At only 15 years old, the French Gabriel Debru has already entered the top 1000, after his very good career in Roanne Challenger. Out of qualifying and winner of his first round, he managed to register 13 ATP points, making him the youngest player in the top 1000. Accompanied by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and other young players like Luca Van Assche (winner of Roland-Garros junior), he was able to exchange balls on Tuesday on the Philippe-Chatrier court as part of the BNP Paribas young talents team, and spoke on the microphone of Tennis News the importance of this support, especially at a time when the public is starting to discover it.
Gabriel Debru at the microphone of Tennis Actu
“Playing with Jo on this ground is crazy”
The very young player, who gradually discovers the high level, realizes the chance he has to be part of the young talents team:“It’s incredible to be able to exchange balls on the Philippe-Chatrier court, even if it’s not the first time. Playing with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is also incredible, and with my friends who are there too it is crazy! And also to be able to play on this big field it is only fun because I hope to be able to play again later. It is experience for the moment to learn for what awaits me in the months to come, like for Australia which I’m going to do. I also hope to be able to play here next year (smile), but it’s mostly for the years to come. “
“The BNP Paribas young talents Team provides essential financial support”
Asked about the contribution of the young talents team, Gabriel Debru spoke of economic contribution and experience: “First of all, it allows us to have a financial project to pay for a year that is very expensive at our level. A year costs around 100,000 €, so financing it ourselves is impossible. It’s also experience with Jo, whether on social media and in the field. It brings a lot of points that will serve us for the future. It’s experience for the high level. “
To inaugurate this new dynamic, the Team and various tennis players 🠇 “🠇 · are gathered at @rolandgarros for a great moment of training, sharing and exchanging balls on Central Court🎾 pic.twitter.com/4rDuBRe2UM
— BNP Paribas Group (@BNPParibas) November 23, 2021
“Jo is a great player, he brings us a lot of field experience”
When asked about the benefit of having a sponsor (from the young talents team) like Tsonga, he replied: “It is having experience in the field. He is still a very great Jo player. How it is to play on a big court, the pressure, the post-matches, the pre-matches, then even side during the long physical and mental preparations. It’s a lot of work to do and it really helps to have it. We can ask him a lot of questions about this kind of gathering, in particular about the continuation on the next tournaments to come. I won a match in a challenger tournament, it has already made a lot of noise, and we need to know how to handle the pressure. “
“It has changed but I am focused on my goal”
After his victory at Roanne as a challenger, he felt that expectations had changed: “Yes of course that has changed, but I remain focused on my goal which is to become the best player. After that I’ll have to start getting used to this world even though I’m only 15 years old. It’s starting to happen a lot, and it’s still a good experience for the future, the best players have it almost every day. Even though I’m only 15, I find that I do quite well in front of the TV (laughs). “
“In 2022 I want to win a junior Grand Slam”
Finally, the 954th player in the world reveals his goals for 2022: “For starters, winning a junior grand slam. Roland if possible, but so was Wimbledon. Winning a grass tournament is incredible, especially since there aren’t many tournaments on this surface at our age.”
Gabriel Debru, 954th at 15, better than Alcaraz at the same age? #TeamJeunesTalents
via @TennisNews https://t.co/40lYdj8LwS
— We Are Tennis France (@WeAreTennisFR) November 23, 2021
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