Deuce or Love All?

Rafael Nadal has won the maximum number of French Open titles in tennis history. Pic/AFP

Some tennis players take to clay courts like ducks to water. But some others are all at sea.

Take Pete Sampras. The American moved like a gazelle across grass courts in the 1990s, but seemed like he had leaden feet on clay, so much so that he failed to win a single French Open title despite giving it his best.

Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, has conquered the surface to such an extent that the Spaniard's opponents have their heart in their mouth when they see him across the court. It's all about physics, really. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The nature of clay is such that the ball slows down when it hits the surface, which means that you have to hit it extra hard to send it across the net to the other player.

That's what the world's top tennis stars will have to do starting this Sunday, when the French Open kicks off for its 2021 edition. But before that, we got two tennis aficionados to battle it out against each other on a different court, returning answers to questions about the Grand Slam that we served to them.
Read on to find out if they aced the quiz.

Amit Shinde, 43, IT entrepr-eneur
3/5

1) For being an aviator 3
2) Rafael Nadal 7
3) Chris Evert 3
4) 13 3
5) False 7

Rehan Sumar, 50, CEO of a sports firm
2/5

1) He was an aviator 3
2) Rafael Nadal 7
3) Steffi Graf 7
4) 13 3
5) False 7

Questions

1) The French Open is also called Roland Garros. What was Roland Garros, the person, known for?
2) Who is the youngest ever male French Open champion?
3) Who is the female player to have won the most number of French Open titles?
4) How many times has Rafael Nadal won the French Open?
5) The French Open was the last of the four Grand Slams to introduce equal prize money for men and women. True or false?

Answers

1) For being an aviator
2) Michael Chang
3) Chris Evert
4) 13
5) True