The new strong man of French tennis is known. This Friday, the French Tennis Federation announced the appointment of Paul-Henri Mathieu as captain of the French Davis Cup team and head of the men’s delegation for the Paris Olympic Games. A unanimous choice of the FFT, according to Ivan Ljubicic, who preferred to rely on a man of the house, the Strasbourg resident and the Croatian working in pairs at the top level for almost a year.
“PHM” is a lover of the Davis Cup, a competition which… has always eluded him. In 2002, at just 20 years old, the former 12th player in the world experienced his first heartbreak in this prestigious competition by losing in five sets to Mikhail Youzhny in the decisive match, in the final, on the clay court of Paris -Bercy. A cruel defeat, after leading 2 sets to 0, which left him with a bitter taste but which did not taint his love for the Davis Cup.
“This competition has always meant a lot to me, I played tennis for the Davis Cup,” he underlined during his introductory press conference. I experienced very intense moments during these meetings, sometimes difficult like in 2002 and sometimes very joyful like when I beat Carlos Moya, at home, in Alicante, in 2004.”
Retired in 2017
In February, Paul-Henri Mathieu will take his place on the bench for the first time, during the qualifying match for the group stage of the 2024 Davis Cup. Already a member of Sébastien Grosjean’s staff, who had to leave his post to become coach of Arthur Fils, the Frenchman announced that he wanted to work in continuity.
“I will continue to create a link with the players, as I have been doing since I joined the FFT, to bring together as many players as possible and that we all pull in the same direction,” assured the Alsatian, who will be accompanied in this mission by Ivan Ljubicic, present during the press conference, unlike the current DTN Nicolas Escudé.
In 2017, when he retired, PHM left the world of tennis. With a 12th place in the world, six round of 16 matches in Grand Slams and a memorable battle lasting almost five hours against Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros in 2006, the Strasbourg resident had taken a step back from a universe in which he gravitated for about twenty years. He finally returned more than three years later, directly within the federation. This appointment is another step in his rise within French tennis.
The double, data and dialogue in the spotlight
Now at the head of men’s tennis full-time, as few captains have been before him, Paul-Henri Mathieu has given himself several missions. But they all meet a common objective: to allow France to shine, whether in the Davis Cup or at the Paris Olympic Games. With this in mind, a “doubles strategy” will be put in place. “We know that the doubles is often a crucial point in the Davis Cup and a chance of a medal for the Olympics. We want to highlight it, explained the Frenchman, who will be able to count on Edouard Roger-Vasselin, currently at the doubles Masters. We will look into it in the coming weeks to see if we should, for example, create a doubles school. »
Data will also take on a more important role. But it is above all on his link with the athletes that the new captain intends to focus. “For two years, by being in constant contact with the players, I wanted to share my experience,” said PHM. This is something I wish I had more of when I was playing but it wasn’t always the case. I can have added value in relation to that and I feel perfectly capable of leading this French team. »
It remains to be seen which men he can count on to accompany him in this mission. With a very heterogeneous team, guided by aging leaders like Richard Gasquet, Gaël Monfils and Nicolas Mahut, renewed by talents who are still a little tender like Arthur Fils (19 years old) and Luca Van Assche (19 years old), and led by the number a Frenchman (20th in the world) Ugo Humbert, recent winner of the Metz tournament. “It’s going to be a busy year with the Davis Cup and the Olympics, we will have to be as competitive as possible,” admitted Paul-Henri Mathieu. My wish is to put the best players on the pitch. » They only have a few months left to prove themselves.
