Melbourne, 16 May 2012 | tennis.com.au

As we count down to French Open 2012, tennis.com.au will feature some of the best Australian achievements at Roland Garros. The highlights will be revealed in chronological order and when all 20 have been named, you get the chance to vote for your No.1 achievement.

1964 Margaret Smith sweeps Roland Garros

Following on from a stellar 1963 season, Smith was, not surprisingly, the top seed at Roland Garros 1964. Seeded second was Brazilian Maria Esther Bueno who had beaten Smith in the final of the US Championships just months earlier.

With the memory of that loss at the US Championships still fresh, Smith wanted to get one back on Bueno. But the Brazilan wasn’t going to hand it to the Australian.

Bueno came out swinging to take the first set 7-5, a scoreline that, if anything, proved to be the motivation Smith needed. The top seed conceded just one game in the second set as she took control of the match to level at one set apiece.

In the deciding set it was all Smith as she ran out a 5-7 6-1 6-2 winner.

Weeks later Bueno would turn the tables once again by defeating Smith in the Wimbledon final in a classic three-set stoush. Later that year Bueno would add the US Championships to her collection and return to her native Brazil a hero.

But ultimately it was Smith who had the last laugh in this rivalry winning the Australian Championships and Wimbledon in 1965 in the pair’s final two meetings in major finals.

In the doubles, Smith teamed with Lesley Turner to defeat Helga Schultze and Norma Baylon  6-3 6-1, and in the mixed she partnered Ken Fletcher to win their second mixed doubles title in a row on the Roland Garros clay.

Profiles: Margaret (Smith) Court, Lesley Turner, Ken Fletcher

Aussies at Roland Garros – the complete list to date

1933 Jack Crawford becomes the first Australian to win the Roland Garros men’s singles title

1951 Ken McGregor plays a marathon semifinal against South African Eric Sturgess

1953 Ken Rosewall wins the men’s singles title 12 months after winning the Roland Garros boys’ championships

1958 Mervyn Rose wins the singles final while Ashley Cooper and Neale Fraser take the doubles

1960–1965 Roy Emerson features in six consecutive winning doubles duos

1962 Margaret Smith wins her first major on foreign soil

1962 Rod Laver wins the men’s singles title on his way to his first calendar year Grand Slam

1963–1965 Three in a row for mixed doubles pair Margaret Smith and Ken Fletcher

1964 Margaret Smith sweeps Roland Garros