2013 French Open
The 2013 French Open, officially known as Roland-Garros, was the 112th edition of the prestigious clay-court Grand Slam tennis tournament and the second major of the 2013 ATP and WTA Tours. Held at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France, from 26 May to 9 June 2013, it featured professional events in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles across multiple categories, drawing top global talent to the red clay courts renowned for their demanding physicality and high-bouncing balls.[1] The tournament offered a record total prize money of €22 million (approximately $28.7 million USD), with singles champions earning €1.5 million each, marking a significant increase from previous years to promote gender equality and player compensation.[2] In the men's singles, three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain secured his eighth French Open title—and a record eighth at any single Grand Slam event—by defeating compatriot David Ferrer 6–3, 6–2, 6–3 in the final, extending his unbeaten streak on the Paris clay to 28 matches.[3] Nadal's path included a grueling semifinal victory over Novak Djokovic in one of the longest matches in tournament history, lasting 4 hours and 37 minutes and ending 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–7(3), 9–7, showcasing the epic rivalry between the two players.[4] Meanwhile, in the women's singles, world No. 1 Serena Williams of the United States claimed her second French Open crown and 16th Grand Slam singles title overall, overpowering Maria Sharapova 6–4, 6–4 in the final. Williams had previously completed a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.[3] Williams dominated the draw, dropping just one set en route to the title, solidifying her status as the event's preeminent force on clay during this era.[5] The doubles competitions highlighted teamwork and endurance, with the American twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan capturing the men's doubles title for a record-extending 14th Grand Slam crown, rallying from a set down to defeat French wildcards Michaël Llodra and Nicolas Mahut 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7–2) in the final.[6] In women's doubles, unseeded Russian pair Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina staged an upset by toppling defending champions Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci of Italy 6–4, 6–4, marking their first Grand Slam title as a team.[7] The mixed doubles event culminated with Czech duo Lucie Hradecká and František Čermák prevailing over Canada's Daniel Nestor and France's Kristina Mladenovic 1–6, 6–4, [10–6], providing an underdog story amid the high-stakes singles drama.[8] Beyond the champions, the tournament featured standout moments such as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's straight-sets quarterfinal upset of six-time finalist Roger Federer, ending the Swiss star's streak of 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances and injecting home-crowd energy into the proceedings.[3] These results underscored the 2013 edition's blend of dominance by established legends like Nadal and Williams with thrilling upsets and rivalries, cementing its place as a pivotal event in the tennis calendar that year.Overview
Dates and venue
The 2013 French Open took place from 26 May to 9 June at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, serving as the second Grand Slam tournament of the annual calendar.[9][10] The venue, named after French aviator Roland Garros, features 20 outdoor clay courts, including three main stadium courts: Court Philippe-Chatrier as the primary show court with a capacity of about 15,000 spectators, Court Suzanne Lenglen seating around 10,000, and Court 1 (the Bullring) accommodating roughly 3,800.[11] This clay surface configuration underscores the tournament's emphasis on endurance and baseline play, distinctive among the majors. Typical Parisian spring weather, characterized by intermittent rain, impacted the schedule with multiple delays, notably a 2½-hour postponement on day three that limited early play and required rescheduling adjustments.[12] Additional showers throughout the fortnight, including on days four and five, briefly halted matches but did not significantly alter the overall progression.[13]Tournament summary
The 2013 French Open, held at Stade Roland Garros from 26 May to 9 June, showcased the return to dominance of several top players overcoming recent injuries and setbacks. Rafael Nadal captured his eighth men's singles title—a new record—defeating compatriot David Ferrer in the final and surpassing Björn Borg's six Open Era triumphs at the tournament.[14][4] In the women's singles, Serena Williams delivered a commanding performance to secure her second French Open crown and 16th Grand Slam singles title overall, overpowering defending champion Maria Sharapova in the final.[15][16] The twins Bob and Mike Bryan extended their men's doubles supremacy by claiming their second French Open title as a pair, marking their 14th major doubles crown.[17][18] A key storyline was the resurgence of elite competitors following injury-plagued seasons; Nadal, sidelined for much of 2012 due to knee tendinitis, reasserted his clay-court mastery, while Williams, who had battled pulmonary embolism in 2010 and foot injuries, completed a historic "triple crown" by winning the three premier clay events leading into Paris.[19][20] The women's final also marked the first clash between the top two seeds since 1995, highlighting a rare alignment of form among the leading players.[21][16] With a total prize pool of €22 million—the lowest among the four majors that year—the event maintained its traditional format without significant rule alterations.[22] The tournament featured standard Grand Slam structures, including 128-player draws for men's and women's singles (256 players combined) and 64-team draws for each doubles event (128 teams combined), emphasizing endurance on the slow red clay surface.[23][24]Organization and Format
Surface, draws, and scheduling
The 2013 French Open was contested on outdoor red clay courts at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The surface, composed of crushed red bricks, promotes slower ball speeds and higher bounces compared to grass or hard courts, influencing longer rallies and rewarding defensive play with heavy topspin. Court preparation involved daily watering and rolling by groundskeepers to ensure uniform firmness, with raking of the playing area and sweeping of lines performed at the end of each set during matches to preserve optimal conditions.[25][26][27] Draw sizes adhered to Grand Slam standards, with 128-player main draws for both men's and women's singles, filled by direct entries, qualifiers, wild cards, and protected rankings. The singles qualifying draw also featured 128 players, advancing 16 to the main draw for each gender. Doubles events included 64 teams in the main draws for men and women, with mixed doubles comprising 48 teams; qualifying was limited to singles. Men's singles matches were contested over the best of five sets, while women's singles and all doubles utilized the best of three sets.[23][27] The tournament spanned two weeks in a traditional format, with qualifying rounds from May 20 to 24 and the main draw from May 26 to June 9. Daily play occurred except for a rest day on June 2, starting at 11:00 a.m. local time on outer courts and 2:00 p.m. on principal show courts like Philippe-Chatrier. No dedicated night sessions were held, as floodlights and a retractable roof for extended play remained in development.[1][28] Scoring followed International Tennis Federation guidelines, with tiebreaks at 6-6 in non-deciding sets requiring a win by two points to seven. However, the deciding set in singles matches—fifth for men and third for women—had no tiebreak, mandating a two-game lead regardless of score, which often extended matches on the endurance-testing clay.[29]Points distribution
The 2013 French Open awarded ranking points according to the standardized Grand Slam scale established by the ATP and WTA tours, providing the maximum points allocation among all clay court tournaments that year. These points contributed to players' year-end rankings and determined qualification for subsequent events, with identical distribution across all four Grand Slams but elevated value relative to non-Grand Slam clay competitions like the ATP/WTA 500-level events, which offered up to 500 points for winners.[30]Seniors Points
For senior singles events (men's and women's), points were distributed based on the round reached in the 128-player draw, emphasizing deep advancement in the best-of-five-set format for men and best-of-three for women.| Round | Points |
|---|---|
| Winner | 2000 |
| Runner-up | 1200 |
| Semifinals | 720 |
| Quarterfinals | 360 |
| Round of 16 | 180 |
| Round of 32 | 90 |
| Round of 64 | 45 |
| First round | 10 |
| Round | Points |
|---|---|
| Winners | 2000 |
| Runners-up | 1200 |
| Semifinals | 720 |
| Quarterfinals | 360 |
| Round of 16 | 180 |
| First round | 90 |
Wheelchair Points
Wheelchair tennis at the 2013 French Open operated under the ITF's scaled system for Grand Slam-level Super Series events, awarding points across men's, women's, and quad divisions to reflect the smaller draw sizes (8 players for singles, 4 teams for doubles). Draws featured a third-place match for semifinal losers. The winner of singles events received 800 points, with distribution prioritizing performance in the main draw. This structure remained consistent with prior years, focusing on accessibility and competitive balance in the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour.[31]| Round | Singles Points | Doubles Points |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 800 | 800 |
| Runner-up | 500 | 500 |
| Third place/Semifinalist | 375 | 375 |
| Fourth place/Quarterfinalist | 100 | 100 |
Junior Points
Junior events contributed to the ITF World Junior Tennis Rankings, with the 2013 French Open as a Grade A tournament featuring bonus points for each round advanced to incentivize participation in major championships. Boys' and girls' singles winners earned 500 points, underscoring the event's role in transitioning top juniors to professional circuits. The system applied uniformly to singles and doubles, with doubles scaled slightly lower.[32]| Round | Singles Points | Doubles Points |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 500 | 375 |
| Runner-up | 300 | 225 |
| Semifinals | 180 | 135 |
| Quarterfinals | 120 | 90 |
| Round of 16 | 75 | 60 |
| Round of 32 | 40 | 32 |
| Round of 64 | 20 | N/A |
Prize money
The 2013 French Open distributed a total prize money purse of €22 million, marking a 17.6% increase from the €18.7 million offered in 2012 and positioning it as the second-lowest total among the four Grand Slams that year, behind the Australian Open's A$30 million (approximately €22.1 million at May 2013 exchange rates), ahead of Wimbledon's £16.06 million (approximately €18.8 million), and the US Open's $29.16 million (approximately €21.5 million).[33][22][34][35][36] The French Tennis Federation emphasized equal pay for men's and women's singles champions, a policy in place since 2006, with each receiving €1.5 million—20% more than the €1.25 million awarded to the 2012 winners.[33][37] Prize money in singles events was structured to provide substantial increases for early-round participants, with first-round losers earning €21,000 (a 17% rise from 2012) and second-round losers receiving €35,000 (a 25% increase).[37] The full singles distribution per player is as follows:| Round | Amount (€) |
|---|---|
| Winner | 1,500,000 |
| Runner-up | 750,000 |
| Semi-finalist | 375,000 |
| Quarterfinalist | 190,000 |
| Round of 16 | 100,000 |
| Round of 32 | 60,000 |
| Round of 64 | 35,000 |
| First round | 21,000 |
| Round | Amount (€) |
|---|---|
| Winners | 360,000 |
| Runners-up | 180,000 |
| Semi-finalists | 90,000 |
| Quarterfinalists | 50,000 |
| Round of 16 | 28,000 |
| Second round | 15,000 |
| First round | 8,000 |
Player Entry and Qualification
Seeding
The seeding for the 2013 French Open singles draws was determined strictly according to the ATP and WTA rankings released on May 20, 2013, the Monday two weeks before the tournament began, with no special adjustments for surface performance or past results at Roland Garros. Withdrawals by top-ranked players, including Andy Murray (No. 2) on May 21 due to a back injury and Juan Martín del Potro (No. 7) on May 23 due to a viral infection, led to reshuffling of the seed positions among the remaining entrants from the top 32 rankings. No protected rankings were granted, as none of the players eligible under ATP or WTA special ranking rules had recently returned from extended absences.[41][42] The 32 seeds were placed in the draw following standard Grand Slam procedures to minimize early clashes: the No. 1 seed was positioned at the top of the bracket, the No. 2 seed at the bottom, Nos. 3 and 4 alternated into the opposite halves, and seeds 5 through 32 were distributed across the eight quarters in descending order to stagger potential quarterfinal matchups.Men's Singles Seeds
The men's draw was led by world No. 1 Novak Djokovic as the top seed, with Rafael Nadal seeded third following the adjustments for withdrawals.| Seed | Player | Country | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Novak Djokovic | Serbia | 1 |
| 2 | Roger Federer | Switzerland | 3 |
| 3 | Rafael Nadal | Spain | 4 |
| 4 | David Ferrer | Spain | 5 |
| 5 | Tomáš Berdych | Czech Republic | 6 |
| 6 | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | France | 8 |
| 7 | Richard Gasquet | France | 9 |
| 8 | Janko Tipsarević | Serbia | 10 |
| 9 | Stanislas Wawrinka | Switzerland | 11 |
| 10 | Marin Čilić | Croatia | 12 |
| 11 | Nicolás Almagro | Spain | 13 |
| 12 | Tommy Haas | Germany | 14 |
| 13 | Kei Nishikori | Japan | 15 |
| 14 | Milos Raonic | Canada | 16 |
| 15 | Gilles Simon | France | 17 |
| 16 | Philipp Kohlschreiber | Germany | 18 |
| 17 | Juan Mónaco | Argentina | 19 |
| 18 | Sam Querrey | United States | 20 |
| 19 | John Isner | United States | 21 |
| 20 | Andreas Seppi | Italy | 22 |
| 21 | Jerzy Janowicz | Poland | 23 |
| 22 | Alexandr Dolgopolov | Ukraine | 24 |
| 23 | Kevin Anderson | South Africa | 25 |
| 24 | Benoît Paire | France | 26 |
| 25 | Jérémy Chardy | France | 27 |
| 26 | Grigor Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 28 |
| 27 | Fabio Fognini | Italy | 29 |
| 28 | Florian Mayer | Germany | 30 |
| 29 | Mikhail Youzhny | Russia | 31 |
| 30 | Julien Benneteau | France | 32 |
| 31 | Marcel Granollers | Spain | 33 |
| 32 | Tommy Robredo | Spain | 34 |
Women's Singles Seeds
The women's draw was topped by world No. 1 Serena Williams, followed by Maria Sharapova as the defending champion and No. 2 seed, with no major reshuffles due to withdrawals among the top ranks.| Seed | Player | Country | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serena Williams | United States | 1 |
| 2 | Maria Sharapova | Russia | 2 |
| 3 | Victoria Azarenka | Belarus | 3 |
| 4 | Agnieszka Radwańska | Poland | 4 |
| 5 | Sara Errani | Italy | 5 |
| 6 | Li Na | China | 6 |
| 7 | Petra Kvitová | Czech Republic | 7 |
| 8 | Angelique Kerber | Germany | 8 |
| 9 | Samantha Stosur | Australia | 9 |
| 10 | Caroline Wozniacki | Denmark | 10 |
| 11 | Nadia Petrova | Russia | 11 |
| 12 | Maria Kirilenko | Russia | 12 |
| 13 | Marion Bartoli | France | 13 |
| 14 | Ana Ivanovic | Serbia | 14 |
| 15 | Roberta Vinci | Italy | 15 |
| 16 | Dominika Cibulková | Slovakia | 16 |
| 17 | Sloane Stephens | United States | 17 |
| 18 | Jelena Janković | Serbia | 18 |
| 19 | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | Russia | 19 |
| 20 | Carla Suárez Navarro | Spain | 20 |
| 21 | Kirsten Flipkens | Belgium | 21 |
| 22 | Ekaterina Makarova | Russia | 22 |
| 23 | Klára Zakopalová | Czech Republic | 23 |
| 24 | Julia Görges | Germany | 24 |
| 25 | Lucie Šafářová | Czech Republic | 25 |
| 26 | Sorana Cîrstea | Romania | 26 |
| 27 | Yaroslava Shvedova | Kazakhstan | 27 |
| 28 | Tamira Paszek | Austria | 28 |
| 29 | Varvara Lepchenko | United States | 29 |
| 30 | Venus Williams | United States | 30 |
| 31 | Alizé Cornet | France | 31 |
| 32 | Sabine Lisicki | Germany | 32 |