because the surface slows the ball and produces a slightly higher , loopier bounce than grass or hard courts . This means the high-power serve of someone like Sampras is negated , opening the way for players with a different style of game . To this extent , the French Open helped create the legend of one of the finest players of all time -- Swedish star Bjorn Borg . Borg won a record six times at Roland Garros . He also won five Wimbledon titles -- but never managed an Australian or U.S. Open crown , both tournaments fought out on hard courts . Describing what makes the French Open so special in an rare one-on-one interview with Indian Web site Rediff.com in 2001 , Borg said : `` It is toughest to win on clay . It is easily the most draining , the toughest Slam . '' Offering advice to Sampras , who was at the time still playing for a French Open title , Borg added , `` I would advise him to concentrate on mental strength , to build it up , to hold that strength over the course of the fortnight . `` Along
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Pete Sampras and Roger Federer are two of the modern era 's greatest tennis players . Between them , they have won a staggering 27 Grand Slam singles titles -- and yet , neither player has ever won the French Open . Tennis great Pete Sampras won 14 Grand Slam tournaments but never managed a French Open victory . That legendary players like Sampras and Federer have somehow failed to win at Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros is just one of the reasons why this Grand Slam tournament holds such a special place on the tennis calendar . The French Open is notably the only Grand Slam event contested on clay -- a factor that separates it from the other three majors , and more than anything else defines the tournament . The layers of crushed brick that constitute the orange-red clay courts of Roland Garros are what brought Sampras -- and still bring Federer -- so much grief . Fellow greats John McEnroe , Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg also failed to win the coveted title . The reason clay may have affected the natural games of these players is