Roland Garros 2000

Mary full of grace

Oh Mary, if you only knew ... All the good that you do us. For this tournament in the new millennium, Mary Pierce enchanted the spectators at Porte d’Auteuil. A true reconciliation. Since 1994 and the final she lost against the Spaniard Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, the Paris public conspicuously ignored her. The French had high hopes of the French No. 1 who since then had been struggling to get beyond the last eight. In 1996, that terrible year, she left Roland Garros to hisses of disapproval after her defeat in the third round against the German Barbara Riitner. In “La Fabuleuse histoire de Roland Garros”1, Mary Pierce relates: “At that time, the public had high expectations of me. I was “Mary the Frenchwoman” when I was winning, and “Mary the American” when I lost. So I protected myself. I needed to talk to people, to other athletes to have a better understanding of the public. In fact, to understand the French. Subsequently, I became more at ease with my life, I changed. And the public understood this.” So much more comfortable in her tennis shoes, Mary Pierce attempted unbelievable shots at that Tournament in 2000. In the quarter finals against Monica Seles, she achieved the greatest feat of her career. Outflanked by the ball, she recovered it by means of a fantastic stroke through her legs. The public were jubilant. For a very long minute, the public chanted her first name. Those thundering shouts of “Mary, Mary”, the like of which she had never heard during the course of her career, almost brought tears to her eyes. But there was no question of losing her stride. The fabulous destiny of Mary was just being written. In the semi-finals, she swept away the favourite, Martina Hingis, who had just beaten her in their seven previous encounters. Paradoxically, for her the final would be one of the easiest matches of the fortnight. Against the Spaniard Conchita Martinez, the French player’s form and the confidence she had been building up since the start of the tournament would reach their peaks. In less than thirty minutes, Mary Pierce took the first set (6-2). And in spite of greater resistance from her opponent in the second set, she overcame the Spaniard (7-5). An explosion of joy. Mary Pierce took the second Grand Slam title of her career. And the most beautiful one.