Here are the top 3 Roland Garros moments in the Open Era

2. Evert and Navratilova’s heavyweight 1985 battle

This rivalry was at the peak of women’s tennis. Marked as the greatest rivalry in tennis, the two fought 80 times in total and 14 times in Grand Slam finals. At this point in their rivalry, Navratilova had already taken control and was stringing together many of her big wins against Evert in the 80s and finished with a 35-12 record from 1979 until the end of their rivalry in 1988. Here at Roland Garros, however, Evert prevailed in what was one of their greatest matches and one fo the best in tournament history.

This 1985 battle was the best win of Evert’s 7 titles at the French Open. Although winning 5 previous to this one, her 6th marked that she still could go toe-to-toe with one of the best women’s tennis players ever. Evert had a streak on 8 years without a loss at the French Open in the 1970s but had fallen to second fiddle behind Navratilova in recent years.

After a 6-3, 6-1 loss the year prior in 1984, Evert rebounded and won her 6th title in a 6–3, 6–7, 7–5 victory. Although she wasn’t successful in the latter part of their rivalry, she still proved her claim as one of the best players in the WTA.