French Open 2014 – Fixtures and Tickets

Edward 10/05/2014 no comments »
French Open 2014  – Fixtures and Tickets

The second Grand Slam event of the 2014 ATP Tour calendar will begin on May 25th when the French Open gets underway at Roland Garros, Paris.

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Eight-time French Open winner and defending champion Rafael Nadal will be aiming to continue his dominance of men’s clay court tennis in one of the ATP Tour’s most physically demanding events. The Spaniard beat fellow countryman David Ferrer in last season’s final, however the two face strong competition to reach this year’s showpiece event with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and 2009 winner Roger Federer all hoping to be crowned this year’s French Open Champion. Stanislas Wawrinka will also be one to watch in the 2014 tournament after the 29-year-old impressed many when defeating Rafael Nadal and claiming the first major of the year in the Australian Open back in January.

French duo Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be looking to impress on home soil and use the support of the crowd to realise their dreams of becoming the first Frenchman to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires since 1983. Should either Frenchman reach the final on the 8th of June they will certainly not be short of support.

In the women’s singles, Serena Williams is the strong favourite to retain her crown and be named French Open Champion for the third time in her career. The powerful American saw off the challenge of Maria Sharapova in last year’s final and, along with top contenders Li Na and Victoria Azarenka, the Russian will be looking to topple the WTA number one ranked player.

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from £

French Open Tickets

For the Qualifying: half-priced tickets can be purchased at ticket counters after 4pm: 10€ for adults and 5€ for children under 20 years old.

Tickets for the main dates start at 30€ for Outside Court tickets. Courtside tickets range from 36€ to 170€ depending on Court and Category. A great tickets package is also available for the Roland Garos semi-finals on June 5th and 6th which start at 196€ for Category 3, 260€ for Category 2 and 325€ for Category 3. The same applies for both French Open Finals, tickets start at 221€ for Category 3, 294€ for Category 2 and 368€ for Category 1.

During the 1st week of the tournament (from Sunday 25 to Saturday 31 May included), the courts No.2 and No.3 are only accessible to spectators with ‘Outside Courts’ tickets. Free entry for children under 6 years old (no ticket required).

Stadium

Roland Garros is the current home of the French Open. The tournament is famous for being played on the red clay, which is made up of a variety of different materials and topped off with a layer of red brick powder. Roland Garros has 3 large capacity stadiums, the biggest if the Phillippe Chatrier which holds 14, 840, next is the Suzzane Lenglen which holds 10,068 and Court 1 which holds 3,800. The grounds are situated in the French capital, Paris.

 

French Open 2013  – Fixtures and Tickets

The French Open is the second of the 4 major Grand Slams throughout a tennis season starting at the end of May and finishing the first week of June. The French Open is famous for being played on the orange clay courts, and ends the Spring clay season. Roland Garros has held the tournament since 1928.

Novak Djokovic is currently enjoying life as World Number One. He has recently just won the Australian Open after defeating upcoming Andy Murray. Roger Federer was narrowly knocked out by Murray and any 3 of these players could win the French Open. The top 3 players in the world will have to be stopped for anyone else to win this tournament. Rafael Nadal sat out the Australian Open and hasn’t hit a tennis ball competitively since being knocked out of Wimbledon back in 2012. He is currently the king of clay, winning the French Open 7 times out of the last 8 competitions. This Grand Slam could be the most eagerly anticipated, and it will be a true test as to how much ground Nadal has lost on Murray, Djokovic and Federer after his long absence from the game.

Women’s tennis is wide open currently at the moment, with any of the top 8 challenging for Grand Slam titles. World Number One Victoria Azarenka won the Australian Open, however, she was pushed all the way. Maria Sharapova is currently the French Open champion and is dominant on the clay court. Serena Williams is always a threat, but after her disappointing defeat to Sloane Stephens she could be an outsider. With the women’s draw wide open with no clear front runner, the women’s draw will be one to watch.

History

Between 1891 and 1924 there was a Championnat de France, which was known as a “French members only” with the first Women’s tournament in 1897. They used four venues during this time, they were; Ile do Puteaux, The Racing Club de France, Société Athlétique de la Villa Primrose and Tennis Club de Paris.

In 1928 the French Open was moved to Roland Garros where it has been ever since. The 3 hectares of land that was used to build where the championships are held was named after a World War 1 pilot. Centre Court was called the Phillippe Chatrier in 1988. In 1946 and 1947 the championships were held after Wimbledon, making it the third Grand Slam of the year.

In 1968, the French Open was the first of the Grand Slams to go open, which meant both amateurs and professionals, could compete in the championships. In 1981 there were new prizes introduced, the Prix Orange which was given out to the player demonstrating the best sportsmanship and cooperative attitude to the press. A second prize, the Prix Citron was given to the player who had the best character and personality and finally the Prix Bourgeon, to the revelation player of the year.

Since 2006, there was a novel move when they decided to start the tournament on the Sunday, with 12 feature matches being played on the 3 major courts. In 2007, it was announced that men and women would earn equal amounts of money throughout all rounds in the tournament for the first time. In 2010 as part of a rejuvenation of the tournament, announced it was thinking of moving away from Roland Garros.


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