“It wasn’t a state secret! » From the first minutes of our interview, Édouard Roger-Vasselin defused any conflict. The 11th world doubles player returned to the somewhat unusual announcement of his duo with Nicolas Mahut for the 2024 season. In the middle of the Rolex Paris Masters, his future partner took him by surprise by making their pair official. Roger-Vasselin had kicked aside refusing to confirm publicly, which had left a chill on their duo. The one who celebrates his 40th birthday this Tuesday finally validated their association this week in the columns of The Team.
“We shouldn’t make a big deal out of it at all,” the recent winner of Bercy explains to us today. I was just surprised. I was not aware that the announcement had been made. I just wanted to talk about it a little later. I discussed it with Nicolas in the evening or the next day. We got back together without any problems. There was really nothing serious. »
“Everything was tied up before the end of the season”
Édouard Roger-Vasselin and Nicolas Mahut will therefore do the entire season together to best prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games. A decision made a long time ago. “The first discussions took place during the Davis Cup match against the United Kingdom. Our captain Sébastien Grosjean encouraged us to think about it. Whether for the Davis Cup or the Olympics. It made sense to team up even if it didn’t necessarily guarantee results. Then, Paul-Henri Mathieu who took over, already knew it. He said the same thing. It’s always better to have a ready team that plays together all season. Everything was tied up before the end of the season, at least in principle,” says the man who was associated this year with the Mexican Santiago Gonzalez.
Eliminated at the gates of the final of the doubles Masters at the end of the season, Roger-Vasselin will find a former partner whom he knows very well. The two men have already rubbed shoulders in the French team obviously, but also on the ATP circuit. They notably played in a final at Wimbledon in 2019. “All we are missing together is a big title. The pinnacle would be the Olympic Games of course. But we will first calmly resume tournaments with the Australian Open in our sights. First, we still haven’t validated the team around us, the coach etc. We haven’t yet had time to sit down to decide on all that,” he adds.
Participation in the Olympics not yet validated
Their qualification for the Olympics has not been recorded. To do this, you must be among the top ten in the world in doubles by June 10, 2024, just after Roland-Garros. Currently, Roger-Vasselin is off to a good start since he is virtually 7th in the Olympic race thanks to his two titles at the end of the season in Basel and Bercy. The coach of the French team, who is none other than the Davis Cup captain, will only have to confirm his partner in the presence of Mahut. If neither of them has the ranking, it will be up to “PHM” to choose a pair himself according to his own criteria.
“Today we are off to a good start. But we must continue to perform well together, and maintain this ranking, warns Roger-Vasselin. I missed several of the Olympics. This time, it will be a completely different disappointment. We understood that missing the Games was a possibility. In doubles, you are never sure of winning. »
The last particularity of this long-awaited duo, Roger-Vasselin and Mahut will be respectively 40 and 42 years old at the time of Paris 2024. Nothing to worry about the first concerned. “I feel like at this age you can still perform very well in doubles. I don’t worry. On the contrary, the Games make you want to stay in shape even more. This goes beyond tennis. Sportingly, we’re going to have to reinvent our game a little, because yes, it’s true, we’re not that young anymore, but we’re still here. To summarize and reassure everyone, there is enough to form a very good team! »
Both men will have the opportunity to shine at the first Grand Slam of the season in Australia from January 14 to 28, 2024.
