Countdown to Paris 2024: France’s Tennis Players Set to be Revealed in 49 Days

The countdown is on more than ever. The start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be given in precisely 95 days. But the four tennis players who will represent France during the singles tournament will be known well before, in precisely seven weeks or 49 days, on June 10. There are only a month and a half left for the best Blues to collect as many points as possible. And there will be a certain number at stake since the Masters 1000 in Madrid and Rome as well as Roland-Garros are notably on the program between now and then.

But at this stage, the probable selection is taking shape more and more clearly. In the Olympic Race – classification since June 12, 2023 which is the reference for qualification –, Ugo Humbert, Adrian Mannarino, Gaël Monfils and Arthur Fils, who are all part of the Top 40, are for the moment the four elected (ranking of the 10 best French below). Their position almost corresponds to the hierarchy in the ATP rankings, except for Monfils who is ahead of Fils because the latter will notably have the 250 points of his title in Lyon to defend at the end of May.

RankPlayerPoints15.Ugo Humbert *218518.Adrian Mannarino183531.Gaël Monfils109040.Arthur Fils96262.Arthur Cazaux72571.Arthur Rinderknech66479.Constant Lestienne62384.Corentin Moutet60587.Hugo Gaston59795.Luca Van Assche538

* Provisional qualifiers in italics

Cazaux, pursuing the closest but stopped

Could we then witness a major upheaval in the coming weeks? Mathematically, nothing can be excluded. As the table above shows, Luca Van Assche, 10th best Frenchman, is “only” 424 points behind Arthur Fils in this Olympic race. This is less than the jackpot awarded to a Masters 1000 finalist (650), and barely more than that of a semi-finalist (400). An ogre like the Rafael Nadal of the great era, who would do the treble of Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, would amass almost ten times more points than what currently separates the two young Frenchmen.

But these arithmetic hypotheses have little relevance in the current context of French tennis. If there is improvement compared to past seasons, a long run in Masters 1000 remains a rarity. Ugo Humbert is the one who went furthest recently in a tournament of this category in Monte-Carlo with a quarter-final (200 points accumulated) and he is already one of the provisional qualifiers. As for the one who is best placed to shake up the current hierarchy, Arthur Cazaux (237 points behind Son), he will not play in the coming weeks due to a ruptured ligament in his right ankle. His participation at Roland-Garros is even uncertain.

The “earthlings” Moutet and Gaston condemned to the exploit

In addition, the pursuers best equipped to score points on clay are even further away. Corentin Moutet and Hugo Gaston, who have respectively already reached the 3rd round and the 8th finals of the Parisian Grand Slam, respectively have 357 and 365 units of expenditure on Arthur Fils. An ATP 250 title in Geneva or Lyon, for example, would not be enough for their happiness. In a month and a half, they should collect more than 50% of their current capital in this Olympic race, which would be a form of feat on their scale.

You will have understood, if nothing is done on paper, Ugo Humbert, Adrian Mannarino, Gaël Monfils and Arthur Fils are on track to represent France at the Olympic Games this summer in the singles tournament. Unless there is a big, unexpected performance from their fellow competitors or… an injury. A good selection on paper, even if Mannarino’s chances of shining at the Games will be minimal given his hatred of ocher.

2024-04-22 15:21:00
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