INEDIT - Roland-Garros 1983 : Järryd, Lendl, Wilander... Yannick Noah scrutinizes his opponents

Romain Rouillard (interview by Jacques Vendroux) / Photo credit: AFP 06:00, June 02, 2023

That year, Yannick Noah gave very little space to the competition on the ochre of Roland-Garros. On June 5, 1983, at the end of a controlled final against the Swede Mats Wilander, the Frenchman lifted the trophy of the prestigious Parisian tournament and thus concluded 15 days of almost undivided domination. A glorious epic that the former champion retraces at the microphone of Jacques Vendroux in a new podcast.

Before thinking about a possible final against a Wilander favorite and winner of the previous edition, it is another Swede that Yannick Noah must dismiss in the opening of the tournament. A certain Anders Järryd, little known to the general public at the time but who will nevertheless reach the fifth place in the world two years later. "A good player. Rather a good doubles player but a player who can be dangerous," Noah recalls. But the Franco-Cameroonian does not intend to let the suspense express itself. "I'm fit and at that point he doesn't necessarily have very good results." The verdict is final: the Habs win without flinching 6-1, 6-0, 6-2.

"Pecci was the playboy of the moment"

In the next round, it is the robust Paraguayan Victor Pecci (1.93m) who stands in Noah's way. Very comfortable on clay, the South American had even reached the final of Roland-Garros in 1979 and then climbed to the semis two years later, beaten each time by the legend Bjorn Borg. But Pecci also had another asset, recalls Yannick Noah. "In the world of tennis where they are all with their white outfits, perfect, nickels, I like to have this place of the mixed Rastaquouère. The problem is that Pecci was the playboy of the moment. So he takes up a little bit of that space when you get on the court." But the Paraguayan no longer displays the same vigor as before and Yannick Noah easily defeats 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

Then there is an American, on the contrary, more in difficulty on clay. At Roland-Garros, Pat Dupré will never go beyond this third round reached in 1983. "Not a good player, but a guy who is more of a good strategist. He wasn't playing well but he was playing badly. And it did not fail, "schematizes Yannick Noah. The Frenchman had much more difficulties on court and had to fight to win the first two sets (7-5, 7-6). Before finding serenity in the last set, won 6-2. "A game that could have gone really wrong," he admits.

Lendl "was the perfect guy and I was the puppet"

In the eighth final, the eventual winner faced John Alexander. A stage of the competition that the Australian, former eighth player in the world, has never gone beyond Porte d'Auteuil. And in front of which he will again come up against an intractable Yannick Noah. "He's not a clay court player, he's quite slow. And I enjoy myself, "says the Tricolore. The scoreboard will quickly confirm the gap between the two protagonists. Noah won in three sets 6–2, 7–6, 6–1.

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It is now time for the Frenchman to rub shoulders with a true legend of the circuit, winner three times at Roland-Garros. Considered one of the best players of his time, Czech Ivan Lendl is the favorite. "I loved playing Lendl. I didn't have anything particular against him but there was this thing that had been created that he was the perfect guy and I was the puppet." Enough to multiply the motivation of the Frenchman who manages to pocket the first two sets (7-6, 6-2) before offering himself a match ball in the third set. "He plays little bluffs like this like this and it passes and I lose the set." A simple adventure since the fourth set will be shipped (6-0) by Noah who opens the doors of the last square.

Czech Ivan Lendl, one of the greatest players of all time, was beaten by Yannick Noah in the quarterfinals.
Credit: AFP

This was followed by a Franco-French confrontation against Christophe Roger-Vasselin for a place in the final. An opponent much less formidable than the Czech on paper but author of a formidable fortnight, including a prestigious victory against the American Jimmy Connors, eight times winner in Grand Slam. A dream course that is however very physically demanding. A lack of energy that he will pay a high price against a gala Noah. "I played a good match and he played a non-match," summed up the eventual winner who swept poor Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-0, 6-0. "The score doesn't matter because it doesn't reflect at all the game we could have played," Noah said.

"All the stars are aligned"

More than a match before the grail now. And who better than Sweden's Mats Wilander, defending champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner, to offer the Frenchman a moment of glory. "I'm very happy to play against him because I beat him three weeks before in Hamburg. And I lost to him in Estoril a month and a half before but I have to win the match," said Noah, convinced of his ability to topple the Scandinavian mountain. "Psychologically, I think I can win. And I like his game because he stays at the back of the court and I can attack, he gives me the space to express my game."

Yannick Noah serves Mats Wilander's hand at the end of a final won with panache.
Credit: AFP

Under a resplendent sun, in front of an audience devoted to his cause, Yannick Noah feels it: "All the stars are aligned". "All France will watch the game and above all, people will watch because they finally think I can win and we can win," he said. On Centre Court, nothing seems able to deflect the trajectory of the Frenchman to whom the title seems promised. "It's a kind of state of grace, we'll say, but a state of grace that has been worked on, it's not a stroke of luck," he said. A state of grace that will lead him to a success in three sets 6-2, 7-5, 7-6. For eternity.