Is the French Open the hardest grand slam singles title to win?

Question

I ask this because so many greats : Sampras, Connors, Venus, Hingis, Federer, etc. have never won it. - (the singles title, specifically)

Answer 1

Yes, it is. To win Roland Garros you have to play a grinding game just like Nadal not serve and volley style. Serving hard into the clay just wont work, cause it absorbs the ball speed and just slowing it down. Basically you've got to have good footwork, groundstroke and tactics to win.

Answer 2

I am from a country where clay courts dominate the tennis court availability.  Clay courts are the hardest to win depending on perspective.  If you are a fast and powerful player, then yes it maybe the hardest to win.  Clay slows down the ball so no matter how penetrating your shots maybe on the hard court or how fast your serve is, the clay will slow it down to give your opponents time to position for a shot.  Because of this, the rallies or points on clay court really last a lot longer and require more shots.  Now, for the athletic guy who just runs after every ball and hits with a lot of spin, not necessarily penetrating, then the clay courts will be easy to win.  That is the difference.Unfortuanetly for the players you mentioned, there game is one where they use a lot of power and try to keep the points short, so instead of constructing the point, they go for an outright winner that is hard to come by when the surface slows down the penetration of the shot.

Answer 3

Yes, many consider the French hardest to win because of the surface. It just demands a different kind of game. A game that Sampras, Connors, Venus, McEnroe, Becker, etc just do not have.

As far as Federer and Hingis are concerned, they were just unlucky having reached so many French Open finals but losing all.