Roland Garros, the pilot who is saluted at French Open

ENGLISH speakers may refer to the second grand slam of the year as the French Open, but to the French themselves, the tournament – like the stadium where it has been held since 1928 – is simply Roland Garros.

The showcourts and some of the stands at the Paris venue are named after celebrated French tennis figures such as Suzanne Lenglen and Rene Lacoste, but Roland Garros himself was in fact an aviator. Born in 1888, he became part of the first generation of European airmen in the years leading up to the First World War.

In 1913, on the eve of that conflict, Garros made the first non-stop flight across the Mediterranean, travelling from France to Tunisia. The following year he joined the French army, becoming a fighter pilot in the war against Germany.

He was imprisoned in 1915 after making a forced landing behind enemy lines, and spent three years in custody before escaping. He rejoined the army, and was shot down and killed in October 1918, a day before his 30th birthday.

Although a French Championship had been played annually since Garros was an infant, it was a domestic affair, closed to outsiders. That situation changed in 1925 when the first Internationaux de France were held, shared between the grounds of two sports clubs, Stade Franais and Racing Club de Paris.

The Twenties were the golden age of French tennis, with Lacoste, Lenglen, Jean Borotra and other stars taking the sport by storm. In particular, French success in the Davis Cup saw the popularity of the sport grow dramatically, and it soon became clear that a considerably bigger venue was required.

And so the Stade Roland Garros was born. Nestling between the Avenue Porte d'Auteuil and the Avenue Gordon Bennett (the reason for that curious name is another story altogether), it opened with a women's team match between France and Great Britain. That friendly encounter was essentially a test event for the Davis Cup final, in which the French defeated the United States.

And the reason it was named after Roland Garros? The aviator, a keen sportsman, had been a member of Stade Franais, where he played rugby as well as tennis.

His schoolfriend Emile Lesieur, who had gone on to play rugby for France, successfully campaigned for the new venue to be named after the airman, who had died in battle against the Germans just a month before the Armistice was signed.

Unfortunately, while Garros is thus honoured every year, France's men have just matched their worst record in the singles since the stadium which bears his name was opened.

By last night, the host nation had only one man left standing in the singles – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who advanced to the fourth round yesterday by defeating Thiemo De Bakker in four sets.

Florent Serra and Nicolas Mahut were still around at the start of the day's play, but both lost.

The last time there was only one French player remaining in the tournament at this stage was in 1995. There was also only one French player in the third round in 1993 and 1969.