This is a French Open of quiet desperation for some, rising hope for others. But there is not a single serious contender who is not drenched in sweat worrying about the consequences, from Novak Djokovic and the all-time king of Paris, Rafael Nadal, to Andy Murray, who might yet emerge from the battle vindicated in his belief that he has finally conquered clay.
The binding factor is age. They certainly are not old, but neither are they unaware of the young challengers gathering in increasing numbers behind them. All three will have seen Roger Federer, 35 in August, walk away from a slam for the first time in 17 years of extraordinary excellence, a creaking legend powerless to fight his own body’s failings, and wondered quietly about their own strengths and weaknesses.
Djokovic, the most dominant No1 in the Open era and 29 on Sunday, is the logical favourite. Yet he is vulnerable, carrying the weight of expectation that does not normally worry him. For all that the Serb – who opens against Lu Yen-hsun – exudes off-court calm, he knows his path to a first title in Paris to complete a career slam will take him through a relatively easy first week then on towards a potential fourth semi-final against Nadal, who is reaching for his 10th title and has his own issues.
Djokovic, whose quarter-final victory last year was his first over Nadal at Roland Garros, still has that history to contend with. Nadal, similarly, has to prove to himself and to his sport that he is not spent, that he can celebrate his 30th birthday here by doing the incredible at least one more time.
The Spaniard, whose opening opponent is the big-serving Australian Sam Groth, is not ready to join Federer on the sidelines, temporarily or not. He is still hungry and his game is steadily coming back to him after a year when he became a target for every ambitious climber on the circuit.
Murray brings the most encouraging form and energy to the second slam of the season. He beat Nadal in the semi-finals in Madrid and Djokovic in the final in Rome. Over the past 12 months, since making his clay breakthrough by beating Nadal in Madrid, he has an 85% winning record on the surface, better than anyone else. That in itself is remarkable for a player once perceived as a struggling clay-courter. Nadal, who should know, never thought that. In Monte Carlo this year, he dismissed the notion out of hand: “Andy is a great player on any surface. He is a great player on clay.”
Murray might shy away from the description great just yet. But, after an early-season dip, he is playing his best for a little while, whatever the surface – and hopes to demonstrate it in the first round against Radek Stepanek, the veteran who was his second opponent on his Wimbledon debut in 2005. In Rome, Murray devastated Djokovic, who collapsed mentally in conditions both players regarded as dangerous.
Murray, the acme of diplomacy, suppressed a smile and said: “To be honest, I think it was quite normal. He was probably going into the match a bit tired, as well, so he was quite frustrated from early on. But, from my side, I did a good job. I stayed solid the whole way through. Any time there was danger, I handled those situations well. I was pretty calm, made good decisions under pressure and that’s what you need to do on clay.
“I didn’t rush any of those points, I was nice and patient. My serve was huge for me – not just last week but through Madrid as well [where he lost to Djokovic in the final]. I need to serve well to beat the best players, but I’ve made big improvements on that side of things and hopefully it keeps going that way.”
Murray has often gone deep in this tournament. This year, he senses he is better placed than ever to go the whole way. “It would be great to reach the final, but I’m a long way from doing that. That is what has been nice for me the last couple of years in the clay season. I have been doing stuff I’d never done before on this surface. It was nice at this stage in my career to achieve things that I’d never done and maybe thought that I wouldn’t. Like the Davis Cup, for example. That was something I never thought we’d do and that made it more special.
“Winning in Rome – I’d had some terrible times there over the years with injuries, with my back, so to win there was amazing, one of my nicest wins. I really enjoyed that.
“This is the only slam [where] I haven’t played the final. So if I could do that, I would have played in the final of pretty much all the major events bar Monte Carlo, I think. It would be nice... but I’m not here to just reach the final.”
That was a mildly chilling declaration. Murray, though, is now a quiet assassin, not the emotional ball of energy that flirted with great deeds and destruction in the space of a single rally sometimes. And he is in no doubt as to where his new perspective springs from.
“It’s been great so far,” he says of having his young daughter, Sophia, on tour with him and Kim, his wife. “She has travelled well, too, sleeping good, which makes a big difference. We have adjoining rooms so I sleep next door during tournaments. But, even when we’re back home, she has been great. No complaints.
“I try to be home every night for bath time. I do as much as I can to help. Every week it’s getting better, easier. Once she starts moving around, everyone tells me, that’s when it gets more complicated.
“She’s a lot more smiley than me, that’s for sure. I don’t know if she gets that from Kim. She has been very calm and chilled so far. I haven’t done anything competitive with her yet, so I don’t know if she is going to have my genes there. Hopefully not.”
Self-deprecatory to the end, Mr Murray.
