The wildest matches from the 2018 French Open

Another year, another Rafael Nadal French Open title that seemed inevitable from the very start. Everything that led up to his 11th Roland Garros conquest, and Simona Halep's first major, was insanely entertaining, filled with the kinds of crazy points and shocking moments you can only get on clay.

Here are some of the wildest matches from the fortnight:

1

Diego Schwartzman vs. Kevin Anderson

A matchup of David vs. Goliath in physical stature would end up being a pretty fair fight, as the 5’ 7” Diego Schwartzman is one of the best clay-court players in the world—and was the only player to take a set off Nadal in Paris. It didn’t look good for Schwartzman at first, though, as the 6'8" Kevin Anderson took a commanding two-set lead.

Despite the odds stacked against him and an issue with Anderson's constant chatter, Schwartzman pulled it out in five, 1-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (0), 6-2.

2

Grigor Dmitrov vs. Jared Donaldson

You can go years watching tennis before you see a player use an underhanded serve in an ATP tour-level match. Jared Donaldson, suffering from cramps in his marathon second-round match with Grigor Dmitrov, did it twice in the fifth set.

Dimitrov would outlast the 21-year-old American, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8.

3

Marin Cilic vs. Fabio Fognini

Any Fabio Fognini match reliably brings the fireworks. His fourth-round encounter with Marin Cilic didn’t disappoint, filled with all the antics, emotional outbursts and brilliant tennis.

Fognini pushed the Australian Open finalist to the limits, before falling, 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-3.

4

Simona Halep vs. Angelique Kerber

The quaterfinal showdown didn’t quite live up to their epic semifinal match at the Australian Open, which Halep survived 9-7 in the deciding set, but it still went three. The 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2 win for Halep featured an absurd level of scrambling and see-saw changes of momentum that everyone has come to expect from their meetings.

5

Novak Djokovic vs. Marco Cecchinato

A roller-coaster of a match ended with one of the most dramatic tiebreaks in recent history. Djokovic showed some of his old form as he tried to recover from letting a 4-1 lead slipping away in the fourth set. But it was the unseeded Cecchinato and his unwavering belief that won the match 6-3, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 7-6 (11).

6

Simona Halep vs. Sloane Stephens

That the women’s final would go the distance seemed a foregone conclusion, given the counterpunching athleticism of the finalists. That the match would be the  inverse of the way Halep lost to an unseeded Jelena Ostapenko last year added an element of poetry.

Halep dug out of a set and break deficit to win her first Grand Slam, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.