2008

Highlights of the tournament

The 80th anniversary of the Roland Garros stadium is commemorated in various different ways, one of the most spectacular being the fly-over above Philippe Chatrier Court by eight Alpha jets on the Sunday before the men’s final. To celebrate the anniversary, Centre Court also gets a new stand, named after René Lacoste. The three other stands around Philippe Chatrier Court are also renamed after the other three Musketeers of French tennis: Henri Cochet, Jean Borotra and Jacques Brugnon. 

On court, Roland-Garros sees yet another tour de force by Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who wins for the fourth time in a row (following in the footsteps of Borg from 1978 – 1981). He has still yet to taste defeat in Paris and in 2008 does not drop so much as a set during the fortnight. 

Ana Ivanovic wins the women’s singles, a result which takes her to the top of the women’s rankings the following Monday. The 20-year-old Serb, who had already made the final in 2007, underlines her potential by taking down Dinara Safina. 

The first edition of “Roland Garros in the City”, held on the esplanade outside Paris city hall, is a resounding success. 

Over the five days of the event, more than 15,000 people come along to watch live broadcasts of key matchs from the tournament.