A Bright Future for French Tennis: Breakdown of the Recent Successes and the Road Ahead

Ten years. It has been ten years since France last placed so many of its representatives in the second round of a Grand Slam far from its borders. From tonight, there will still be 14 of them defending the French chances in Melbourne. Including Roland-Garros, we have to go back to 2019 to see so much success after a first round (16 representatives then) according to statistics from our partner Jeu, Set et Maths. In short, French tennis seems to be finding new vitality after years of being in the dark. “We have a breath of fresh air with very encouraging signals dating from the end of last year, testifies our consultant Arnaud Di Pasquale in Eurosport Tennis Club. All these victories demonstrate it.”

Even if so far, the Blues have not yet toppled a mountain. Opposed to Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz, Térence Atmane and Richard Gasquet did not perform a miracle. Diane Parry and Océane Dodin, who had not won a match for 6 years Down Under, are the only French women to have defeated the top seeds (the Chinese Wang Xinyu, n.30, and Zhu Lin, n.29) even if the victories of Caroline Garcia in front of Naomi Osaka and Arthur Cazaux against Laslo Djere (33rd player in the world) remain real performances. The finalist of the Australian Junior Open in 2020, who won his first Grand Slam match among the big boys, symbolizes the hunger of this French youth who has tumbled into the men’s table without complexes.

Leylah Fernandez – Océane Dodin: highlights

Di Pasquale: “This is just the beginning”

“He lives in the shadow of Arthur Fils but he is a real talent, very offensive, who dares to move forward, notes Arnaud Di Pasquale. The top 100 will only be a step, he has the talent to go further. The results of his friends push him to the top.” In other words, winning begets winning. “There is an enthusiasm, an emulation that can be created with young people who express themselves more and more,” our consultant, Justine Hénin, tells us. Arthur Fils, 19 years old, Lucas Van Assche, 19 years old, and Arthur Cazaux, 21 years old, renew a cast which has lost big in recent years (Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon in particular). “There are cycles, we experienced a period of lows. A rebound is coming, continues Di Pasquale. A youth has been there for a year, a year and a half. It is materializing today. We are seeing new faces, l “Emulation pulls everyone up. This is only the beginning in my opinion.”

Cazaux brilliantly: the highlights of his first Grand Slam victory

Added to this long-toothed youth is an old guard who has not yet given up their weapons and are doing like a charm. Ugo Humbert, Goffin’s striker, has won 16 of his last 20 matches and has had an 80% win ratio since mid-September. Adrian Mannarino entered the top 20 for the first time in his career at… 35 years after his best season crowned with three titles (Newport, Astana, Sofia). “Mannarino is extremely fulfilled in what he is experiencing today, continues Justine Hénin. Ugo Humbert has also made great progress with this determination rediscovered in recent months. What is pleasant is to no longer be constantly in a situation of observation. negative.”

Second week, the real benchmark?

Alignment of the planets, combination of circumstances or start of a new momentum? “Trying to analyze this first round of the French, trying to find reasons for this newfound density… We must be careful, tempers Hénin. It is a long-term job even if the results never arrive by chance. is encouraging but you have to take one tournament after another…” And even one round after another.

Mannarino: “I’m taking over Stan against all odds…”

From this night, the road will really rise with, on the menu, a few seeded players who are more or less complicated to swallow: Tomas Etcheverry, Taylor Fritz, Lorenzo Musetti, Sebastian Korda, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Jessica Pegula and even Holger Rune . To beat the absolute French record in the third round of a Grand Slam (11, Roland-Garros 1971) and even in Australia (10 in 1998), it will take, this time, gigantic exploits.

And the beautiful improvement will only have value if it continues over time. Fourteen French people in the second round, that’s excellent and this figure testifies to the large French density in the top 100. But the Blues are deserting the elite and the top 10. It’s been two years, since the US Open 2022, that no French only had the pleasure of playing in the second week of a Grand Slam. We will therefore have to wait a few more days before letting go and looking for a real light at the end of the tunnel.

2024-01-16 15:55:00
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