6 greatest comebacks in the history of Roland Garros

6. 2004 – Gaston Gaudio (Argentina) defeated Guillermo Coria (Argentina) 0-6 3-6 6-4 6-1 8-6

Gaudio was not the favourite for the French Open title

Gaudio had to fight hard early in the tournament, with his first two matches going the distance. But after that his campaign gathered momentum, and he rolled through former runner-up Enqvist, defending Wimbledon champion Hewitt and defending Wimbledon runner-up Nalbandian to make it to his first Major final.

He faced World No. 3, overwhelming favourite and compatriot Coria in the finals. Gaudio was nervous enough to drop the first set without winning a game. The crowd gave him an ironic cheer when he won the first game in the second set.

Gaudio lost the second set too and was 4-4, 0-40 on his opponent’s serve before fighting back to win the third. In the fourth, Coria was barely able to move with severe leg cramps, and Gaudio won the set easily.

The fifth set again turned into a dogfight. Coria led by a break of serve on four occasions and served twice for the championship. Gaudio saved two match points in the 12th game, and finally prevailed 8-6 in the fifth.

With this win, he became the first Argentinian since Guillermo Vilas in 1979 to win a Grand Slam singles title, the first player to win a Grand Slam final after losing the first set 6-0, and the first man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam final after saving match points.

Oh, and to date, he is also the only Grand Slam champion to have never made it to another quarterfinal in his career.