Cédric Pioline was not the player of a single tournament. With many strokes and full tennis, the Frenchman was comfortable on all surfaces. May his career at Roland Garros in 1998 is still remembered.
Finalist of the US Open in 1993 and Wimbledon in 1997, Cédric Pioline never reached this stage of the competition in “his tournament” (he is Parisian), but he was semi-finalist in 1998, two years later. have reached the quarter-finals. The progression was obvious, but the journey to the semi-final was not easy:
“Cédric was an all-terrain player. He was also a fighter and he sometimes knew how to hide his emotions well. When his tennis was up, he had tennis to beat any player, even the best. He mastered all the shots and he had an offensive style that appealed to the public ” explains former player Rodolphe Gilbert.
But in this month of June 1998, it was written that the selflessness and the offensive play of Cédric Pioline would come up against the solid Alex Corretja.
It must be said that the French did not prepare for this semi-final in the best possible way because from the first round he had spent a lot of time on the court, only beating the Uruguayan Filippini in five sets (6-1 , 3-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4), then in the round of 16 he dismissed Marat Safin by going after himself again (7-5, 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4) as well as in the quarter-finals against Hicham Arazi (3-6, 6-2, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3).
This match was certainly one too many matches for a Cédric Pioline who arrived in the semi-final very physically damaged.
« He had an offensive style that appealed to the public »
Long awaited, the match will turn to the demonstration. Pragmatic and focused on his tennis, Alex Corretja chained the points and won quietly in three sets (6-3, 6-4, 6-2). It was really on the physical aspect that the match was played according to Patrice Hagelauer:
“On this match, Cédric was burnt out. He couldn’t win because he was flat at the end. There was a little lack of juice. This in no way obscured his remarkable career during this Roland Garros. But as it could have happened to him at a US Open, he lacked a bit of physics to go to the end. In short, it had been a bit short.
Especially on a 6th or 7th match of a Grand Slam tournament like Roland-Garros. The difference is often made at this level. But, once again, Cédric had a very good tournament. He had the weapons to beat Corretja, but he lacked the physique. “
In the locker room, he will fall apart
At the end of the match, Cédric Pioline will admit that he was physically cooked:
“After 22 sets played in twelve days and almost 3:16 pm spent on the court, I only had a few drops of fuel left in the tank. Despite the public support, it wasn’t enough to overwhelm a player of Alex Corretja’s caliber. Do I regret not having been able to go further in this Roland-Garros?
No because I gave everything and even more and I experienced emotions like no other. ”
Proof that he had given everything, when he returned to the locker room he fell in love and had to be helped by the medical staff. It will take several hours to fully recover from the efforts made.
In this year of the Football World Cup in France, Cédric Pioline will therefore not be ahead of French footballers on the way to glory and the final will once again have a Spanish feel with the opposition between Alex Corretja and Carlos Moya.
The latter will win in three sets (6-7, 7-5, 63). Cédric Pioline can harbor regrets, he missed the boat, he was in one of the best periods of his sports career.
In the following years, he did not reach the stage of the knockout stages at Roland Garros until 2000, the year in which he obtained his best ATP ranking with a 5th place, by losing against one of his. old acquaintances Marat Safin.
Cédric Pioline had the tennis skills and the level to win Roland Garros, he was one of the few French people who could dream of it, but to achieve this he had to manage the matches more easily.
By engaging in five-set marathons on clay, it is always difficult to last two weeks without suffering a fatal physical decline as happened to him in this year 1998 against Alex Corretja.
