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French Open 2013: Another chapter in the book of Grand Slam Tennis

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Irrespective of who you are and where your interests lie, everyone has their eyes set on France in the months of May and June. The movie buffs are in for a treat as they witness yet another installment of the magnificent Cannes Film Festival and the sports fanatics are busy rooting for their favourite tennis stars as they make their way to Paris in a bid to make history by winning the French Open, The Glorious International Tennis Tournament held in Paris every year for two weeks between end of May and June.

French Open which is alternatively referred to as Roland Garros after the French aviator with the same name, was first held in 1891 and ever since then it has increased in it’s popularity and sheer magnitude by leaps and bounds. With more and more money riding on it every year, and the popularity of tennis rivaling that of soccer and cricket, the 112th edition of the French Open had the entire world’s eyes glued on Paris from 26th May to 9th June this year. Titles were up for grabs in Men and Women’s Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles. Juniors and players on wheelchairs also competed in Singles and Doubles.

The frenzy that lasted two weeks ended with the declaration of results on the last two days. Serena Williams defeated the defending champion Maria Sharapova and went on to win the title for the second time. Her first win was eleven years earlier in 2002. Rafael Nadal emerged as the champion in the men’s singles category on the last day of the event. He was not only the defending champion but has also won the title seven other times summing his totals to an astronomical eight. In addition to winning this prestigious title, the two also got a cash prize of a whooping €1,500,000 each. Russian Players Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina won the Women’s Doubles after they defeated Sara Errani and Robert Vinci from Italy. Americans, Bob Byron and Mike Byron, won the Men’s Doubles against Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut from France. The prize money awarded to the winners amounted to €360,000.

The rest of the winners included Lucie Hradecká and František ?ermák (Mixed Doubles), ChritianGarin (Boy’s Singles), Belinda Bencic (Girl’s Singles), Kyle Edmund and Frederico Ferreira Silva (Boy’s Doubles), Barbora Zahlavova and Kate?ina Siniaková (Girl’s Doubles),Stéphane Houdet (Wheelchair Men’s Singles), Sabine Ellerbrock (Wheelchair Women’s Singles), Stéphane Houdet and Shingo Kunieda (Wheelchair Men’s Doubles), Jiske Griffioen and Aniek van Koot(Wheelchair Women’s Doubles).

Presently a Business Studies student at Shaheed Sukhdev College Of Business Studies, I plan to spend my years discovering what I am capable of. Books, movies and friends are on the top of my timetable and for me college is about having a good time and trying new things. I believe it’s better to do a few things well than a lot of them poorly. Punctuality is a virtue I am yet to experience.

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