The Galibier’s pass (in French: col du Galibier) is one of the most difficult climbs of the Tour.

This race was created in 1903 by Henri Desgrange and the newspaper L’Auto. It takes place every year in July and is organized by ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation). The number of teams usually varies between 20 to 22, with 9 riders in each. Entry is by invitation to teams chosen by the race organiser. Team members help each other and are followed by managers and mechanics in cars.

In France, the race is also nicknamed «la Grande Boucle», which means the «big loop» as it goes through many French cities. In 2009, 78 TV channels broadcasted the Tour de France in 170 countries.

The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages (in French: étapes). Individual times to finish each stage are totalled to determine the overall winner at the end of the race. The rider with the lowest aggregate time at the end of each day wears a yellow jersey. The route changes every year but has always finished in Paris. Since 1975, the climax of the final stage has been along the Champs-Élysées. The Tour de France is the most prestigious of cycling’s three “Grand Tours”. The other two Grand Tours are the Giro d’Italia (Italy) held every May and the Vuelta a España (Spain) held every August–September.

The New York Times said that the “Tour de France is arguably the most physiologically demanding of athletic events.” The effort was compared to “running a marathon several days a week for nearly three weeks”, while the total elevation of the climbs was compared to “climbing three Everests.”

The Tour changed in 1930 to a competition largely between teams representing their countries rather than the companies that sponsored them. The costs of accommodating riders fell to the organisers instead of the sponsors and Henri Desgrange raised the money by allowing advertisers to precede the race. The procession of often colourfully decorated trucks and cars became known as the publicity caravan. It formalised a situation which had already arisen, companies having started to follow the race. The procession sets off two hours before the start and then regroups to precede the riders by an hour and a half. It spreads 20–25 km and takes 40 minutes to pass at between 20 and 60kmh. Vehicles travel in groups of five. The advertisers distribute publicity material to the crowd. The number of items has been estimated at 11 million, each person in the procession giving out 3,000 to 5,000 items a day. The bank, GAN, gave out 170,000 caps, 80,000 badges, 60,000 plastic bags and 535,000 copies of its race newspaper in 1994. Together, they weighed 32 tons.

Jerseys:

The “maillot jaune” (yellow jersey) is worn by the general classification leader.

• One rider has won seven times:

Lance Armstrong in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 (seven consecutive years).

• Four riders have won five times:

Jacques Anquetil in 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964;
Eddy Merckx in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1974;
Bernard Hinault in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985;
Miguel Indurain in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995 (the first to do so in five consecutive years).

• Three riders have won three times:

Philippe Thys in 1913, 1914, and 1920;
Louison Bobet in 1953, 1954, and 1955;
Greg LeMond in 1986, 1989, and 1990.

• Seven riders have won the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia in the same year:

Eddy Merckx three times, in 1970, 1972, 1974
Fausto Coppi two times, in 1949, 1952
Bernard Hinault two times, in 1982, 1985
Miguel Indurain two times, in 1992, 1993
Jacques Anquetil one time, in 1964
Stephen Roche one time, in 1987
Marco Pantani one time, in 1998

The “maillot vert” (green jersey) is awarded for sprint points.

At the end of each stage, points are earned by the riders who finish first, second, etc. Points are higher for flat stages, as sprints are more likely, and less for mountain stages, where climbers usually win. In the current rules, there are 5 types of stages: flat stages, intermediates stages, mountain stages, individual time trial stages and team time trial stages. The number of points awarded at the end of each stage are:

Flat stages

35, 30, 26, 24, 22, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points are awarded to the first 25 riders across the finish line.

Intermediate stages

25, 22, 20, 18, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points are awarded to the first 20 riders across the finish line.

High-mountain stages

20, 17, 15, 13, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points are awarded to the first 15 riders across the finish line.

Time-trials

15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 points are awarded to the top 10 finishers of the stage.

In addition, stages can have intermediate sprints in which 6, 4, and 2 points are awarded to the first three. In case of a tie, the number of stage wins determine the green jersey, then the number of intermediate sprint victories, and finally, the rider’s standing in the general classification.

The King of the Mountains wears a white jersey with red dots (“maillot à pois rouges”).

This jersey was inspired by a jersey that one of the organisers, Félix Lévitan, had seen at the Vélodrome d’Hiver in Paris in his youth. The competition gives points to the first to top designated hills and mountains. The difficulty of a climb is established by its steepness, length and its position on the course. The easiest are graded 4, most of the hardest as 1 and the exceptional (such as the Tourmalet) as beyond classification (in French it is called “hors catégorie”). Notable hors catégorie peaks include the col du Tourmalet, Mont Ventoux, col du Galibier, the climb to the ski resort of Hautacam, and Alpe d’Huez.

Climbs rated “hors catégorie” (HC): 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6 and 5.

Category 1: 15, 13, 11, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5.

Category 2: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, and 5.

Category 3: 4, 3, 2 and 1.

Category 4: 3, 2 and 1.

For the last climb of a stage, points are doubled for HC and categories one and two.

One rider has been King of the Mountains seven times: Richard Virenque in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003 and 2004.

Since 1975, there has been a competition for young riders. From 1975 to 1989 and from 2000, the leader has worn a white jersey (maillot blanc in French).

The prix de la combativité goes to the rider who most animates the day, usually by trying to break clear of the field. The most combative rider wears a number printed white-on-red instead of black-on-white next day. An award goes to the most aggressive rider throughout the Tour.

In 1959, a Super Combativity award for the most combative cyclist of the Tour was awarded. It was initially not rewarded every year, but since 1981 it has been given annually.

The team prize is assessed by adding the time of each team’s best three riders each day. The competition does not have its own jersey but since 2006 the leading team has worn numbers printed black-on-yellow. The competition has existed from the start; The best national teams are France and Belgium, with 10 wins each.

Multiple winners:

By nationality:

Champs Elysées, Paris.

For more information about the Tour de France, you can visit the official website: http://www.letour.fr/us/index.html

• Luc Alphand (born on 6th August 1965) is a French former alpine skier, who is now a race car driver.

Born in Briançon, Alphand made his World Cup skiing debut in 1984. In 1997, he won the World Cup. He retired in 1997 and started a career in auto racing. First in the Nissan Micra Stars Cup (1997–1998), then in the European Le Mans Series (2001), the FIA GT Championship (2002), and the Lamborghini Supertrophy (2002). He won the 2006 Dakar Rally, in which he had finished runner-up a year earlier. With this victory, he was the first ex ski driver who won the Paris-Dakar. He recently purchased two Corvette race cars from Pratt & Miller for use in the Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

World Cup victories:

Overall victories:

1995: Downhill
1996: Downhill
1997: Overall
1997: Downhill
1997: Super-G

Individual victories:

13 January 1995: Downhill
14 January 1995: Downhill
15 March 1995: Downhill
1 December 1995: Downhill
9 December 1995: Downhill
2 February 1996: Downhill
20 December 1996: Downhill
29 December 1996: Downhill
24 January 1997: Downhill
29 January 1997: Super-G
21 February 1997: Super-G
22 February 1997: Downhill

Other results:

- Junior World Champion of the downhill in 1983
- French Alpine Skiing Championship
- Champion of the downhill in 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1994
- Champion of the super-G in 1988
- Champion of combined in 1987
- 2006 Dakar Rally Winner Cars (Mitsubishi Pajero)

• Franck Piccard (born on 17th September 1965) is a French former alpine skier.

A native of Les Saisies, Piccard won a total of four Alpine skiing World Cup races. At the 1988 Olympics in Calgary he won a gold medal in the Super-G competition and a bronze medal in the downhill. At the 1992 Olympics in Albertville he won a silver medal in the downhill.

World Cup victories:

13 March 1988: Super-G
11 January 1990: Downhill
2 December 1990: Super-G
30 October 1993: Giant slalom

• Jean-Luc Crétier (born on 28th April 1966 in Albertville) is a former alpine skier.

Franck Piccard (left) with Crétier.

He won the gold medal in the downhill at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. He came in the long line of big surprises in the event, winning on a warm, sunny day. Crétier was third racer on the course and posted a respectable time. Next was Hermann Maier, who dramatically flew off the course at the first jump, causing a substantial delay in the race. Another injured racer, Luca Cattaneo of Italy, had to be airlifted causing another delay. The course conditions softened, especially on the lower half, and Crétier’s time became increasingly difficult to beat; a total of 15 racers in the 43-man field failed to finish.

It was the only victory of Crétier’s international career. His last World Cup race was ten months later, in December 1998. He stopped his career in 1999 because of an injury.

• Régine Cavagnoud (June 27th, 1970 – October 31st, 2001) was a French alpine skier. The 2001 Super-G World Champion was killed in a training accident.

She had nine World Cup victories, four of them Super-G, three downhill and two giant slalom.

Her career culminated in the 2001 World Alpine Ski Championships held in Sankt Anton, Austria, where on 29th January 2001, she clinched the Super-G title.

On 29th October 2001, Cavagnoud collided with German ski coach Markus Anwander during ski training in Pitztal, Austria and sustained severe brain injuries as a result of the collision. She was evacuated by helicopter to Innsbruck’s university hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries two days later. Her death was the first tragedy involving a World Cup skier since the death of Austria’s Ulrike Maier in 1994.

One of these mistakes is certainly the lack of co-ordination between the teams.

She was buried in her native village of La Clusaz in the French Alps.

• Marie-José Pérec (picture below) is a specialist in the 200 and 400 m, and a triple Olympic champion. She won the Olympic Games 3 times; the 400m in 1992 and 1996 and the 200m in 1996. But her first major international success happened in 1991, when she became World Champion in the 400 m in Tokyo. She became World Champion again in the 400m 4 years later. In addition to the Olympic and World titles, Pérec also won the European Championships: the 400 m individual and 4×400 m relay titles in Helsinki in 1994.

• Christine Arron is a track and field sprint athlete, competing internationally for France. She was named 1998 European Women’s Athlete of the Year, after winning the 100m at the European Athletics Championships, breaking the European record in the process. Arron was also the last runner of the French 4 X 100 relay team which upset the heavy favourites USA to win the gold medal in the 2003 World Championships in Athletics held in Paris. She recovered from 3 m behind the new 100 m World Champion, Torri Edwards, to give to the Stade de France crowd an unpredictable joy.

She won the bronze medal in the 4×100m relay at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

In August 2005 she won a bronze medal in the 100 m and in the 200 m at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics.

Arron is the holder of the second-fastest 100 m performance ever (10.73). Considering the controversy surrounding the performances of world record-holder, Florence Griffith-Joyner, many consider Arron’s performance to be the ‘true’ world record.

In CYCLING, we can name champions such as Laurent Fignon, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Jalabert, Richard Virenque to name just a few…

• Jeannie Longo (born on October 31st, 1958 in Annecy)

Longo is widely considered as the greatest female racing cyclists of all times. She won her first world titles in 1984, when her actual rivals of 2008 were not born yet. She is famous for her competitive nature and her exceptional longevity. She has an extraordinary record, with 68 national and international titles.

She was selected to represent France in the 2008 Olympics, her seventh Olympic Games. She stated that this was her final participation in the Olympics. In the Women’s road race, she finished 24th, 33 seconds behind winner Nicole Cooke, who was one year old when Longo first rode in the Olympics. At the same Olympics, she finished 4th in the road time trial, just two seconds of securing a bronze medal. If Jeannie Longo had not faced a problem with her cycle (a piece broke), she would have surely got a medal.

Career:

Longo was born in Annecy, in the French Alps where she began her athletic career as a downhill skier. After winning the French schools’ ski championship and three university skiing championships, she switched to cycling at the urging of her coach (and later husband) Patrice Ciprelli. Within a few months, Longo won the French road race Championship. She was 21. Longo has more than 900 career victories, the most of any cyclist in history. Her list of titles include: an Olympic gold medal, 3 Tour de France titles, 38 world records, 52 national titles and 13 world titles.

In addition to her sport, Longo distinguished herself in the academic field. She has been awarded academic degrees in Mathematics (B.S.), an MBA, and a doctorate in sports management.

She competed both in road and track bicycle racing events. Her impressive record includes:

Olympic Games road race: Gold Medal/Champion (1996); Silver Medal (1992)
Olympic Games time trial: Silver Medal (1996); Bronze Medal (2000)
Participated 7 times in: 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.

5x UCI Road Race World Championship: Gold Medal/Champion (1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1995)
4x UCI Time Trial World Championship: Gold Medal/Champion (1995, 1996, 1997, 2001)
4x UCI Track World Championship:
Points Race: Gold Medal/Champion (1989)
3 km Pursuit: Gold Medal/Champion (1986, 1988, 1989); Silver Medal (1984, 1985, 1987); Bronze Medal (1981, 1982, 1983)
UCI Mountain Bike Championship: Silver Medal (1993)
15x French Road Race Champion: 1979 to 1989, 1992, 1995, 2006, 2008
7x French Time Trial Champion: 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008
3x Tour Cycliste Feminin / Grande Boucle: 1987, 1988, 1989
2x Women’s Challenge: 1991, 1999
Set Hour Record (45.094 km/h) in 2000 in Mexico City (14 years after setting the best hour performance record)

• Laure Manaudou:

France is proud of its Olympic, World and European champion swimmer Laure Manaudou. The 22-year-old prodigy currently holds the world records for the 400 m freestyle (Short Course) and 200 m freestyle (Long Course).

She also won the gold medal in the women’s 400 m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Manaudou won the silver medal in the women’s 800 m freestyle at the same Olympics. She took the bronze medal at the women’s 100 m backstroke, becoming only the second Frenchwoman to win three medals in a single Summer or Winter Olympic Games.

She has become the favourite athlete of French people.

• Alain Bernard (born on May 1st, 1983) is a French swimmer from Aubagne. Bernard has won 3 medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics. After competing on the silver medal-winning French 4 x 100 m relay team, Bernard won the gold medal in the men’s 100 m freestyle event.

Bernard is the former holder of the 100 m freestyle long course world record after winning the European LC Championships 2008 final in a time of 47.50 seconds on March 22nd, 2008.

He had already beaten the world record the previous day, finishing in 47.60 seconds in the semifinals. On March 23rd, Bernard lowered the 50 m freestyle world record to a time of
21.50 but only held the record for four days before being defeated by Australian Eamon
Sullivan. Sullivan then beat Bernard’s 100 m freestyle mark in the opening leg of the
4×100 meter relay in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Bernard responded in the semi final of the 100 m with a time of 47.20, only to be beaten again in the next semifinal by Sullivan with a time of 47.05.

Olympic Games: Beijing Olympics (China):

Men’s 100 m freestyle gold medal.
Men’s 4 x 100 m Freestyle Relay silver medal.
Men’s 50 m freestyle bronze medal.

FINA World Championship:

FINA World Championship 2007 in Melbourne (Australia):
Men’s 4 x 100 m Medley french Relay bronze medal.

Europe Aquatics Championship:

Long Course:

Europe Aquatics Championship 2006 in Budapest (Hungary) :
Men’s 4 x 100 m Freestyle bronze medal.
Europe Aquatics Championship 2008 in Eindhoven (Netherlands) :
Men’s 50 m freestyle gold medal.
Men’s 100 m freestyle gold medal.

Short Course:

Europe Aquatics Championship 2005 in Trieste (Italia) :
Men’s 4×50 m Medley Relay freestyle silver medal.
Europe Aquatics Championship 2006 in Helsinki (Finlande) :
Men’s 4 x 50 m Medley Relay silver medal.
Men’s 100 m freestyle bronze medal.
Europe Aquatics Championship 2007 in Debrecen (Hungary) :
Men’s 100 m freestyle gold medal.
Men’s 4×50 m Medley Relay silver medal.
Men’s 50 m freestyle bronze medal.

• Amaury Leveaux:

Amaury Leveaux (born on 2nd December 1985) is a French swimmer from Belfort. Leveaux is the current World Record Holder in the 50 m Freestyle (Short Course – 20.48 sec.), the 100 m Freestyle (Short Course – 44.94 sec.) and the 50 m Butterfly (Short Course – 22.29 sec.) He also holds the 200 m freestyle (Long Course – 1:46.54) national record and the European record in the 50 m freestyle (Long Course).

At the French national championships, Leveaux managed to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 50 m and 200 m freestyle events. Finishing fifth in the 100 m, he also qualified for the 4×100 m freestyle relay team. He set an Olympic record in the 100 m freestyle in the heats of the relay after leading off. France finished second in the final and Leveaux earned two silver medals in the 50m freestyle and 4×100m freestyle Relay.
He also remains the only swimmer in history to go under 22 seconds in the 50m freestyle LC and also swim under 1:47 in the 200m freestyle LC.

On Thursday 11th December 2008, in Rijeka (Croatia), Amaury Leveaux set a world record in the 50 m freestyle at the European short-course championships, finishing the semifinal in 20.48 seconds. The Frenchman beat the mark of 20.64 set by Roland Schoeman of South Africa on Sept. 6th in Germiston, South Africa.

On Saturday, Leveaux also set a new world record in the 50 m butterfly (short-course) in a time of 22.29 at the French National Championships in Angers. He lowered the previous global standard of 22.50.

He also broke the men’s 100 m world record by clocking 44.94 seconds in the final of the European championships at Rijeka, Croatia.

• Coralie Balmy (born on June 8th, 1987 in La Trinité) is a French freestyle swimmer, who was born in Martinique.

She won her first senior title at the European LC Championships 2008 in Eindhoven in the 4×200 relay freestyle. At the same Championships she won the silver medal in the 400 m freestyle in a time of 4:04.15. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, she finished fourth in the 400m freestyle final.

On December 6th, 2008 she set the world record for the 200m Freestyle (SC) at the French National Championships in Angers, France in a time of 1:53.16.

Achievements:

2007: SC European Championships
3rd 200m freestyle (1:54.43)
2008: LC European Championships
1st 4x200m freestyle (7:52.09)
2nd 400m freestyle (4:04.15)

JUDOKA

• David Douillet: (born on February 16th 1969)
  

Douillet was born in the city of Rouen. Standing at 1.96 meters (6’4″) and weighing 125 kilograms (276 lbs), he won the heavyweight gold medals in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games in Atlanta and Sydney. He also won 4 World Titles and one title in Europe.

He has won the most titles among French judokas and is one of the most successful judokas of all times.

RUGBY

The France national RUGBY union team represents France in rugby union.

They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the Championship outright fourteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed eight grand slams.

They are currently the seventh-ranked team in the world, and are considered to be the strongest rugby nation on continental Europe. Six former French players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame.

BASKETBALL

• Tony Parker:

William Anthony “Tony” Parker (born on May 17th, 1982) is a French professional basketball player for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and member of France’s national basketball team. Brought up in a family with close ties to basketball, Parker played for two years in the French basketball league before entering the 2001 NBA Draft. He was selected by the San Antonio Spurs and quickly became their starting point guard, helping the Spurs win three NBA Championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Employing his pace and high field goal percentage to great effect, Parker has been selected as an NBA All-Star twice and was the 2007 NBA Finals MVP. He married actress Eva Longoria, best known for her role in the ABC television series Desperate Housewives, on 7th July 2007.

FIGURE SKATING

• Brian Joubert (born on September 20th, 1984) is a French figure skater. He is the 2007 World Champion, a three-time European champion (2004, 2007, 2009), a six-time French National champion, and the 2006 Grand Prix champion.

Joubert suffered a life-threatening illness at the age of 11 months, which led to the removal of one kidney. Because of this illness, Joubert chose figure skating over more violent sports that he favored. He began skating at the age of four with his two older sisters. The siblings started out with ice dancing, but Joubert became fascinated with the jumping aspect of singles skating and switched disciplines.

Joubert is known for his strong jumping ability. He has a consistent quadruple salchow and a quadruple toe loop. At the 2006 Cup of Russia competition, Joubert joined an elite group of men’s skaters by landing three quadruple jumps–two toe loops and a salchow–in his long program.

In TENNIS, France has also got many players who are or were at least in the Top 10, with:

• Amélie Mauresmo, who was World No. 1. in 2004.

She won two Grand Slam singles titles in 2006, at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon. She won 24 titles in singles and 2 in doubles. Mauresmo also won a silver medal in singles at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 where she was defeated by Belgian Justine Henin in the final.

• Mary Pierce who won 4 Grand Slam titles, two in singles (the Australian Open in 1995 and Roland Garros in 2000) and two in doubles. She also won 18 tournaments in singles and reached 23 finals. Her best ranking in singles and doubles was No. 3.

• Nathalie Tauziat (former player) reached the Wimbledon final in 1998 and won 8 titles in singles. She also won 25 titles in doubles. Her highest ranking in singles and doubles was No. 3 (in 2000 and 2002)

• Marion Bartoli won 3 WTA titles, and was runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.is the No. 1 female French player.

She has been ranked as high as No. 9 in the world, and as of March 24th, 2008,

Marion Bartoli lost the Wimbledon final against Venus Williams in 2007.

• Tatiana Golovin. The 20-year-old player has already won 2 titles in singles and her best ranking so far is No. 12 (2008)

She is best known for winning the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet (picture below), and also for reaching the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 US Open, losing to the eventual champion Maria Sharapova.

• Nathalie Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 U.S. Open ladies title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram and the 2007 U.S. Open ladies title with Dinara Safina. Her biggest singles achievement is reaching the semifinals of the 2005 Australian Open, where she was just two points away from the final, before eventually losing to Lindsay Davenport. She reached her highest ranking (No. 11) in 2006 in singles and No. 8 in doubles (2007)

Nathalie Dechy (right) with Russian tennis player Dinara Safina (Marat Safin’s sister)

• Virginie Razzano has reached her best ranking this year (No.24). In September 2007, Razzano won her first career singles title in Guangzhou, China. The following month, she claimed her second career title, also in Asia, shocking Venus Williams, 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–4 at the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.

• Alizé Cornet (born on January 22nd, 1990 in Nice) has reached her best ranking this year (No. 17) at the age of 18. She reached the final in Acapulco and the semi-finals in Amelia Island and Charleston (a Tier I event) this year and won her first WTA title at the Budapest Grand Prix in July 2008, defeating Andreja Klepac of Slovenia 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Alizé also has an extensive juniors record, winning the 2007 Girl’s Singles at Roland Garros.

• Aravane Rezaï is an Iranian-French tennis player born in St. Etienne, France to Iranian parents. She was ranked No. 40 last year. She reached the final of the 2008 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, despite being unseeded. She lost to American, Lindsay Davenport, 6–2, 6–2.

• Camille Pin is ranked No. 62 on the WTA Singles Tour. She made headlines at the 2007 Australian Open, after playing top seed Maria Sharapova in the first round and coming within two points of winning the match. After recovering from a 0–5 deficit in the final set, Pin eventually lost with a final score of 3–6, 6–4, 7–9. On March 9th, 2008, Camille won the Hilton Cup, defeating American Asia Muhammad 6–4, 6–1.

• Pauline Parmentier:

Pauline Parmentier (born on January 31st 1986 in Cucq) is a French professional tennis player. She achieved her best ranking (No. 40) in July 2008.

She won the Gastein Ladies by beating Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday 20th July 2008 after trailing 1-4 in the first set.

It was Parmentier’s second WTA Tour title after winning in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, last year.

• Julie Coin:

No. 188 in the world and qualifier Julie Coin registered the biggest upset in US Open women’s history on August 28th 2008, sending world No. 1 and top seed Ana Ivanovic crashing out in the second round.

This is the first time in last 40 years of US Open that the top seeded player has lost in the second round. Julie, who has not even played any Grand Slam before, defeated top seed player with extremely powerful serves, and shots.

It was only Coin’s second victory on the WTA Tour.

world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic congratulating Julie Coin.

• Gilles Simon:

Gilles Simon was born on December 27th 1984 in Nice. He turned pro in 2002 and his highest ranking ever, as of 2008 is No. 7. In 2006 he reached the final of the Valencia Open. In 2007 he won the Marseille Open, his first ATP Tour title, and then in September, he won his second title in Romania.

He won his fourth ATP title after a convincing 6-4 6-4 victory over Russian Dmitry Tursunov at the Indianapolis Championships on Sunday, July 20th, 2008.

On Saturday October 18th 2008, Simon defeated world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Masters in 3 sets 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6). Simon will become No. 1 among French players from Monday 20th October.

Simon is congratulated by Spain’s Rafael Nadal after his stunning victory.

• Cédric Pioline (who is a retired player today) reached the final at The US Open in 1993 and Wimbledon in 1997. He also won five singles titles in his career, the biggest coming at the ATP Masters Series event in Monte Carlo in 2000, and one in doubles. His highest ranking was No. 5 in 2000.

• Fabrice Santoro is known for using both hands for every possible shot. He won 24 titles in doubles and 5 in singles: he won the 2003 and 2004 Australian Open with his partner Michaël Llodra, and has been runner-up, in doubles, at the 2002 Australian Open, 2004 French Open and at 2006 Wimbledon. He also won the 2005 French Open mixed doubles title with Daniela Hantuchová.

In addition to his doubles prowess, Fabrice is famous for his cheerful attitude on the court and his vast arsenal of tricky shots, making him a crowd favorite. His varied and innovative style has earned him the nickname “The Magician“.

Santoro became the eighth oldest champion on the ATP Tour since 1980 with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Prakash Amritraj at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Sunday July 13th 2008.

Santoro, 35, picked up his sixth career title, and first since 2005 by beating the wild card Amritraj, who was competing in his first final.

Only three players have been older champions than Santoro on the ATP Tour, including Jimmy Connors, who won four titles at a more advanced age than the Frenchman.

Along with his age, Santoro became just the third champion to successfully defend his title here, joining Bryan Shelton (1991-92) and Greg Rusedski (2004-05). He is also the first second seed to finish on top of this grasscourt tournament since Johan Kriek in 1981.

On Saturday, Santoro collected his 450th career win by topping American Vincent Spadea in the semifinals. Only Roger Federer (594), Carlos Moya (557) and Lleyton Hewitt (485) have amassed more wins.

Winning for the first time since Los Angeles in 2005, Santoro pocketed $64,000.

• Richard Gasquet reached his best ranking in 2007 (No. 7). The 22-year-old champion has already won 5 titles in singles and 2 in doubles.

• Arnaud Clément won 4 titles in singles and 10 in doubles. In July 2007, he and Michaël Llodra won the men’s doubles title at Wimbledon, beating World N. 1 and number one seeds defending champions Bob and Mike Bryan. His best ranking was No. 10 in singles and doubles (2001 and 2007)

Clément (left) and Llodra

• Sébastien Grosjean‘s best ranking was No. 4 in 2002. He won 4 titles in singles and 5 in doubles. He reached 3 semi-finals at the Australian Open in 2001, at the French Open in 2001, at Wimbledon in 2003 and 2004, and at the US Open in 2000, 2005 and 2007.

• Paul-Henri-Mathieu (called “PHM”) has reached his best ranking this year (No. 12). The 26-year-old player won 4 singles titles.

• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has reached his best ranking of No. 6 this year. Tsonga recently rose to fame by virtue of his performance in the 2008 Australian Open when, as an unseeded player, he reached the final, having defeated four seeded players along the way, including earning a straight sets win over world number 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Tsonga eventually lost to world number 3 Novak Djokovic in the final in 4 sets, after winning the first set. Tsonga won his first ATP Masters Series Tournament on November 2nd 2008 when he beat Argentine David Nalbandian 6-3 4-6 6-4 to clinch the last qualifying spot for the season’s finale in Shanghai.

• Gaël Monfils:

His highest ranking ever, as of 2008 is No. 14. In his career, he won one ATP singles final: 2005 Sopot (beat Florian Mayer of Germany). Two months later, he reached the final in Metz, but lost to Croat Ivan Ljubicic.

In 2004, he finished the year as the world’s no.1 junior. He won three of the four junior Grand slam titles (Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon) but failed to join Stefan Edberg as the only player to win the “Junior Grand Slam” when he lost in the third round of the U. S. Open to Viktor Troicki of Serbia and Montenegro (4–6, 2–6).

In his first tournament of 2006, in Doha, he reached the final but lost 3–6, 6–7 to World Number 1 Roger Federer.

Monfils reached the semi-finals at the French Open this year. He lost againt No.1 Roger Federer in 4 sets.

• Julien Benneteau (born on December 20th, 1981 in Bourg en Bresse)

In the 1996 Orange Bowl Benneteau won the Boys 16s singles title. At the 2006 French Open, he reached the quarterfinals by defeating the 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, Radek Stepanek and Alberto Martín. There he was defeated in straight sets (6–2, 6–2, 6–3) by fourth-seeded player Ivan Ljubi?i? of Croatia.

The Frenchman finished the 2008 season in the Top 50 for the second time in three years. During the season he reached two ATP finals at Casablanca, where he lost to fellow countryman Gilles Simon, and at Lyon (l. Soderling). In Grand Slam play his best performance came at Roland Garros where he reached the fourth round before losing to eventual runner-up and world number one Roger Federer. He reached his best ranking (No. 35) in May 2007.

• Marc Gicquel (born on March 30th, 1977 in Tunis, Tunisia):
  

He turned pro in 1999.

On November 6th 2006, Gicquel broke into the top 50 after reaching his first ATP Tour final in Lyon, where he was defeated by Richard Gasquet, his countryman. On April 30th, 2007, Gicquel broke into the top 40 after reaching the semifinals of Casablanca.

He defeated second seed Tommy Robredo at the 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon in the first round and beat Alejandro Falla in the semifinals to reach the Lyon final for two years running. His run, however, was halted by another Frenchman, Sébastien Grosjean.

• Jérémy Chardy (born on February 12th, 1987 in Pau)

He reached his highest ranking (No. 94) in June 2008.

He won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships Boys’ Singles title, and finished as the runner-up of the 2005 US Open Boys’ Singles, losing to Ryan Sweeting.

Chardy made his Grand Slam debut in 2006, benefitting of a wild card at the French Open, where he beat Jonas Bjorkman in straight sets in the first round before losing in four sets to fifteenth-seeded David Ferrer in the second round.

In 2008, after losing the final of the Marrakech Challenger in May to eventual French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils, Chardy produced his best Grand Slam showing so far in his professional career at the French Open, where he entered as a wild card, and came back in the second round from being led two-sets-to-love by ATP No. 6 David Nalbandian to defeat him 3–6, 4–6, 6–2, 6–1, 6–2. He continued his run beating thirtieth seed Dmitry Tursunov 7–6(1), 6–3, 6–4, before losing in the fourth round to nineteenth seed Nicolas Almagro 7–6(0) 7–6(7), 7–5, after holding set points in each of the three sets.

Dominating the world’s No. 1 player with astounding ease, Nadal swept six consecutive games early in the match and swept the final nine games to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.

It was Federer’s worst loss in his 173 Grand Slam matches, and the shortest Roland Garros men’s final in terms of games since 1977.

Federer admitted he lost out to the better man. ”Rafa deserves it so much. To lose a final is never much fun but I will try again next year,” he said.

Federer congratulating Nadal after the match

By reaching the final, Ivanovic had already assured herself of being ranked No. 1 for the first time next week.

Saturday produced a nervous performance by both players, but in the end, Ivanovic ultimately conquered her personal demons and won the match on her first championship match point. The match was not of a very good quality as there were too many unforced errors, especially from Safina’s side. The sister of Marat Safin never really managed to play her shots. She appeared to be very tense throughout the match.

Ana Ivanovic kissing the President of the French Tennis Federation, Christian Bîmes.

Justine Henin, the newly retired four-time French Open champion, presented Ivanovic with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. Ironically, the last time Henin and Ivanovic were together on court at the Philippe Chatrier stadium, Henin was receiving the winner’s trophy, while Ivanovic was left waiting for a second chance.

Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic

In quarter-finals, he lost against his childhood training rival, the Serbian Novak Djokovic (third seed) in a tight three-setter, 7-5,7-6 (7/3), 7-5. The match was a testament to both Ernests’ talent and lack of experience. He impressed everybody with several flashy winners, but displayed his fondness for drop shots a tad too frequently and Djokovic was able to read his tactics by the middle of the match. He also committed unforced errors at the most unfortunate of moments – including a couple of double faults to set up break points.

Nonetheless, it was a tremendous showing by this 19 year-old in only his fifth Grand Slam appearance and a cause for celebration all around. He will head to the grass courts of Queens Club next, in preparation for The Championships at Wimbledon, beginning on June 23rd. In spite of losing in quarter-final, Gulbis could be more than satisfied with his performance. He admitted that he was surprised as anyone by his progress in Paris but was happy to see his decision to skip the Rome and Hamburg Masters, in favour of practice. “I’m not sad at all. I’m happy for the tournament and I think that it was a really good experience for me to play number three in the world,” said Gulbis, who had beaten seventh seed James Blake in the second round. “I’m younger (than him), so I think today he won with experience. I don’t know if I can beat him but at least I can play on the same level so that gives me a lot of confidence for the next tournaments.”

“Going into Roland Garros, I didn’t think the French Open would be where I’d have my best Grand Slam result,” he said. “But I practiced well for three weeks and worked on my physical condition and I changed some tactics. For example, one year ago I was playing some pretty stupid claycourt tennis. I’d go for winners when I didn’t need to and it was more hardcourt tennis. Now I play like a claycourter and only go for winners when it’s possible.” said Gulbis who trained alongside Djokovic at the Munich academy run by Niki Pilic, the former Germany and Croatia Davis Cup coach.

We can surely hope to see and hear more about Gulbis in the coming months and years!