court tournament is the second of four Grand Slams on the ATP Tour schedule, following the Australian Open and preceding Wimbledon. The 2024 French Open is scheduled from May 26-June 9.
Rafael Nadal, known as “the King of Clay,” has been dominant at Roland Garros, winning the French Open a record 14 times since 2005. Novak Djokovic, who holds the all-time record with 24 Grand Slam titles, has won two of the last three years at Roland Garros and is a three-time French Open champion. With both players on the back-end of their respective careers, two-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz is the betting favorite to win in 2024. He would be the first player besides Nadal or Djokovic to win the tournament since 2015.
Below is a look back at the recent success of Nadal and Djokovic at the French Open.
Novak Djokovic (2023)
Djokovic broke a tie with Nadal by winning his record 23rd Grand Slam at the 2023 French Open. He also became the first man to win all four Grand Slams at least three times and set a new record for oldest French Open singles champion at 36 years and 20 days. Djokovic beat fourth seed Casper Ruud 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 in the final and also recorded victories over Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He dropped just one set in seven matches.
“A Grand Slam is a Grand Slam—four biggest tournaments that we have in the history of our sport, tennis. Every single player dreams of being on this stage and winning the trophy at least once in their career,” said Djokovic during his post-match interview. “I am beyond fortunate in my life to win, 23 times, Grand Slams. It’s an incredible, incredible feeling.”
Nadal, the most successful player in history at Roland Garros, missed the 2023 French Open while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his hip.
Rafael Nadal (2022)
Nadal won the 2022 French Open two days after his 36th birthday, beating Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final on Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was his record 22nd Grand Slam win while Djokovic, who he beat 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the quarter-finals, had 20 career Grand Slam titles at time. Nadal advanced to the final after beating Alexander Zverev, who was forced to retire, in the semi-finals. He survived a five-set scare in the fourth round, beating Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. That was only the third time in 112 matches at Roland Garros that Nadal had gone to a fifth set.
Nadal had a career record of 112-3 in French Open singles matches following the 2022 tournament. He lost to Djokovic in the 2021 semi-finals and 2015 quarter-finals, but holds a career 8-2 record against his longtime rival at Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic (2021)
Djokovic won the 2021 French Open in thrilling fashion, overcoming a two-set deficit to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-7 (6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the final. He earned his spot in the final following a 4-hour and 11-minute victory over Nadal in the semi-finals. It was the first time Nadal had lost in 14 semi-final appearances at Roland Garros. Djokovic also overcame a two-set deficit in the fourth round to beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-7 (7), 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-0, 4-0.
With the victory, Djokovic became the first male in the open era with at least two titles in every Grand Slam, Masters 1000 event, and the ATP Finals.
Rafael Nadal (2020)
Nadal had one of his most impressive performances at Roland Garros in 2020, when he won for the fourth consecutive year by beating Djokovic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in the final. It was his fourth time beating Djokovic in the French Open final and the fourth time he won the tournament without dropping a set. He beat Diego Schwartzman and Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals and quarter-finals, respectively.
Rafael Nadal (2019)
Nadal won his 18th Grand Slam at the 2019 French Open, beating Dominic Thiem in the final for the second year in a row. Thiem, the fourth seed, upset Djokovic in five sets in the semi-final, while Nadal scored a dominant 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Federer. This event marked the first year that the top four seeds advanced to the semi-finals since the 2013 Australian Open.
Other Winners in the 21st Century
Nadal and Djokovic have won a combined 17 times at Roland Garros since Nadal won his first title in 2005. They’ve been so dominant that only two other players—Roger Federer (2009) and Stan Wawrinka (2015)—have won the French Open since Nadal’s first championship. Gustavo Kuerten (2000 and 2001), Albert Costa (2002), Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003), and Gaston Gaudio (2004) are the only other players to win the Grand Slam in the 21st century.