ATP Roland Garros 1981 Draw & Results

Completed

Bjorn Borg won the 1981 Roland Garros, defeating Ivan Lendl 6-1 4-6 6-2 3-6 6-1 in the final. The Grand Slam was played May 25–June 8 on clay courts in Paris, France.

Roland Garros is also widely known as the French Open and is the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay.

Full tournament history →
Champion
Bjorn Borg
def. Ivan Lendl , 6-1 4-6 6-2 3-6 6-1
Dates
May 25 — Jun 8
Location
Paris, France
Category
Grand Slam
Surface
Clay
Prize money
—

Results

Match type

127 recorded singles results

Roland Garros 1981 match log
WinnerScoreLoserH2HMatch DataDateRound
F (1)
Bjorn Borg #1DEF · 5× 6-1 4-6 6-2 3-6 6-1 Ivan Lendl #4 H2H Match data Jun 8, 1981* F
SF (2)
Ivan Lendl #5 3-6 6-4 4-6 7-6 6-2 Jose Luis Clerc #7 H2H Match data Jun 7, 1981* SF
Bjorn Borg #1DEF · 5× 6-4 6-4 7-5 Victor Pecci #18 H2H Match data Jun 7, 1981* SF
QF (4)
Jose Luis Clerc #7 4-6 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-0 Jimmy Connors #2 H2H Match data Jun 5, 1981* QF
Ivan Lendl #5 6-4 6-4 7-5 John McEnroe #3 H2H Match data Jun 5, 1981* QF
Bjorn Borg #1DEF · 5× 6-3 6-3 6-2 Balazs Taroczy #17 H2H Match data Jun 5, 1981* QF
Victor Pecci #18 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 Yannick Noah #16 H2H Match data Jun 5, 1981* QF
R16 (8)
Ivan Lendl #5 6-2 4-6 7-6 7-6 Peter Mcnamara — Match data Jun 3, 1981* R16
Jose Luis Clerc #7 6-4 3-6 7-5 7-5 Carlos Kirmayr #46 H2H Match data Jun 3, 1981* R16
John McEnroe #3 6-3 6-4 6-4 Ricardo Ycaza #59 H2H Match data Jun 3, 1981* R16
Jimmy Connors #2 6-2 6-4 7-6 Mel Purcell #28 H2H Match data Jun 3, 1981* R16
Victor Pecci #18 6-2 6-3 6-3 Wojtek Fibak #15 H2H Match data Jun 3, 1981* R16
Yannick Noah #16 6-2 6-3 5-7 6-4 Guillermo Vilas #6CH H2H Match data Jun 3, 1981* R16
Bjorn Borg #1DEF · 5× 6-0 6-0 6-1 Terry Moor #37 H2H Match data Jun 3, 1981* R16
Balazs Taroczy #17 7-5 6-3 5-7 6-3 Thierry Tulasne #75 H2H Match data Jun 3, 1981* R16
R32 (16)
Victor Pecci #18 6-4 2-1 (ret.) Sandy Mayer #33 H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Jose Luis Clerc #7 6-4 6-2 6-1 Alejandro Ganzabal H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Mel Purcell #28 3-6 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-3 Eddie Dibbs #20 H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Peter Mcnamara 6-0 6-2 6-1 Billy Martin — Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Balazs Taroczy #17 6-1 5-2 (ret.) Ben Testerman H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Guillermo Vilas #6CH 6-1 6-1 6-0 Ricardo Cano #55 H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Jimmy Connors #2 6-0 6-2 6-0 Jean Francois Caujolle H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Wojtek Fibak #15 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-2 Haroon Ismail H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Terry Moor #37 6-3 6-2 6-1 Ilie Nastase #67CH H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Bjorn Borg #1DEF · 5× 6-2 6-1 6-2 Paul Torre H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Carlos Kirmayr #46 6-2 6-4 6-2 Brian Gottfried #11 H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Thierry Tulasne #75 6-4 6-0 6-3 Tony Giammalva #56 H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
John McEnroe #3 6-1 2-6 6-0 6-4 Diego Perez H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Ricardo Ycaza #59 6-4 0-6 7-6 6-2 Per Hjertquist #79 H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Yannick Noah #16 6-0 3-6 6-1 6-4 Jan Norback #97 H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
Ivan Lendl #5 6-2 6-1 4-6 6-3 Eduardo Bengoechea #85 H2H Match data May 31, 1981* R32
R64 (32)
Brian Gottfried #11 6-2 6-3 7-6 Hans Simonsson H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Eduardo Bengoechea #85 6-4 6-0 6-4 Chris Mayotte H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Ivan Lendl #5 6-2 3-6 2-6 7-6 6-4 Andres Gomez #73 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Thierry Tulasne #75 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-0 Adriano Panatta #21CH H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Victor Pecci #18 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-5 Shlomo Glickstein #53 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Jean Francois Caujolle 3-6 3-6 7-6 7-5 6-3 Patrice Kuchna H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Guillermo Vilas #6CH 6-2 6-3 6-0 Pascal Portes #41 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Alejandro Ganzabal 6-3 6-7 6-1 6-3 Steve Krulevitz H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Ben Testerman 6-4 6-3 3-6 0-6 6-2 Marcos Hocevar #71 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Sandy Mayer #33 6-4 6-2 6-1 Raymond Moore H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
John McEnroe #3 6-3 6-0 6-2 Jaime Fillol #95 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Ilie Nastase #67CH 6-1 6-2 6-0 Patrick Proisy H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Bjorn Borg #1DEF · 5× 6-1 7-5 6-0 Cassio Motta H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Diego Perez 7-6 6-4 2-6 6-2 Jiri Hrebec H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Tony Giammalva #56 6-4 7-5 6-4 Roberto Vizcaino H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Per Hjertquist #79 6-4 7-5 7-6 Chris Johnstone H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Jimmy Connors #2 6-3 7-6 6-4 Gabriel Urpi H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Yannick Noah #16 7-6 1-6 6-4 6-3 Hans Gildemeister — Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Paul Torre 6-3 6-4 6-3 Angel Gimenez #65 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Jose Luis Clerc #7 6-4 6-1 6-0 Alvaro Fillol H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Wojtek Fibak #15 7-6 6-0 7-6 Fernando Luna #92 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Billy Martin 3-6 6-2 6-0 7-5 Eric Fromm H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Mel Purcell #28 6-1 6-1 3-6 6-3 Mansour Bahrami H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Haroon Ismail 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-2 6-4 Eric Deblicker H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Terry Moor #37 6-3 7-6 6-1 Jose Luis Damiani #44 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Ricardo Cano #55 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-2 Trey Waltke #51 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Jan Norback #97 7-6 2-6 6-4 6-3 Rod Frawley H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Eddie Dibbs #20 6-3 6-2 4-6 6-4 Chris Lewis #52 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Carlos Kirmayr #46 6-4 6-4 6-4 Pavel Slozil #69 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Balazs Taroczy #17 7-6 7-5 7-6 Tomas Smid #26 H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Ricardo Ycaza #59 5-7 6-3 1-6 6-1 6-4 Jimmy Arias H2H Match data May 29, 1981* R64
Peter Mcnamara 6-3 6-3 6-3 Gilles Moretton — Match data May 29, 1981* R64
R128 (64)
Jaime Fillol #95 3-6 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-4 Corrado Barazzutti #29 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Paul Torre 6-1 6-7 3-6 6-0 7-5 Paul Mcnamee #32 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128 Upset: winner had a 16 percent pre-match Elo win probability.
Ilie Nastase #67CH 6-2 6-4 7-5 Eliot Teltscher #13 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Balazs Taroczy #17 6-3 6-0 6-1 Hank Pfister #83 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Victor Pecci #18 6-2 7-5 6-1 Vittorio Magnelli H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Cassio Motta 6-3 3-6 6-3 7-6 Wolfgang Popp H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Per Hjertquist #79 6-4 6-4 6-4 Onny Parun #99 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Trey Waltke #51 6-3 6-0 6-0 Rick Fagel H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Jean Francois Caujolle 6-3 6-3 6-3 Ben Mckown H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Carlos Kirmayr #46 6-3 7-6 6-2 Raul Ramirez #48 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Alvaro Fillol 6-1 6-3 3-6 6-4 Fernando Dalla Fontana — Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Jimmy Connors #2 6-1 7-5 3-6 6-3 Christophe Roger-Vasselin #61 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Wojtek Fibak #15 6-2 6-2 6-4 Bruce Nichols H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Patrick Proisy 6-1 6-3 6-1 Paul Kronk — Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Eric Deblicker 6-2 7-6 6-4 Fernando Maynetto H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Guillermo Vilas #6CH 6-2 7-5 6-2 Paolo Bertolucci #93 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Raymond Moore 7-5 3-6 4-6 6-3 9-7 Patrice Dominguez H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Tomas Smid #26 6-1 7-6 6-2 Zeljko Franulovic H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Eddie Dibbs #20 6-0 6-1 6-1 Bruce Manson #72 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Jan Norback #97 6-1 6-4 5-7 6-3 Klaus Eberhard #99 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Hans Gildemeister 6-7 2-6 6-3 6-0 12-10 Christophe Freyss — Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Peter Mcnamara 6-3 6-1 5-7 6-1 Georges Goven — Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Patrice Kuchna 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2 David Schneider H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Yannick Noah #16 6-1 6-1 6-4 Ramesh Krishnan H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Marcos Hocevar #71 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-3 Javier Restrepo — Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Pavel Slozil #69 6-2 3-6 6-2 6-3 Gianluca Rinaldini H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Ben Testerman 6-4 6-1 4-6 6-4 Pavel Hutka H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Adriano Panatta #21CH 6-3 7-5 6-2 Harold Solomon #9 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
John McEnroe #3 6-2 6-0 6-4 Vincent Van Patten — Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Brian Gottfried #11 6-7 6-3 6-0 6-4 Guillermo Aubone H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Jiri Hrebec 6-4 3-6 6-0 6-1 Robert Vant Hof — Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Eduardo Bengoechea #85 6-4 6-1 3-6 6-4 Henri Leconte H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Ivan Lendl #5 7-5 7-6 6-4 John Fitzgerald #82 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Andres Gomez #73 4-6 6-2 6-3 1-6 6-3 Eddie Edwards H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Ricardo Ycaza #59 4-6 6-2 7-5 7-5 Vitas Gerulaitis #10 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128 Upset: winner had a 14 percent pre-match Elo win probability.
Gilles Moretton 6-3 7-6 6-0 Denis Naegelen H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Diego Perez 6-2 6-1 6-4 Jan Kodes 2× CH H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Chris Johnstone 6-1 7-5 6-0 Larry Stefanki H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Mel Purcell #28 3-6 4-6 6-1 6-3 6-1 Andreas Maurer H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Jose Luis Clerc #7 7-5 7-5 6-1 Heinz Gunthardt #42 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Chris Mayotte 6-7 6-3 7-5 6-3 Craig Wittus H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Haroon Ismail 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 Francisco Gonzalez #64 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Gabriel Urpi 7-5 4-6 6-4 6-0 Christophe Casa H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Jose Luis Damiani #44 6-2 (ret.) Rolf Gehring #36 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Angel Gimenez #65 6-4 7-5 6-2 Mario Martinez — Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Thierry Tulasne #75 6-3 6-0 6-3 Jose Higueras #23 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128 Upset: winner had a 19 percent pre-match Elo win probability.
Eric Fromm 6-7 7-5 6-2 6-3 Peter Feigl #86 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Pascal Portes #41 6-3 6-1 6-2 Ross Case H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Tony Giammalva #56 6-1 3-6 6-4 6-1 Ferdi Taygan #96 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Fernando Luna #92 6-2 4-6 6-2 6-4 Louk Sanders #89 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Chris Lewis #52 6-4 6-2 4-6 2-6 6-4 Mark Edmondson #74 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Mansour Bahrami 4-6 7-5 6-4 7-6 Jean Louis Haillet H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Roberto Vizcaino 6-3 6-1 6-0 Antonio Zugarelli H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Terry Moor #37 6-2 6-4 6-2 Anders Jarryd H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Alejandro Ganzabal 7-6 6-4 6-2 Manuel Orantes #98 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128 Upset: winner had a 15 percent pre-match Elo win probability.
Rod Frawley 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 Gustavo Guerrero H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Billy Martin 4-6 7-6 7-6 6-3 Miguel Mir H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Sandy Mayer #33 6-1 6-4 6-3 Dominique Bedel H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Shlomo Glickstein #53 7-5 6-3 6-0 Richard Meyer #100 H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Jimmy Arias 6-4 7-6 7-6 Carlos Gattiker H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Bjorn Borg #1DEF · 5× 6-2 6-2 6-2 Jose Lopez Maeso — Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Ricardo Cano #55 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 David Carter H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Hans Simonsson 6-1 5-7 6-4 6-2 Jerome Potier H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128
Steve Krulevitz 2-6 7-6 6-3 7-6 Joakim Nystrom H2H Match data May 27, 1981* R128

Tournament Records

The leading Open Era records for Roland Garros.

Most Titles

Open Era singles titles.

  1. Rafael Nadal 14 titles

Most Finals

Champion or runner-up finishes.

  1. Rafael Nadal 14 finals

Most Match Wins

Recorded main-draw match wins.

  1. Rafael Nadal 112 wins

Most Appearances

Editions with a recorded main-draw match. 2 players share this record.

  1. Novak Djokovic 22 appearances

View the full Roland Garros record book →

Open Era main-draw singles records from 1968 onward. Ranking records begin where reliable entering rankings are available.

Recent Finals

Recent Roland Garros finals
WinnerScoreRunner-upH2HMatch DataSeasonSurface
Alexander Zverev #3 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1 Flavio Cobolli #14 H2H Match data 2026 Clay
Carlos Alcaraz #1 4-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(2) Jannik Sinner #2 H2H Match data 2025 Clay
Carlos Alcaraz #3 6-3 2-6 5-7 6-1 6-2 Alexander Zverev #4 H2H Match data 2024 Clay
Novak Djokovic #3 7-6(1) 6-3 7-5 Casper Ruud #4 H2H Match data 2023 Clay
Rafael Nadal #5 6-3 6-3 6-0 Casper Ruud #8 H2H Match data 2022 Clay

View full tournament history →

Related Tournaments

View all Grand Slam champions by year →

Other Grand Slam tournaments in 1981

Previous editions of Roland Garros

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Roland Garros held?
Roland Garros is held in Paris, France.
Who is the latest recorded Roland Garros winner?
The 2026 Roland Garros was won by Alexander Zverev, who defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1.
Who has won the most Roland Garros titles?
Rafael Nadal has won 14 Roland Garros titles, the most by any player in the Open Era (since 1968).
When was the first Roland Garros played?
The first edition of Roland Garros was held in 1891.
What surface is Roland Garros played on?
Roland Garros is played on clay courts.