Ken Rosewall defeated Rod Laver in the final, 6–3, 6–1, 2–6, 6–2 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1968 French Open. It was Rosewall's second French title and fifth Grand Slam tournament title overall. This was the first Grand Slam tournament to be open to professional players, marking a period in tennis history known as the Open Era. Rosewall and Laver, who had not appeared in a Grand Slam tournament since 1956 and 1962 respectively, were among those no longer barred from entering.
Roy Emerson was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Pancho Gonzales.
Missing from the tournament were WCT's "Handsome Eight" and top amateurs Manuel Santana, Arthur Ashe, Clark Graebner and Tom Okker.
This was the first major appearance of future champion and world No. 1 Ilie Năstase.
Seeds
Rod Laver (final) Ken Rosewall (champion) Andrés Gimeno (semifinals) Roy Emerson (quarterfinals) Pancho Gonzales (semifinals) Fred Stolle (second round) Lew Hoad (first round, withdrew) Bob Hewitt (third round) Ion Țiriac (quarterfinals) Wilhelm Bungert (first round, withdrew) Nicola Pietrangeli (first round, withdrew) István Gulyás (fourth round) Cliff Richey (fourth round) Ray Ruffels (fourth round) Jan Kodeš (first round, withdrew) Alex Metreveli (first round, withdrew)
Qualifying
Draw
Finals
Top half
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Bottom half
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
References
External links
1968 French Open – Men's draws and results at the International Tennis Federation