He certainly left his indelible mark in Paris. A larger-than-life statue was erected near an entrance to the tournament grounds in 2021, while he was still active; a ceremony honoring him will be held Sunday in the main stadium, Court Philippe-Chatrier, after the first three matches of Day 1.

As a sports writer, Christopher Clarey covered more than a hundred Grand Slam tennis tournaments (and 15 Olympics) for the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune, besides authoring the acclaimed 2021 book The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer.

For quite some time, there’s usually been a sense of certainty at the French Open. That was particularly so on the men’s side, with Rafael Nadal ruling over the red clay of Roland-Garros the way no one has dominated any tournament in tennis history.