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The longtime dominance of Roger Federer and the emergence of Stan Wawrinka have kept Swiss tennis fans spoiled for nearly a decade. Swiss Heinz Gunthardt - now a noted television commentator and former coach of Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriati and Ana Ivanovic - says his countrymen may not realise what an extraordinary period they are witnessing in the sport.
“We are extremely spoiled to have Roger Federer, but I also believe that he has very high expectations of himself and these expectations have even increased over the years,” Gunthardt said in a Credit Suisse newsletter dedicated to Federer, who also endorses the bank.
Gunthardt said that Federer showed his iron will by coming back at the end of his dismal 2013 season to return to the top five. “The 2013 season actually had two halves. In part, the first six months were really poor from his point of view - especially the summer tournaments in Gstaad and Hamburg (bad back) - and then came the autumn (final in Basel and semis in Paris and London) when we could already see that he was returning to his former strength.”
Gunthardt said he never doubts when Federer is concerned, even to the point of winning a record 18th grand slam title with Wimbledon approaching.
“That (winning a slam) you always doubt because every tournament of this magnitude is difficult to win. There’s no guarantee even if he’s playing his best tennis. That said, I do think that Roger Federer should be able to win another grand slam tournament if he is at the top of his game.”
Gunthardt also likes the outlook for Wawrinka, who won the Australian open over Rafael Nadal. “I believed in the possibility that he could win even before the Australian Open. Especially if a combination of elements were to work in his favour.
“He also had a bit of luck: Two opponents couldn’t play, it was 40 degrees in the shade, yet he didn’t have to play in the heat of the day once, and in the final Nadal was in poor shape after only one set.
“Nevertheless, Wawrinka was good enough to make his way through the whole tournament to the final. He had already won a few difficult matches, particularly the one against Novak Djokovic. And at the end of the day the fortunate circumstances helped him to a win.”
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Roland Garros continues to expand its brand in China, possibly taking advantage of Wimbledon’s retreat from the world’s growth region with the closure of a Championships commercial office last year.
In contrast, French Open officials are storming ahead with a project to draw more Chinese tennis fans into the television viewing audience. The tournament has announced the return of the “Roland Garros in China” project, staged in Beijing in 2012 and 2013, which was this week expanded to the commercial capital of Shanghai.
This event, which ended its five-day run at the weekend, was held at the Beijing Olympic Park, next to the iconic Bird’s Nest stadium and the Water Cube. In Shanghai, the venue was Century Square.
Sponsors Longines and Peugeot paved the way on the financial front as people in the country’s two largest cities got the chance to experience the tournament first hand. Clay courts were laid out next to giant screens showing matches. There were also mini-tennis courts, a sponsor area and events including the “Longines Smash Corner.”
Last March, Paris officials began laying the groundwork for the massive public relations effort by staging a play off for six Roland Garros ballkid sports reserved for young Chinese. The two trophies, Coupe des Mousquetaires and the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen, also toured China three months ago.
The French federation is hoping to stamp its identity on China’s 80 million tennis player - 15 million more people than the entire French population - by making tennis synonymous with the iconic red clay of Paris.