Roland-Garros: 13 French people already in the big picture, party!

Roland-Garros

Roland-Garros: 13 French people already in the big picture, party!

Published on April 19, 2023 at 4:50 p.m.

French tennis is not in the shape of its life, it’s true. No player is among the top 40 players in the world and this is a danger as Roland-Garros approaches. Nevertheless, we can still congratulate ourselves on having 11 players in the top 100 today, it’s just a little less than the United States (13) but a little more than Spain (9). Many of them will therefore be playing in the main draw of the second Grand Slam of the year, which all the same promises an incredible atmosphere in the first week.

About a month and a half before the start of the big picture of Roland-Garros, the cut fell and this year you had to be ranked 97th at the most to be sure of being part of the adventure. 7 players will benefit from their protected classification, as is the case for Gaël Monfils and Jérémy Chardy. Which brings the total for the moment to 13 French players guaranteed to be in the big picture. That’s already a nice total.

20 players present at Roland?

At present, 13 French people are therefore on the list of the big board of Roland-Garros and the number will only increase. With the 5 or 6 invitations to come and those who will come out of the qualifications, the figure could reach 20 players. Last year, only 16 French were present in the table but the atmosphere had been there the first week. A priori, we can expect the same thing. Among women, on the other hand, they are currently only 3 to have this chance…

Finally a chance to go far?

Among all the French present for the big picture, the profiles are very different. Between Richard Gasquetnumber 1 tricolor at the age of 36, players mature late as Quentin Halys or Gregoire Barrere, the chances will be multiple anyway. The only problem: they will not be seeded a priori, a danger since they could fall against the best in the world. From Hugo Gaston in 2020, no player has managed to reach the round of 16, so the challenge will be daunting. Can we already count on the youth, Luca Van Assche et Arthur Son ? See you next May 28.

Big names on the starting blocks

Usually the cut to enter an array of Grand Slam is at 104. This year, with the 7 players who use their protected classification due to injuries in particular, some big names remain outside for a few places… This is the case of David Goffin, Dominic Thiem et Fabio Fognini. On the other hand, there should be a few packages by then, which will allow at least the Belgian (1 package still necessary) and the Austrian (3) to return as well. The question of a wild card for the former double finalist Porte d’Auteuil would then be settled…