See main article: 1972 French Open.
Andrés Gimeno defeated Patrick Proisy in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–1 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1972 French Open. It was his first and only major title and, at the age of 34, he became the oldest first-time major champion in the Open Era.
Jan Kodeš was the two-time defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Proisy.
The French Lawn Tennis Federation halved the size of the draw from 128 to 64 players in an attempt to attract the top players on tour to the tournament; this change was reverted the following year as results were mixed.[1]
The seeded players are listed below. Andrés Gimeno is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.
Ilie Năstase (first round)
Stan Smith (quarterfinals)
Manuel Orantes (semifinals)
Bob Hewitt (first round) Andrés Gimeno (champion)
Pierre Barthès (third round) Patrick Proisy (final) Clark Graebner (third round) Jimmy Connors (second round)
Jaime Fillol Sr. (second round)
Barry Phillips-Moore (third round)See main article: 1972 French Open – Men's singles qualifying.