Fellow Argentine Guillermo Coria, widely regarded as the favourite and the world's best clay court player coming into the tournament, was seeded 3rd for the event, whereas Gaudio was unseeded (ranked 44th[1]).

Gaudio also became the first man to win a Grand Slam tournament final after being bagelled, which occurred in the first set.

The overall tournament was noted for the performance of Argentine players – in addition to the two finalists, there were a semifinalist (David Nalbandian) and a quarterfinalist (Juan Ignacio Chela).

She also became the first French Open women's champion after saving a match point en route to the title (against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round).

In the mixed doubles, French players Tatiana Golovin and Richard Gasquet (aged 16 and 17 respectively) won the tournament after entering as wildcards.