No Grand Slam Winners in 2026 French Open Men’s R16

Quoted The calm before the storm by Neil Paine (Neil’s Substack) As we prepare for Monday’s fourth-round action, the women’s side is missing 11 of the top 14 seeds after a string of upsets left just three former Grand Slam winners active in the tournament (Aryna Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys) and zero former French Open winners. And on the men’s side, only three of the top 18 seeds remain active, with ZERO former major champions in the round of 16 of a Slam for the first time in Open Era tennis history. I watched a good amount of most of tennis’ grand slams from about 2000 through 2013 or so. I was a Roger Federer fan, and for a good chunk of that period, you could always count on Mr. Federer playing late into the Slam (he had a record 23 consecutive Semifinals appearances from Wimbledon 2004 through the Australian Open 2010, and 36 consecutive quarterfinal appearances from the same starting point through the 2014 Australian Open). Mr. Federer was joined in dominating men’s…