Six of the best: our favourite RG moments

From champs' kids flossing to ballkids sent flying, here are some stories that brought the event to life in 2018.

Roland-Garros Terre battue© Cedric Lecocq / FFT
 - Michael Beattie
Trungelliti’s time trial

Bundled out of qualifying on the day of the Roland-Garros draw, Argentina's Marco Trungelliti was back at his Barcelona base entertaining his visiting family when his coach called. It might be worth getting back to Roland-Garros, came the advice, as a string of lucky loser spots had opened up - and on Sunday, the withdrawal of Nick Kyrgios put him next in line.

Fearing strike action at the airports, Trungelliti loaded up his rented car with his bags, his brother, and his mom and grandmother and drove east, reaching Paris shortly before midnight on the first day of the tournament. The next morning he signed in and stunned Bernard Tomic later that same day...

Sloane sets the record straight

Statistics, hey? Who needs ’em. Sloane Stephens certainly wasn't having it following her run to the Roland-Garros final. The reigning US Open champion had something to say to those members of the press who highlighted her record away from American soil:

Pick on someone your own size!

Cheap shot, Damir. Poor kid never saw it coming…

Midway through his third-round encounter with Alexander Zverev, Damir Dzumhur miscued a ball high into the sky. Fancying a challenge, he ran and reached out as it dropped, eyes locked on the ball - same as the ballkid with the same plan. Now, Damir's not the biggest player on tour, but his 5'9" frame was certainly enough to poleaxe the poor kid, who left the court in a daze.

(We can confirm: he's okay, folks!)



Delpo delights les Bleus

The World Cup came to Court 18 when Juan Martin del Potro beat John Isner to book his spot in the quarter-finals. Delpo may be a dyed-in-the-wool Argentina fan - he supports Boca Juniors, Maradona's club - but was more than happy to join the French fans in a post-match rendition of 'Allez Les Bleus!' in the far corner of Stade Roland-Garros.

“There was a lady singing all the time, like ‘USA’ and we are in France, and I know your song," he explained. "So that's what I did. I have great relations with the French fans, so I'm excited to keep playing here because they are so kind with me.”

Still, looks like there's no hard feelings between the two towering giants:



‘Where are you from, buddy?’

Yorkshire, Sascha. God’s country, if the locals are to be believed…



Mahut: doubles champ. Mahut Jr: flossing champ

For a minute, Daddy Mahut was a Grand Slam champion in his own country, listening to fans regale him and Pierre-Hugues Herbert with La Marseillaise. Within seconds, he was the supporting act to one of the cutest moments in Roland-Garros history:



What's more: the kid's got moves: