This Date in French Open History: June 1

When Gabriela Sabatini stepped up to serve for a spot in her sixth Roland Garros semifinal in 1993, Mary Joe Fernandez focused on one objective: Extend a painfully lopsided match to the one-hour mark.

Staring at a humiliating 6-1, 5-1 deficit, Fernandez was desperate to save face. She wound up saving five match points and producing one of the greatest Grand Slam comebacks in history. Dropping 11 of the first 13 games, Fernandez staged a remarkable rally, playing with greater aggression in fighting back for a three-hour-and-36-minute-quarterfinal comeback against her good friend, who grew visibly tight after blowing a massive lead. “Never in doubt,” Fernandez joked with reporters immediately afterward.

The seventh-ranked Fernandez followed her astounding resurrection with a 6-2, 6-2, semifinal sweep of third-ranked Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, avenging a 1989 semifinal loss to the Spaniard by the same score. Fernandez then took the first set from second-ranked Steffi Graf in the final before losing, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Sabatini, who had won eight of her last 10 meetings with the seventh-ranked Fernandez, reached the quarterfinals two years later in her French Open farewell.

May 27 (1992): Connors goes down swinging
May 28 (1983): Horvath spoils perfection
May 29 (1998): Safin shocks the champ
May 30 (1999): Agassi defeats Moya
May 31 (2003): Robredo's remarkable rally
June 1 (1993): Fernandez foils a friend
June 2 (1994): Pierce pummels Graf in semis
June 3 (2001): Kuerten's comeback vs. Russell
June 4 (2005): Henin, the Queen of Clay
June 5 (2010): Francesca wins the final
June 6 (1989): The underdog's underhanded serve
June 7 (1981): Borg's final final-round triumph
June 8 (1996): 10-8 in the third: Graf vs. A. S-V
June 9 (2001): Capriati's 12-10 win over Clijsters
June 10 (1990): Gomez denies flashy Agassi