This Sunday, June 13, Martin Deschamps will watch the Roland Garros final in front of television. However, for three weeks this young 13-year-old from Gorronnais spent hours on the clay courts of Porte d’Auteuil.
Three to four matches per day
Tennis player since the age of four, it was as a ball collector that he had the chance to hit the courts. “I was selected among 5,000 young people and in the end we were only 280!” the teenager is still astonished. With three to four matches a day, the three weeks went by very quickly for the young tennis player. “It was great because the weather was nice. We had a crowd and between us we talked a lot about tennis because we have the same passion.”
Among the matches he was able to attend, Martin keeps one in mind. That of the French Pierre-Hugues Herbert against the Italian Sinner. “There was a huge crowd. People were singing, shouting and applauding. It was amazing but it took a lot of concentration because we must not forget that we are there to collect the balls and not miss a thing.”
A memory with Benoit Paire
During matches, contact with players is reduced to a few exchanges of words to ask for a water bottle, towel, or ball. Martin was still able to experience a privileged exchange with a French player, Benoit Paire, whose escapades we know on the courts. “I was with my brother and we were told that there was a player. We saw that it was him and he was super nice to us. We chatted and took a picture.”
Back in Mayenne, Martin can’t wait to meet his friends to tell about his adventures. It counts well send a cover letter to the organizers to relive this experience next year. Before coming back one day as a player?
