French Open final classics to air on NBC

By OlympicTalkMay 28, 2020, 12:26 PM EDT

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Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Serena Williams highlight classic French Open finals that will air on NBC Sports the next two weekends, when the clay-court Grand Slam was due to be held before it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coverage starts at 1 p.m. ET on NBC on the next two Saturdays and Sundays. The broadcasts also stream on NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app.

First up: The 2012 men’s final between Nadal and Novak Djokovic (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET). Nadal prevailed in four sets for his seventh French Open title, breaking his tie with Bjorn Borg for the men’s record. Nadal tied Chris Evert‘s overall record, which he would break the following year.

The 2009 men’s final airs Sunday at 1 p.m. That’s when Roger Federer swept Robin Soderling to complete his career Grand Slam. Federer, who had lost the three previous French Open finals to Nadal, benefited from Soderling stunning the Spaniard in the fourth round.

The following weekend, the first French Open final between Federer and Nadal, from 2006, airs on June 6 at 1 p.m. Nadal came back from a set down to prevail in four, handing Federer his first defeat in a Grand Slam final.

The 2013 women’s final airs June 7 at 1 p.m. That featured Serena Williams facing Maria Sharapova in a Grand Slam final for the third of four times in their careers. Williams won in a sweep, extending her dominance over Sharapova (13th straight victory in their head-to-head, which ended up 20-2 by Sharapova’s retirement). Williams was arguably at her peak in 2012-13. With her second Roland Garros title, she ran her match win streak to 31.

The 2020 French Open was rescheduled to Sept. 20-Oct. 4, starting one week after the end of the U.S. Open.

MORE: Novak Djokovic’s career regret — the Olympics

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French Open Classics Schedule

DATE	EVENT	TIME (ET)	NETWORK
Sat., May 30	2012 French Open Men’s Final	1-4 p.m.	NBC \| STREAM LINK
Sun., May 31	2009 French Open Men’s Final	1-4 p.m.	NBC \| STREAM LINK
Sat., June 6	2006 French Open Men’s Final	1-4 p.m.	NBC \| STREAM LINK
Sun., June 7	2013 French Open Women’s Final	1-3 p.m.	NBC \| STREAM LINK

French Open: Daniil Medvedev stunned by 172nd-ranked qualifier

By OlympicTalkMay 30, 2023, 11:52 AM EDT

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No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev was eliminated by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild at the French Open, the first time a top-two men’s seed lost in the first round of a major in 20 years.

Seyboth Wild, a 23-year-old in his second-ever Grand Slam main draw match, prevailed 7-6 (5), 6-7 (8), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in more than four hours on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

“I’ve watched Daniil play for, like, my entire junior career until today, and I’ve always dreamed about playing on this court, playing these kind of players,” he said. “In my best dreams, I’ve beaten them, so it’s a dream come true.”

Seyboth Wild overcame the ranking disparity, the experience deficit (it was his first five-set match) and cramps. He began feeling them in the second set, and it affected his serve.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Seyboth Wild, who had strictly played in qualifying and lower-level Challenger events dating to February 2022, became the first man to take out a top-two seed at a Slam since Ivo Karlovic upset Lleyton Hewitt at 2003 Wimbledon, which ended up being the first major won by a member of the Big Three.

The last time it happened at the French Open was in 2000, when Mark Philippoussis ousted No. 2 Pete Sampras.

It’s the most seismic win by a Brazilian at the French Open — and perhaps any major — since the nation’s most successful man, Gustavo Kuerten, won his third Roland Garros title in 2001.

Tuesday marked the 26th anniversary of Kuerten’s first big splash in Paris, a third-round win over 1995 French Open champion Thomas Muster en route to his first Roland Garros title.

As a junior, Seyboth Wild won the 2018 U.S. Open and reached a best ranking of eighth in the world. Since, he played eight Grand Slam qualifying tournaments with a 1-8 record before advancing through qualifying last week.

The 2021 U.S. Open champion Medvedev entered the French Open having won the first clay tournament title of his career at the Italian Open, the last top-level event before Roland Garros.

Medvedev’s defeat leaves no major champions in the bottom half of the men’s draw. The top seeds left are No. 4 Casper Ruud, last year’s French Open and U.S. Open runner-up, and No. 6 Holger Rune. No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 3 Novak Djokovic play their second-round matches in the top half on Wednesday.

Women’s seeds to advance Tuesday included No. 6 Coco Gauff, who rallied past 71st-ranked Spaniard Rebeka Masarova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, plus No. 4 Elena Rybakina and No. 7 Ons Jabeur in straight sets.

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Olympians, Paralympians star on Top Chef World All-Stars in Paris

By OlympicTalkMay 30, 2023, 11:34 AM EDT

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls get a taste of Paris in this week’s episode of Top Chef World All-Stars, premiering Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

Olympic medalists Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Suni Lee and Paralympic medalists Mallory Weggemann and Hunter Woodhall team up with contestants for a cooking challenge in front of the Eiffel Tower, one year before the French capital hosts the Games.

Olympians have appeared on Top Chef before.

A 2020 episode set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Coliseum included Diana Taurasi, Rai Benjamin, Nastia Liukin, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Christian Coleman and Kerri Walsh Jennings.

A January 2018 episode featured figure skater Meryl Davis, freeskier Gus Kenworthy and skeleton slider John Daly, one month before the PyeongChang Winter Games.

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