The lessons of #RG18

And so it is over. Two weeks of drama and tension, a fortnight of tears of both joy and despair, and a couple of weeks of days of beltingly good tennis.

As Simona Halep and Rafa Nadal, the champions of Roland Garros 2018, enjoy a few days off to celebrate their success before the grass court season begins, what have we learned from this year’s French Open?

King Rafa

For 14 years they have been coming to Roland Garros, the young and the old, the good and the great, the champions and the hopefuls, and they have tried to stop Rafa from winning. With the exception of Robin Soderling in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in 2015, none have succeeded. And no one has done it in a final.

When Rafa won his first title in 2005, tennis was a young man’s sport – he was 19 and making his debut in Paris and he won days after his birthday. This year, as Dominic Thiem became the latest victim of Rafa in a final, tennis had apparently become an older man’s sport. The Might of Mallorca was now 32 and he was playing better than ever – youngsters could not compete.

But, in truth, tennis at Roland Garros belongs to no one but Rafa. Injury notwithstanding, it is hard to see anyone or anything stopping him on the red clay of Paris.

Simona Halep

What a story, what belief. To be one point away from a set and 4-0 lead over Jelena Ostapenko last year and then to lose in three sets was heart breaking. To lose three previous Grand Slam finals (against Maria Sharapova here four years ago and Caroline Wozniacki in Melbourne in January and that Ostapenko nightmare last summer) must have been soul destroying. But Simona hung tough. She had her moments – she and her coach Darren Cahill split up last year because of her on-court attitude – but she came back and she fought. From a set and a break down, she fought. And she won. Belief, courage and talent – heaps of it – is what sets champions apart. Simona has it in bucketloads. That is what champions are made of.

Never count Serena out

Nine months after having her first child and in only her first serious attempt at a comeback, it was business as usual for Serena Williams: making headlines, commanding centre stage and roaring into form. From a standing start, she got better and better with every round until an injury forced her to stop. But the speed with which she found her bearings on court and relit those competitive fires was simply remarkable. And had she not strained that right pectoral muscle, who knows what might have happened – with a 19-2 winning record over Maria Sharapova, her chances of beating the Russian looked good and once into the quarterfinals, there are few people who would bet against her heading for the final.

You can’t keep a good man down

There are some men who simply do not know when they are beaten, men like Nico Mahut. Five years ago, he was heartbroken to lose in the doubles final to the Bryan brothers. Then aged 31, he could not imagine that he would ever come as close to winning his home Grand Slam again. And he could not bear it.

But this year, hugging his young son and beaming from ear to ear, he lifted the trophy with Pierre Hugues Herbert after their 6-2, 7-6 win over Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. And talking of those ears, that win came only a couple of days after Herbert had clobbered Nico in the ear with a stray forehand and all but knocked him out. He is made of tough stuff, is Nico.

“I thought that [against the Bryans] was my only chance of winning Roland Garros,” he said. “Thanks to Pierre-Hugues, we are here five years after. I'm smiling, and I can tell you there is a real difference between losing in the finals and winning a final.”

And now, the weather…

And finally, we learned that roof or no roof (and remember, folks, a roof over a Court Philippe Chatrier near you is coming soon) and no matter how long the tournament is (and Roland Garros is the longest Slam of the four), the weather can still louse things up. The rain gods must hate tennis. But, no matter, we got there in the end.