Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Sunday February 4, 2024 at 10:07 a.m.
For his first as captain of the French Davis Cup team, Paul-Henri Mathieu saw his team beat Chinese Taipei 3-0 and thus qualify for the group stage in September. “PHM” is totally satisfied with this first meeting.
For his first as captain of the French Davis Cup team, Paul-Henri Mathieu had luck in the draw by inheriting Chinese Taipei for the qualifying round. Faced with this team not counting a single player in the Top 100, the Blues did the job by winning 3-0, even if the double Mahut/Roger-Vasselin lost a set in the third match. The captain is, however, completely satisfied with this first, as he confided to the microphone of beIN Sports. “The mission is never accomplished before the end of the match. There was a little more suspense in this double. It’s true that on paper we were largely favorites, but we see the trap of playing at outside, against players who have nothing to lose. The two players in front played really well, without pressure, and we felt our two players with a little more tension. Little by little they managed to turn the match. There was again a little bit of tension to conclude. We are not unhappy to have won this point, and to have won 3-0. After losing the first set, I told them to relax, to forget about this set, that the opponents couldn’t play better and that they probably weren’t going to be able to maintain this pace the whole match, that we had to ignore all this tension, stay positive in our attitude. With Nicolas (Mahut), we have known each other for around thirty years (they were both born in January 1982, editor’s note). Obviously, there is a little bit of emotion. Edouard is different from Nicolas, you have to learn to address the two players differently, even if they are side by side. There is a lot of adaptation to be had, but I am very happy with this first weekend as captain. »
Mathieu: “We are lucky to have a very large pool of players”
While Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert, initially selected, withdrew, Paul-Henri Mathieu was able to count on Luca Van Assche (who brought the first point) and Quentin Halys (who won the fourth match without a stake ) and paid tribute to his players, who came to Australia while the ATP calendar is now focused on Europe and the Americas. “Even if we were favorites on paper, the transition was difficult after the Australian Open, it was long for the players,” recalls PHM. The date is wrong in the calendar for them. They all played the game well, they were very serious. They trained well, all the credit goes to them. I’m very happy with how it turned out. We are lucky to have a very large pool of players, the team does not belong to anyone. Everyone has their place, has their chance. A lot can happen. Before this group stage in September, there will be the Olympic Games. Everyone will be keen to compete for them, places will be expensive. It’s not a selection, you will have to earn your place on the field with the ranking. But all the staff of the France team will be there to help them. » A Silver Salad Bowl and Olympic medals, these are some great goals to set in 2024 for Mathieu and his gang.
2024-02-04 09:07:00
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