The second Major of the season is launched at Roland Garros, with 128 players vying for the title and the glory of tennis. Like many times before in the Majors, Roland Garros is a mix of rising stars and experienced players still able to compete at a high level despite more than 15 years on the Tour.
Since the start of the Open era in 1968, there have been nine players with at least 64 Majors appearances, including six participating in the Roland Garros draw this week. Novak Djokovic and Andreas Seppi have 64 major entries, behind Philipp Kohlschreiber, who used the protected standings to make the main draw.
Spain’s veteran Fernando Verdasco has 68 major appearances, one less than Mikhail Youzhny and two of that magical 70, reached by just three players in the past 53 years. Magician Fabrice Santoro was the first to achieve this, followed by Roger Federer and Feliciano Lopez, the oldest players in the top 100 at the moment.
Still competitive at 39, the Spaniard played his 77th major tournament, losing in the first round in his 76th consecutive major tournament since 2002! Roger Federer stole the show and became the first player of the Open era with 80 appearances at a major event, making his Paris 1999 debut and remaining competitive for over two decades!
Between 2000 and 2016, Federer recorded 65 consecutive Major entries, setting the record he was holding until both Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco beat that result. Roger skipped Roland Garros in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to focus on his turf season, and he was unable to play three consecutive majors after last year’s Australian Open due to a knee injury.
Fully recovered, Roger is back at Roland Garros, playing his first major match in nearly 500 days and beating Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 33 minutes! Playing sharp and aggressive tennis, the Swiss lost 13 points behind the initial shot and kept the pressure on the other side.
Federer pushed Istomin to the limits and converted five of 13 break opportunities to control the scoreboard and cross the finish line for one of his fastest wins at Roland Garros. The veteran shot 48 winners and 20 unforced errors and performed well on the pitch in just his fourth game of the season, hoping the same will be true in the next few rounds. 
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