The clay season is over but what a clay season it was! There were so many ups and downs throughout this French Open, be it on the fantasy leaderboard or in the ladies singles final. We have the first man to win 23 grand slam singles after Novak Djokovic got the better of Casper Ruud in the final in straight sets. Ruud has a great record in grand slam semi-finals, winning all 3 semi-finals which he has played. Unfortunately for the Norwegian he is yet to win a grand slam final but when you look at who he has lost to in the finals, you have to feel slightly sad for him. Losing to Nadal last year at Roland Garros, Alcaraz in the US Open final and now Djokovic in this years Roland Garros final. Those are some big names to play in grand slam finals. Congratulations to Novak for getting the job done.

Swiatek managed to back up her Roland Garros title from last year but it was a lot less 1 sided this year as Muchova put up a great fight in her first grand slam final. The unseeded Czech player ,who is now the world number 16 after this years French Open, found herself down a set and 3-0 before she managed to play her A game. She hit back taking the second set 7-5 and then she led by a break 4-3 in the 3rd and deciding set. Swiatek though used her experience to win the next 3 games, breaking Muchova twice to win her 3rd French Open. She continues to prove while she is number 1 in the world.

Now onto the fantasy leaderboard which is what everyone is waiting for…and what a French Open we have had with regards to the fantasy leaderboard. Huge moves throughout but some of the biggest moves happened late on and provided heartbreak for some and ecstasy for others.
Firstly I would like to mention ‘Royal Roland’ who was one team who will have some heartbreak after this fantasy competition. They led the competition for a total of 8 days but sadly for them they ended up finishing without a prize in 9th. ‘Odd Balls’ and ‘Ronan Garros’ were so close yet so far as they finished in 7th and 8th.
Then I want to keep you in suspense so I want to congratulate the 15 teams which are highlighted in blue because these 15 teams picked both the winners, Swiatek and Djokovic.

In 1st Place is ‘Royal Gamers‘. They left it late but they moved up 6 spaces on the men’s semi-final day to lead for the first time. They then held their lead after the finals as they picked Swiatek and both of the men’s finalists. They will be taking home the grand prize of R1100 after taking the French Open by 6 points.

In 2nd Place is ‘Team Kudu’. ‘Team Kudu’ entered for the first time and what a debut they have had coming 2nd and taking home the R500. They were another team who left their move late. They were sitting top half for a while before managing to finally entering into the top 6 on day 10. They then moved into 2nd spot on the men’s semi-final day which seems to be the day that decided the outcome of the fantasy league. Congratulations ‘Team Kudu’.

The last podium spot was just 1 point behind 2nd place. In 3rd Place is ‘Rolanding on a River‘. They were in the mix for many days in this fantasy league but were constantly jumping in and out of the top 6. They will be relieved for sure to finish in the top 6 but even happier that they have finished in the podium spot. They will be taking home R300 for their efforts.

4th Place was ‘Serving you Right‘ who was 4 points off 3rd spot. They managed to move up a spot after the finals and therefore are taking home R50 more than if they had remained in 5th. They will be taking home R150.

5th Place was ‘Volley Vibes‘ who I am sure will have mixed feelings after finishing in 5th position. At one point they looked like the team to beat as they were challenging ‘Royal Roland’ for the lead. Unfortunately they only picked the ladies winner and not the men’s winner which is why they dropped 3 places on finals day. They will be taking home R100.

The last prize position was 6th place. This was the first time we had 6 prizes to give away so thanks to everyone for entering to allow so much prize money to be given away. In 6th Place, sits ‘Nandos‘. They were in and out of the top 6 throughout the competition and after the men’s semi-finals they did not look to be winning a prize but a huge push on finals day moved them up 3 places and into 6th place. They will be taking home R50.

A reminder that the Wooden Spoon will be going to ‘Slider 2‘ who finished in last place, only scoring 96 points. They were also the only team not to reach the 100 mark.

Congratulations then has to go to ‘Team Kudu’, ‘Eiffel Flower’ and ‘Rolanding on a River’ as they all picked the best male team. Their male’s scored an impressive 151 points in the competition.

‘Serves you Right’ takes home the honours in the race for the best ladies team. Their ladies scored a very impressive 141 points.

Key:
Blue -> These teams picked both Djokovic and Swiatek who ended up winning Roland Garros 2023
Yellow -> These teams picked either Djokovic or Swiatek
Red -> These teams picked neither Djokovic or Swiatek

Ladies Final:

• Swiatek(1) beat Muchova – 6-2; 5-7; 6-4

Mens Final

• Djokovic(3) beat Ruud(4) – 7-6(1); 6-3; 7-5

The winning team was ‘Royal Gamers’. Here is the winning team for all to see:

The best team of males – ‘Team Kudu’, ‘Rolanding on a River’ and ‘Eiffel Flower’.

Team Kudu:

Team ‘Rolanding on a River’

Team ‘Eiffel Flower’

The best team of ladies goes to ‘Serves you Right’

Now onto the best possible team – The dream team:

Special Mentions to a few players who missed out on the dream team:

• Ruud – 46 points
• Pavlyuchenkova – 31 points
• Svitolina – 30 points

Thanks to everyone who entered! It has been a crazy French Open but somehow we ended with two winners which weren’t huge surprises.

Wimbledon entry form will open next week sometime. Lets see if we can beat the 73 entries we had this time round. See you all then!