Yannick Noah the French Tennis Federation's training center in Nice in 1971. Noah turned professional in 1977 and won his first top-level singles title in 1978 in Manila. Noah became France's most prominent tennis hero in 1983, becoming the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam singles events. He dropped only one set during the two-week-long tournament, and defeated the defending champion, Sweden's Mats Wilander in straight sets in the final, 6–2, 7–5, 7–6. He remains the last and most recent Frenchman to have won the French Open men's singles title. Noah won
Smash (tennis) the "skyhook", a version of the overhead smash in which the Eastern grip used to hit the ball further behind the body than is possible with a traditional overhead smash. Pete Sampras (and before him Yannick Noah) popularized the "jump smash", where the player jumps and then hits the smash in mid-air. The shot is often also called a slam dunk, as in basketball. Smash (tennis) A smash in tennis is a shot that is hit above the hitter's head with a serve-like motion. It is also referred to as an overhead. A smash can usually be hit with a