2004_French_Open
2004 French Open
Tennis tournament
The 2004 French Open was the 108th edition of the tournament.
On the men's side, Gastón Gaudio became the first men's major champion in the Open Era to save two championship points in the final. Gaudio also became the first Argentine man since Guillermo Vilas in 1979 to win a major. Fellow Argentine Guillermo Coria, widely regarded as the favourite and the world's best clay court player coming into the tournament, was seeded 3rd for the event, whereas Gaudio was unseeded (ranked 44th[1]). After winning the first two sets convincingly, Coria began suffering from leg cramps. Gaudio won the next two sets; however, Coria came back and was up two breaks of serve in the final set. Coria had two match points at 6–5 before Gaudio prevailed 0–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 8–6. Gaudio also became the first man to win a Grand Slam tournament final after being bagelled, which occurred in the first set. The overall tournament was noted for the performance of Argentine players – in addition to the two finalists, there were a semifinalist (David Nalbandian) and a quarterfinalist (Juan Ignacio Chela). It was also highlighted by a first round match between Fabrice Santoro and Arnaud Clément, lasting 6 hours and 33 minutes and ending in Clement's defeat 6–4, 6–3, 6–7, 3–6, 16–14, setting a new record for the longest singles match in the Open Era,[2] which would stand until Wimbledon 2010. It was also the last major to feature neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal in the semifinals until the 2012 US Open.[3]
In the women's draw, Anastasia Myskina became first Russian woman to win a major title. The next two majors were also won by Russian women (Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon and Svetlana Kuznetsova at the US Open). She also became the first French Open women's champion after saving a match point en route to the title (against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round).
In the mixed doubles, French players Tatiana Golovin and Richard Gasquet (aged 16 and 17 respectively) won the tournament after entering as wildcards. France also saw success in the boys' singles, where Gaël Monfils won.
Juan Carlos Ferrero and Justine Henin-Hardenne were both unsuccessful in defending their 2003 titles; both being eliminated in the second round. In Henin's case, her early exit would be the last time a top seed lost within the first two rounds of any major until Ana Ivanovic lost in the second round of the 2008 US Open. Henin's loss to Tathiana Garbin in the second round was her only defeat at the tournament between 2003 and 2009 (not playing in 2008 and 2009).
