I watched a good amount of most of tennis’ grand slams from about 2000 through 2013 or so. I was a Roger Federer fan, and for a good chunk of that period, you could always count on Mr. Federer playing late into the Slam (he had a record 23 consecutive Semifinals appearances from Wimbledon 2004 through the Australian Open 2010, and 36 consecutive quarterfinal appearances from the same starting point through the 2014 Australian Open). Mr. Federer was joined in dominating men’s tennis by Rafael Nadal and later Novak Djokovic, both of whom eventually won more majors than Mr. Federer. Since Messrs Federer and Nadal retired and Mr. Djokovic approaches 40, the grand slams have been dominated by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannick Sinner, who had won nine consecutive going into the French Open (if we add Mr. Djokovic, the three had won 15 consecutive slams). However, as Neil Paine discussed in The calm before the storm, the 2026 French Open not only broke trends, it also made men’s tennis history. Mr. Alcaraz missed the tournament with injury and Messrs. Sinner and Djokovic were gone in the first two rounds. With the men who have thoroughly dominated tennis this decade eliminated, injured, or retired (in the case of Mr. Nadal), there were no former major champion winners on the men’s side by the round of 16. When was the last time that happened? Mr. Paine noted that it was a first for tennis’ Open Era, which began in 1968. Alexander Zverev went on to win the 2026 French Open, capturing his first major championship after having previously finished runner-up on three occasions.