Clara Burel had already participated in Roland-Garros in 2018. – CHRISTOPHE SAIDI / SIPA
- Australian Open champion and number 1 among juniors, Clara Burel is one of the rare French satisfactions.
- She crossed for the first time a turn in the big table of a Grand Slam on Monday.
- The 19-year-old Breton has just returned from a serious wrist injury.
A Roland-Garros,
Four days that we roamed the 16th arrondissement and not the tail of a reason to vibrate for French tennis apart from her. Thank you, therefore, to Clara Burel, for having fulfilled the quota of our annual chestnut tree on the tricolor revelation of the fortnight. In addition, it makes us happy. Like any self-respecting tennis fan, we ticked his name two years ago. Australian Open champion and number 1 among juniors, the first since Kristina Mladenovic in 2009. You can keep it in the back of your mind. From memory, Yannick Noah had even invited her to sniff the air of the Fed Cup in anticipation of the next decade.
Double wrist surgery at the worst time
And then the drama. A lint left wrist at the worst moment, that of the difficult transition between the world of children and that of adults. It is necessary to operate, twice in a row, before resuming gently in the club next to the family house. It’s François-Xavier Le Gaouyat, a 4/6 from the long-time friend corner, who sticks to it. “The recovery was difficult, we had to start with foam balls so as not to damage the wrist. The transition was long before we switched to real tennis balls. On the backhand side, we only did ranges of backhands so as not to use the second hand. A year without competition at that age is tough. But even when it got tough, she looked positive. Clara is not the type of girl who lets her emotions shine.
Emotion sequence!
After her victory at the end of the night against the Dutch Arantxa Rus, Clara Burel takes refuge in her mother’s arms and even lets out a few tears!
It is on this moment of tenderness that the second day of #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/jhwBGBzoUo
– France tv sport (@francetvsport) September 28, 2020
There is a small one, anyway, after the victorious match point against Arantxa Rus at past midnight on Monday. A long hug with his mother, as if to remember the hardships passed before this first Grand Slam victory. “Of course, at the end, when I saw my mother, I thought back to last year when I watched Roland Garros and had just had my wrist operated, it was difficult, the young girl comments modestly. It’s true that when I won, I thought about it all and it was a lot of emotions ”. Thierry Champion was not far either. The head of the high level of the FFT personally took charge of the Breton on leaving the confinement. A month and a half of intensive sessions to get her back on track, before entrusting her to Alexia Dechaume. The efficiency of the collaboration wowed the sparring of Burel, who was present on the other side of the net all along.
A studious summer with Champion
This is because the young Bretonne already has her small reputation at the CNE, where the coaches have sometimes followed one another at high speed without managing to find the click to be heard. Not a bad background, far from it, but let’s say that Burel needs to be convinced by what is presented to her, which has not always been the case. “Clara has been someone very independent for a long time, nuance François Xavier Le Gouayat. She went to INSEP alone at 14, so she quickly learned to manage her matches, which is not easy for the coaches who are arriving. She is already very mature. That’s why she has a very good feeling with Thierry. She feels more comfortable with this type of trainer with a lot of experience. Thierry gives him a speech that suits him well. Clara is not a very talkative girl, but I could see she was comfortable with him ”.
Comfortable is the word. Against Rutz, Burel amazed by his gentle style. Regardless of the speed of the opposing ball, the latter seems to lose its superpowers in a cotton wall. The Dutch have sometimes turned goat on the cushioning of the 357th world. “I try to adapt a bit depending on the opponent. Of course I have my game that I don’t change, but that I can adapt according to the opponent ”. Looking back, on Tuesday, Champion was less blown away by the victory itself than Burel’s ability to put on so much intensity for three hours.
It is Paul Quétin, a historical among the preparers of the FFT, who takes care of building the physical foundations. Le Gaouyat: “Before the wrist, she had already had a big thing on her ankle at 14/15 years old. It was a bit difficult being young, we wondered if the body was going to hold up to the highest level. I hope she will be able to chain the seasons now ”.
“She has the skills to be top 50 without any problem”
On the game itself? There is room, obviously, especially in service, where the first rarely exceeds 140 km / h. An axis of progression that Champion had largely targeted this summer in Le Télégramme. “When she has a serve that is at the level of her two groundstrokes, she will also be a very good player. His ball moves quickly with a minimum of effort, which also means that it can last over time ”. The potential exists, confirms Le Gaouyat. “She has a tremendous amount of feedback, she has the knack to be in the top 50 without a problem. After that, all the difference between a girl who remains 200th in the world all her life and a better ranked girl is consistency. “
And a little the mental too, even if from this point of view, Burel does not worry us too much: “She has already overcome a lot of things, she has shown that she has something more at this level. “We may have the opportunity to verify it against Juvan in the second round. The Slovenian deprived Burel of the gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina two years ago. It’s time for revenge.
