Gustavo Kuerten defeated Sergi Bruguera in the final, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1997 French Open. It was his first major singles title.[1] He became the first unseeded player since Mats Wilander in 1982 and the second-lowest ranked player ever to win a major, and the first Brazilian to win a men's singles major. Following the win, Kuerten improved in the rankings from world No. 66 to No. 15.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov was the defending champion, but lost to Kuerten in the quarterfinals.