As he made his way to Court Philippe-Chatrier for his first-round match against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, Federer could hear the groundswell of support. Federer was slated to play the French in 2016, but withdrew with an injury. Ahead of his first French Open since 2015, Federer played two warm-up events on clay. As Christopher Clarey pointed out in Sunday's New York Times, Federer played his first French Open in 1999. It was a big deal for a Swiss guy to get a wild card for the French Open....That was a big deal.

Source: Forbes May 26, 2019 18:56 UTC