The French Open is a major that throws all kinds of slices and dropshots giving us something different every year (other than Rafael Nadal winning of course). This year was no different with the biggest change-up of all coming before the tournament started when the draw came out as nine-time champion Rafael Nadal was put into the same half as world number one Novak Djokovic. Obviously a few more bits and bobs were thrown along the road, but after it was all said and done, the biggest shock of all came when a Swiss player (no not Roger Federer), lifted the title when Stan Wawrinka upset Novak Djokovic for the title. With the quick transition from the clay to grass, it’s time to reflect on the tournament to discuss who amongst the field surprised us as winners and disappointed us in their losing efforts.

Champion: Stan Wawrinka: There was a question asked whether Stan at his best is the best in the world? There’s no doubting the man’s ability when he needs to sit down and focus for the most important matches of his career with an undefeated final’s record, but to say he’s the best might be a little bit of a stretch. Being placed in the bottom half of the draw avoiding three members of the “Big Four” gave the Swiss number two just as much of a shot to get to the final as his countryman Roger Federer. Despite the open draw, no one was talking about Wawrinka as much of a threat, all the talk amongst tennis fans and analysts were crowning Federer or Kei Nishikori as finalists. Just like in his first major title at the Australian Open last year, he flew under the radar once again. There weren’t many blips in the road for the now world number four dropping three sets en route to the title, but the first came via an unlikely source as a motivated Dusan Lajovic picked up his play in the second set of his second round match with the Swiss. After that however, it was pure dominance in the next three rounds as he took out Steve Johnson, Gilles Simon, and Roger Federer in straight sets. With the crowd against him in the semifinal since he was playing hometown favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, he did his best to neutralize the crowd with some brilliant shotmaking and by taking the first set. Despite Tsonga taking the second set, the crowd was once again silenced as their hometown hero was outmatched in the final two sets. With Novak Djokovic looming, Stan had to do what he had done in his Australian Open performances, which was play attacking tennis and catch fire while hitting loads of winners. That is exactly what he did en route to his first ever French Open title and second career Grand Slam.

Winner: Andy Murray: Talk about quite the comeback. The Brit was two sets down and a break down in the third when all looked lost for him. All of a sudden, we all saw a Murray we weren’t used to seeing before; an aggressive, attack-minded Murray who often pushed Djokovic on the backfoot. With that being said, the world number three has to look at the positives despite losing to Djokovic in five sets. Taking the backhand on the rise is the shot that could transform Murray for not just clay events but throughout the year as well. If he takes it on the rise on the grass, it will be extremely difficult for his opponents to get back at him and attack. A semifinals in the French Open and two clay titles capped off the greatest clay season the Brit has ever had. Here’s to hoping he can continue his stunningly high level of play into his home turf.

Winner: Thanasi Kokkinakis: If you would have told us someone would have lost to Djokovic in straight sets and performed much better than Rafael Nadal overall in their loss, you probably wouldn’t think of the Australian. Overall in his straight sets loss against the Serb, he held his own in all three sets more only losing by a break apiece in each set. The world number one was playing phenomenal throughout the match, and it speaks volumes about this young man for taking 12 games off of him. In addition to taking 12 games off of the world number one, he also continued his flare for the dramatic at the Grand Slams with yet another five-set victory, this time coming from two sets to love down against countryman Bernard Tomic. Now up to a career high 69 in the rankings, he’ll be looking to make another run into the third round at Wimbledon.

Loser: Novak Djokovic: How is the runner-up one of the “losers” you ask? Well just like 2011, 2012, and 2014 were supposed to be his years, this was supposed to be THE year for Novak Djokovic. Nadal was falling apart, he was a man on fire, and he’d have to face Nadal well before the final. Too bad the final wasn’t his quarterfinal with Nadal then he’d have the trophy already. There were still two more matches to be played. Unluckily for him, he had one less day of rest having to play Murray over an hour on Saturday, oh and he ran into a man on fire in Stan Wawrinka in the final. Don’t get us wrong, we still see him achieving the career Grand Slam one day, but the pressure continually will dwell on him if he does not win in the next two or three years.

Loser: Rafael Nadal: After his quarterfinals loss to Djokovic, the Spaniard woke up this morning ranked tenth. That is his lowest ranking in the last decade. The quarterfinal was clearly going to be a test of how he fared in the crucial moments. Well he failed that test starting with the overhead at 30-15 in 5-6 in the first set, that was the turning point. Djokovic had the momentum took the first set and the freight train hit him. A break in the second and a “breadstick” in the third broke his spirit. Now as Nadal has had more than enough time to get acclimated to the grass, it’s time to see how he fares on the surface that has given him the most disappointment the past three years.