Changing of the tennis guard
Though it hasn’t happened overnight, the rapid rise of local and international stars is likely to reach a summit in a changing of the guard when the French Open gets underway at Roland Garros on Sunday.
From a South African perspective, Kevin Anderson will be missing from the tournament for only the second time in 15 years (he was sidelined in 2019 by an elbow injury) after recently announcing his retirement.
While the big-serving former world No 5 reserved his career-best Grand Slam performances for the US Open and Wimbledon tournaments, where he reached the finals, he progressed to the fourth round on four occasions at the French Open.
And while he won’t be competing at the clay court event, 25-year-old top-flight prospect Lloyd Harris will carry the SA flag in his absence, in search of another breakthrough result.
Harris has never progressed beyond the second round at Roland Garros, but he reached the quarterfinals at last year’s US Open and made it to the fourth round of the Miami Open a couple of months ago, and he will be eager to shine again.
To make an impact, however, Harris will have to put up a fight against a strong field which includes two dangerous Spaniards.
Though 35-year-old Rafael Nadal looks to have recovered sufficiently from injury and will go in search of a record 14th French Open title, it is his 19-year-old compatriot Carlos Alcaraz who could be toughest to beat.
A quarterfinalist at last year’s US Open, Alcaraz has won two Masters tournaments this year – in Miami and Madrid – and he will be eager to take the baton from Nadal after rocketing to No 6 in the world.
In the women’s tournament, though there won’t be any local interest in the hunt for the singles title, there will be plenty of focus on Iga Swiatek.
The 20-year-old Polish star won the French Open in 2020 and has since risen to No 1 in the world rankings.
She is coming off the back of an incredible run, having won her last five tournaments including the Masters events at Indian Wells and Miami.