How well do you know the French Open, usually each year’s second Grand Slam tennis tournament but the third and last of 2020? Give this AP quiz a try:
1st Round: What is Rafael Nadal’s lifetime record in best-of-five-set matches on clay?
a.) 93-2
FILE - In this Saturday, June 6, 2015, file photo, Serena Williams holds the trophy after winning the final of the French Open tennis tournament against Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in three sets, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, at Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, France. The French Open begins Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP PhotoMichel Euler, File)
b.) 118-2
c.) 120-3
d.) 141-3
2nd Round: Ash Barty is sitting out the French Open after winning it a year ago. Who was the last woman to make it to at least the quarterfinals while trying to defend a Grand Slam title?
FILE - In this Wednesday, June 7, 2017, file photo, ball boys leave traces on the clay as Japan's Kei Nishikori and Britain's Andy Murray play their quarterfinal match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris. The French Open begins Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020.(AP PhotoPetr David Josek, File)
a.) Serena Williams
b.) Angelique Kerber
c.) Naomi Osaka
d.) Simona Halep
3rd Round: Who leads men’s tennis with the most tour-level match wins since 2016?
a.) Novak Djokovic
b.) Roger Federer
c.) Rafael Nadal
d.) Dominic Thiem
4th Round: Who was the last woman to win the French Open singles and doubles championships in the same year?
a.) Martina Hingis
b.) Serena Williams
c.) Mary Pierce
d.) Steffi Graf
Quarterfinal: Dominic Thiem has lost to Rafael Nadal in the past two French Open finals. In the history of a tournament that began in 1891 as the French Championships, how many men have been the runner-up three consecutive years against the same champion?
a.) zero
b.) 1
c.) 2
d.) 3
Semifinal: Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles championships, the most in the professional era and one behind Margaret Court’s all-era mark. How many Grand Slam singles titles have all other active women combined to win?
a.) 23
b.) 33
c.) 38
d.) 43
Women’s Final: What is the fewest number of games won in a French Open women’s final?
a.) zero
b.) 1
c.) 2
d.) 3
Men’s Final: Which player agreed to delay the final at Roland Garros for a day because his opponent was injured?
a.) Bjorn Borg
b.) Gustavo Kuerten
c.) Istvan Gulyas
d.) Sergi Bruguera
ANSWERS
1st Round. b. Nadal has a .983 winning percentage in best-of-five matches on the slow surface, including 93-2 at the French Open. The only losses came to Robin Soderling in 2009 and to Novak Djokovic in 2015.
2nd Round. d. Halep lost in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2019, a year after she won her first Grand Slam title there. Since then, the reigning champs at three majors (Kerber at Wimbledon in 2019, and Osaka at the 2019 U.S. Open and 2020 Australian Open) exited before the quarterfinals, and the reigning champs at the two most recent majors (Bianca Andreescu at the 2020 U.S. Open and now Barty) did not compete.
3rd Round. a. Djokovic is No. 1 in the ATP rankings and No. 1 on this list, with a 238-42 record since the start of 2016, a winning percentage of .850. Thiem is second in tour-level wins in that span, with 227, followed by Nadal with 225. Federer has 183.
4th Round. c. Pierce pulled off that double in 2000; the most recent woman to do it at any Grand Slam tournament was Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2016. Yevgeny Kafelnikov was the last man to take home singles and doubles trophies from one Grand Slam tournament, doing so at the French Open in 1996.
Quarterfinal. b. Just Federer, who lost to Nadal in the finals at Roland Garros in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Federer then beat Soderling to win the 2009 French Open, before losing to Nadal again in the 2011 final. André Vacherot also was the runner-up three years in a row from 1903-05, but he lost to two different opponents.
Semifinal. b. All other active women have won a combined total of 33 Grand Slam singles titles, led by Williams’ sister, Venus, with seven, followed by Kim Clijsters with four and Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber with three apiece. A total of 15 current players each has at least one major singles trophy.
Women’s Final. a. Steffi Graf beat Natalia Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in 34 minutes in the 1988 women’s singles final. Graf won a half-dozen sets by a 6-0 score during the tournament.
Men’s Final. c. Gulyas, a Hungarian, agreed to have the 1966 men’s singles final postponed for 24 hours because Tony Roche needed time to treat an ankle injury. Roche would up winning 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 — and Gulyas never reached another Grand Slam final.
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