4 men who won Wimbledon and French Open in the same year

French Open and Wimbledon are two of the four Grand Slams played every year - the other two being the Australian Open and the U.S. Open. With just two months separating these contrasting surface seasons, players have to adapt.

While clay is considered relatively slow - assisting baseliners, the grass is fast hence it assists serve and volley style of play. A player hits more aces in a grass court match than in an entire clay court tournament.

These different characteristics arise due to the difference in bounce. A tennis ball bounces a lot higher on a clay court, but it stays relatively low on grass. Thus to put it in a simple phrase - Clay courts and grass courts possess contrasting characteristics. This is the reason why winning on both these surfaces in succession is considered special. It is considered the hardest thing to do in tennis.

French Open is played on clay whereas Wimbledon is carried out on grass. Many men have won these competitions but winning both of them in the same year is a very hard task. Only 4 men in history have accomplished this feat.

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#1 Rod Laver, Australia

Rod Laver remains the only player in the open era to achieve a calendar grand slam

The legendary Australian who many consider as one of the greatest players of all time managed to win both Wimbledon and French Open in 1969.

Rod Laver, to this date, remains the only player in the open era to achieve a calendar grand slam – winning all four grand slams in the same year.

He did it in 1969, and thus became the first man to win both French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. Laver managed to win 11 grand slams throughout his career.

Laver's 200 singles titles top the list for most singles titles won by a male player. Laver managed to excel on all surfaces in an age where players specialized in one.

The venue for Australian Open, Centre court was named after Rod Laver to appreciate his genius. Rod Laver Arena has been the name of the venue hosting Australian open since 2000. This portrays Laver's legacy.

#2 Bjorn Borg, Sweden

Borg mastered the art of winning both the titles in the same year as he was victorious at both the majors three years in a row

The former world No.1 is often named amongst the greatest players of all time. Winning 11 grand slam titles, Bjorn Borg exhibited a never give up attitude every time he stepped on a tennis court. He won five Wimbledon titles and six French Open titles.

Borg mastered the art of winning both the titles in the same year as he was victorious at both the majors for three years in a row- most number of times till date.

He first achieved this in 1978 thus becoming the second man ever to win at Rolland Garros and All England club in the same year.

The Swede managed to repeat his heroics for the next two years in 1979 and 1980 thus making it three in a row.

Borg’s career was shortlived as he retired at the age of 26. This just tells us that had he played on for some more years, all-time leading grand slams chart would have been different.

#3 Rafael Nadal, Spain

Nadal managed to repeat this in 2010 beating Soderling in the final at Roland Garros and before claiming his second Wimbledon title in three years

Rafael Nadal recently won his 11th French Open title to make it grand slam number 17 for the Spaniard. Widely regarded as the greatest clay court player of all time, Nadal has a more than impressive record of 86-2 at the French Open.

Only two men- Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic have been able to defeat the Spaniard at Roland Garros.

Nadal's 11 French Open titles make him the most successful a player has been at a particular grand slam.

While Nadal's dominance on clay was more than evident it was at grass where he struggled at the start of his career, something understandable with the contrasting flow of the game on the grass with respect to clay.

Nadal had lost two successive finals to the legendary Swiss Roger Federer at All England Club before meeting him again in 2008.

He had won the French open that year beating the same opponent comprehensively in the final with a scoreline of 6–1, 6–3, 6–0. This remains Federer's most disappointing performance in a grand slam final.

But it was a different story this time in England with Nadal emerging victorious over his Swiss rival in a five-set thriller to win his first Wimbledon title. It was after 28 years a player had won Wimbledon and French Open in the same year. This made Nadal only the third man to do it.

Nadal managed to repeat this in 2010 beating Soderling in the final at Roland Garros and before claiming his second Wimbledon title in three years, defeating Tomas Berdych in the final.

#4 Roger Federer, Switzerland

Swiss Roger Federer kisses the trophy

Is there any tennis record that this man is not a part of?

The Swiss maestro is widely regarded as the greatest male tennis player to have ever existed. With 20 grand slam singles to his name, he is the most decorated male tennis player of all time.

Federer has managed to win eight Wimbledon titles, six Australian Opens, five U.S. Opens and one French Open title during his remarkable career.

The only time Federer won the French Open was in 2009 winning against Soderling in the final.

Federer had lost three successive finals to his arch-rival Nadal at Roland Garros before that. This was Federer's best shot at completing a career grand slam as he had already won the other three grand slams before that on a number of occasions.

Federer backed up his French open success by winning yet another Wimbledon title at all England club defeating Andy Roddick in a five-set thriller to become only the fourth man in history to win Wimbledon and French Open in the same year.

Over the years Federer has managed to win Wimbledon again multiple times but his 2009 triumph at Roland Garros remains his only French Open title.

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