In January we wondered whether Nadal would ever be the same; now we wonder how many French Opens he can win—11, 12, there seems to be no end in sight. Even at 27 and with his knees as they are, it appears that he’ll be a major factor at the top of the sport for years to come. We talk about Federer’s continued love for the game after 30; I think it’s a safe bet that Rafa will feel the same way. His eighth title at Roland Garros was more emotional than his first. As for the immediate future, Nadal got an important win over Novak Djokovic and raised his game higher in the final, as champs are supposed to do. He even played with his beloved “colm” when the French came after him with fire. But that’s old hat for Nadal by now. Rafa has been defying the tennis fans of Paris for nearly a decade. A+
Maria Sharapova
Was her 6-4, 6-4 loss to Serena a good or a bad sign? On the one hand, she played about as well as she can against Serena, and held her own the whole way. On the other, that wasn’t enough to get her a set. A smiling Sharapova took the positives from it, of course, and she should. Even if she didn’t find a way to play better than Serena, she found a way, with her deep ground strokes, to play with her. As a whole, her Paris title defense may also point to a new long-term consistency. This was the first time she had reached the final of a major that she won the previous year. And with her restrained but sincere concession speech, she remains a model of professionalism in defeat. A
David Ferrer
Daveed said he was nervous for the final, and that he didn’t show us his best. He was right; he played Nadal much closer in Madrid and Rome. Otherwise, Ferrer did what he was supposed to do. While he only faced one player in the Top 20, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Ferrer didn’t drop a set to any of them. Like Serena Williams, he’s playing his best tennis, and breaking new ground, at 31. Bonus points for his usual humility; there’s nothing fake or forced about it with Ferru. Double bonus points for bringing his parents, who are normally too nervous to watch in person. There was nothing old-hat about their reaction to seeing their son in a Grand Slam final. A
Novak Djokovic
This must be one of Djokovic’s toughest defeats, for at least three reasons. He had made Roland Garros his biggest goal for the year. He had been chasing Nadal here since 2006, when he had pronounced him “beatable” after their first match. And he was inspired by the memory of his late coach Jelena Gencic, who passed away during the event. Novak was just a few points from beating Rafa in a fifth set and most likely winning the tournament when...he ran into the net. Still, that net aside, he’s moving in the right direction. Last year he won a set from Nadal at Roland Garros for the first time. This year he won two. Someday he’s going to win three. A-
Victoria Azarenka
As with Maria, you can look at Vika’s tournament two ways. By making the semis, she advanced farther at Roland Garros than she had before. But when she got there, she lost her second straight match to her rival for No. 2, Sharapova. By the end of that one, Vika didn’t look, or sound, all that pleased. A-
Tommy Robredo
The game was as smooth as we remembered, but the grit and the emotion were something new for many of us. A run to be remembered. A-
Tommy Haas
What is this, Tommy 9.0 or so? He must be nearing the end of his nine tennis lives by now. But he’s not there yet, as he proved by beating John Isner on his 13th match point and hanging tough with Djokovic in the quarters. A-
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Predictably unpredictable, the former French champ came out of nowhere again to remind us what she can do. That is, hit with, and almost beat, Serena Williams. It will likely be forgotten, but she was a point away from being up 3-0 in the third set on her in the quarters. Is this a sign of things to come for Sveta? I’m not betting on it. B+
Jelena Jankovic
As with Robredo, it was nice to see this veteran’s game back near its best. The fluid movement, the down-the-line elan, the running commentary—she’s still a character at 28. In this age of the aged, maybe she can still be a threat, too. B+
The American Women
Four of 16 spots in the fourth round isn’t bad for a U.S. women’s contingent in Paris. Sloane Stephens reminded us why we believed in her; Jamie Hampton had a career-best win over Petra Kvitova; and, aside from Serena, Bethanie Mattek-Sands might have played the best tennis of all of them in her upset of 2011 champ Li Na. Which brings up a new and unexpected question: Can the Americans win on hard courts? B+