In 38 editions before 2024, the Parisian Masters 1000 has only had three French winners: Guy Forget (1991), Sébastien Grosjean (2001) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2008).
1991
Winner of the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati during the summer, Guy Forget played the tennis of his life during a season where he won six titles on the circuit. A month before the unforgettable triumph in Lyon in the Davis Cup against the United States, he once again dominated Pete Sampras after Cincinnati. Trailing two sets to one, the Frenchman defeated the American (7-6 (9), 4-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4) and became the first French player to win the Rolex Paris Masters.
1992
Boris Becker only experienced one defeat at Bercy (withdrawal in 1990). And if Forget had beaten the German during their last confrontation in Cincinnati, the previous year, the defending champion would suffer the German’s rule in the final (7-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 ) in 2h37.
2001
Semi-finalist at the Australian Open and Roland-Garros in 2001, Sébastien Grosjean, then 19th in the world, won the greatest title of his career by defeating Tommy Haas in the last four (7-5, 6-4) , then in the final Evgueni Kafelnikov (7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4), to secure a place at the Masters.
2008
Finalist at the Australian Open, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 14th in the world, began the tournament with a very swollen knee. This will not prevent him from beating four top 12 finishes in quick succession in his last four matches (Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, James Blake and David Nalbandian). He became the third Frenchman to win at POPB and snatched his place at the last minute for the Masters.
2009
In a fiery atmosphere, Gael Monfils played his first Masters 1000 final at the age of 23, but lost to the wire (6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7/3) against Novak Djokovic. Led 6- 2 3-0, the Parisian managed, twice, the break to equalize at one set all… but gave in after 2h 43 minutes of play.
2010
Another failure for “la Monf”, who this time lost heavily against the Swede Robin Söderling (6-1, 7-6 (7/1) in the final. The sixth title for the world number 5 and his first in a Masters 1000. Söderling, 26, became the first Swede to win at Bercy since Thomas Enqvist in 1996.
2011
The Swiss Roger Federer finally unlocked the counter at Bercy. The Swiss dominated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seeded 6 (6-1 7-6 (7/3). The Swiss became the second player in history, after Andre Agassi, to win at both Roland- Garros and Bercy.
