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    The Present and Future of French Men’s Tennis

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    Men’s tennis in France isn’t what it used to be. But the veteran Adrian Mannarino is still winning, and the teenager Arthur Fils is quickly finding his form.Adrian Mannarino couldn’t stifle his chuckle.He had just been asked what it meant to him to be the top-ranked men’s tennis player from France.“Well,” Mannarino said in a video interview from a tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan, in early October, “this is not a good sign for French tennis.”Mannarino, at 35, is in his 20th year on the ATP Tour. He has never been ranked in the world’s top 20 and has never advanced beyond the round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament. He did win the championship in Astana, though, his fourth career title and second of the year.The victory propelled Mannarino’s world ranking to No. 24, just two off from his career-high from March 2018. But, as he heads into the Paris Masters for the 13th time, Mannarino is keenly aware of the void of top talent in France.“We all knew that whenever Gaël [Monfils], Richard [Gasquet], Gilles [Simon] and Jo [Wilfried Tsonga] would get old, there would be a time when French tennis would be in trouble,” said Mannarino, of four French players who have all been ranked within the top 10 but are now in their late thirties and have either retired or dropped down significantly in the rankings. (Though Monfils did win his 12th career title in Stockholm last week.)“We’re still waiting for the young players to get to the top. There’s a lot of talent, but it’s taking a little bit of time to get to the top level,” he said.There are now 13 Frenchmen in the top 100, but only four — Arthur Fils, Luca van Assche, Ugo Humbert and Hugo Gaston — are 25 or younger. Fils has shown the most promise.At just 19, Fils, a finalist at the French Open junior championship in 2021, began the season ranked outside the top 250 and playing on the lower-level challenger circuit. He is now ranked No. 38.In February, Fils broke through in his home country, reaching back-to-back semifinals in Montpellier and Marseille, where he beat Stan Wawrinka. He won his first ATP title in Lyon, France, in May, and reached the semifinals in Hamburg, Germany, beating Casper Ruud before falling to the eventual champion, Alexander Zverev. Fils upset Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the final in Antwerp, Belgium, last week before he went down to Alexander Bublik in the championship match.Arthur Fils, also a French player, after a successful shot in a match that he ultimately lost to Matteo Arnaldi of Italy at the U.S. Open in August.Hiroko Masuike/The New York TimesFils also made his Davis Cup debut for France alongside Mannarino in September and then was chosen by Bjorn Borg, captain of Team Europe, to be one of the team’s six representatives at the Laver Cup. He lost his lone singles match there to Ben Shelton.Fils said he has modeled his game after his countryman Tsonga, a big hitter who was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the 2008 Australian Open and reached five other major semifinals.“Tsonga was one of my idols when I was younger,” Fils said. “He had a big serve, some great forehands and was in amazing physical condition. I’m trying to do the same and play a lot with my forehand and try to serve a lot of aces.”Mannarino’s style of play is nearly the opposite. It is best described as durable and reliable, though he benefits from a left-handed hook serve that draws opponents off court.“I’m not really powerful, so I’m trying to be a little smarter,” said Mannarino. “I’m moving pretty well and adapting to my opponent’s game most of the time. I’m like a counterpuncher; I use the power of my opponent and just try to be as consistent as I can. And if my opponent can miss some shots, I’m always happy.”Though only two years younger than Gasquet and Monfils, both of whom have seen their rankings drop out of the top 50, Mannarino is playing some of the best tennis of his life. Last year, he reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open before losing to the eventual winner, Rafael Nadal. This year, he beat Shelton and Hubert Hurkacz at the Miami Open to reach the round of 16 and has wins over Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz. And yet only once, in 2020, has he reached the third round at the Paris Masters.“I’ve never had great results at Bercy, but I feel like I’m really enjoying my time when I’m playing there,” Mannarino said, referring to the site of the tournament. As a child, he would sit in the top level of the stadium with friends from his local tennis club and cheer on the French players. “It’s always good to have the French crowd supporting you, especially the Parisians, because it’s pretty noisy and a good atmosphere.”Mannarino after winning a point against Daniil Medvedev of Russia in their second-round match at Wimbledon in July.Adam Vaughan/EPA, via ShutterstockFrance has a rich and vast tennis history. Suzanne Lenglen won Wimbledon six times from 1919 to 1925. Yvon Petra won Wimbledon in 1946, and Yannick Noah became the first Frenchman in 37 years to win at Roland Garros in 1983.Mary Pierce won the Australian Open in 1995 and the French Open in 2000. Amélie Mauresmo, a former world No. 1, captured both the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006. And Marion Bartoli took the Wimbledon title in 2013.But there are no more revered French players than the Four Musketeers — Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste — who led their nation to the Davis Cup six straight years, from 1927 to 1932.More recently, though, Mannarino and Fils met during a practice session at France’s national tennis center when Fils was just 15.“His fitness coach came to me after and said, ‘Oh, Arthur didn’t like it; it was going too fast for him and he could barely keep up,’” Mannarino said. “And then, a few years later he’s almost beating me. He’s improved so fast, and his tennis is really mature for his age.”Mannarino knows his time left on tour is limited by his age. But, so far, he does not see himself as old.“I don’t feel old because I don’t feel like my tennis level is dropping yet, even my physical condition,” he said. “I just feel like a kid in my head, and I’m trying to enjoy my life on the tour. As long as my legs can still run, I’m going to keep trying my best.” More

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      The Future of French Tennis Is About to Pass to the Next Generation

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      Gaël Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon have dominated the sport for France, but new players are arriving.The history of French tennis begins with Suzanne Lenglen and the Four Musketeers — Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and René Lacoste — all of whom dominated the sport in the 1920s and ’30s.For the last 20 years, the game in France has been ruled by four men who could easily be called the New Musketeers. Gaël Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon may have not achieved the success of their predecessors, but they are celebrated for their longevity, camaraderie and talent.They have grown up and competed against each other since they were juniors. Now in their mid-30s with their careers winding down, both they, and French tennis, are realizing just how valuable they have been to the game and just how perilous the future might be when they are gone.“Those guys have been huge for French tennis,” Sebastien Grosjean, the French Davis Cup captain, said by phone. “They all ranked in the Top 10 and played on every big stage for 20 years. Sometimes they were criticized for not winning a slam, but they happened to come along when three guys [Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic] won 20 slams and one [Pete Sampras] won 14. It’s hard to compete with that. But what they did do is amazing.”Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2019. Now 36 years old, he has 18 career ATP titles.Christophe Archambault/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFrench tennis has a storied past. Lenglen, the first world No. 1 and a six-time Wimbledon singles champion from 1919 to 1925, won 83 singles titles during her short career.Between them, the Four Musketeers captured 20 major singles titles, including the French championships 10 times from 1922 to ’32. Together they won the Davis Cup six straight years, from 1927 to ’32.Since then, only two Frenchmen, Yvon Petra and Yannick Noah, have won major championships. Petra won Wimbledon in 1946 and Noah captivated the nation during his run to the French Open title in 1983.Gaël Monfils returning a shot to Jannik Sinner of Italy during the third round of the United States Open in September.Seth Wenig/Associated PressMonfils, Tsonga, Gasquet and Simon have not risen to that level, and time is running out.Tsonga and Simon are both 36 (Simon turns 37 in December), and Monfils and Gasquet are 35. They met as top junior players and often trained and traveled together.“I’ve known these guys since I was 11 or 12 years old,” Tsonga said by phone from his home in Switzerland. “We grew up together. We shared hotel rooms, school, training at the federation center. I remember playing Gilles in an under-12 tournament. What I remember most was that he was half my size and older than me. And I still think that I lost love and love.”All four were, at one time, ranked within the world’s Top 10 on the ATP Tour. Tsonga reached a career-high No. 5 in 2012 and was runner-up to Djokovic at the 2008 Australian Open. He also reached the semifinals there in 2010, as well as the semifinals twice at Wimbledon and twice at the French Open. He has 18 career ATP titles. Hindered by illness and injuries, including a fight with sickle cell anemia that saps his energy, Tsonga has limited his play this year.Monfils continues to entertain crowds with his acrobatic play, which features leaps into the air, balls hit through his legs and a smile that radiates across stadiums. A two-time runner-up at the Paris Masters, Monfils was ranked No. 6 in 2016. He has reached the final of an ATP tournament in each of the last 17 years. For him, being the best athlete was not always enough.“Maybe I’m stronger physically, but tennis is so much more,” Monfils said. “Mentally it’s tougher. I’ve been No. 6 in the world. Those five guys in front of me were stronger than me mentally, but I’ve been stronger than millions of other people.”Simon hit a career-high No. 6 in 2009, but is currently ranked just outside the Top 100. He reached the quarterfinals in Moscow two weeks ago and has played in the Paris Masters every year since 2006 and reached the semifinals in 2012.A former semifinalist at Wimbledon and the United States Open, Gasquet has ended the year in the world’s Top 10 four times. Once ranked No. 7, he reached the semis at the Paris Masters in 2007.Gasquet and Simon first met at a tournament for 10-year-olds. Gasquet was 8 and Simon was 9. They battled for three hours, and when Gasquet finally won he was so exhausted that he could not move and lost his next match. A few years later, he teamed up with Tsonga.“Jo was a little younger, and I was really winning everything at the time,” Gasquet said by phone. “Jo wanted to emulate me. Then we played doubles together in Davis Cup, and it was so much fun. I have so many great memories of the four of us. We always pushed each other to be better.”Ugo Humbert lunged for a return to Nick Kyrgios during their first-round match at Wimbledon in June.Glyn Kirk/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAll four men lament that they never won a major, even though they came close and each has amassed more than $15 million in career prize money. They all point to Noah, the last Frenchman to win a major, as a catalyst.“Yannick is a big name in French tennis, and an inspiration to all of us,” Monfils said. “To see that he made it, how he made it, how he fought through his career, that is very important.”In ways, the historical greatness has resulted in unfair expectations from French fans.“I never liked the comparison of these guys to the Four Musketeers because it just creates more pressure,” Grosjean said. “When you’re an athlete, you have to deal with pressure; that’s the way it is. We are a nation with a slam. There are only four of them. But to have a full stadium behind you is better than to have them against you.”Hugo Gaston in action in the French Open in June versus Richard Gasquet, a fellow Frenchman.Benoit Tessier/ReutersRegardless of when these four players retire, there is some hope for the next generation.Ugo Humbert, 23, is ranked in the Top 30 and has had wins over Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He won a title in Halle, Germany, in June, beating Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev. Hugo Gaston, 21, sits just outside the Top 100. And there are six French junior boys ranked in the top 20 by the International Tennis Federation. Luca Van Assche, 17, won the French Open junior title this year, beating Arthur Fils, 17, in the final.“There was a gap between generations after the Four Musketeers, and there may be a gap after these guys leave,” Grosjean said. “We have some young players with potential, but it takes time to transition from the juniors to the seniors.”Tsonga knows that you can never predict the future.“I’ve been around too many years to know that you never know what will happen,” he said. “No one thought that we would be that good. But I’m proud of what we did as players, of the passion that we had playing for the same flag and the special friendship that we all shared. It has been a privilege to play for France.” More

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      Benoit Paire Loses, But Scores a Victory Just by Playing

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      Last year the French player missed the tournament after a positive Covid-19 test kept him confined to his hotel room. Even after a first-round loss, Paire felt free.A year ago, French tennis player Benoît Paire spent the U.S. Open isolated in his Long Island hotel room after testing positive for Covid-19, unable to take his place in the draw and unable to find his happy place in the aftermath.Paire, no pillar of consistency in normal times, struggled in new ways in extraordinary times, missing the fans and shot after shot, sometimes making very little effort as the opening-round losses piled up.“I was there without really being there,” he said.But the crowds are back, as the first day of the U.S. Open made loud and clear on Monday once the ticket holders managed to navigate the insufferably long security lines and actually get into the tournament.Paire left his Manhattan hotel room in the morning and made his way to Court 13, one of the outdoor courts that still feels like an outdoor court even after all the new stadium construction at Flushing Meadows.The fans are close to the action here, and the action on the adjacent court is close, too. The fans gathered at Court 13 soon made their loyalties clear, chanting “Benoît” a great deal more often than they chanted the name of his worthy Serbian opponent Dusan Lajovic.“I was happy to see the crowds again, to share a moment with the people,” Paire said. “It’s true that when people applaud for a great point or a break point well saved it makes you feel good. And it pushes you, or at least it pushes me. That’s why I play tennis. So I’m taking more and more pleasure in it, and that’s why I’m coming back to my good level.”Paire’s tennis clothes, freshly delivered from his new sponsor, have “be normal” written on them, but that does not seem like the message Paire actually wants to deliver.He does not resemble other tennis players with his long hipster beard worthy of a 19th century French painter: think Édouard Manet. He also has a creative side of his own: conjuring half-volley winners from places on the court where most tour players would not consider trying to hit a half-volley winner. His two-handed backhand is smooth, versatile and often deadly. His forehand, with its odd and cramped backswing, is unique and not always in a good way.But like Nick Kyrgios, another outrageously gifted tennis player who has rejected the tour without its fans, Paire, ranked 49th, is hard to take your eyes off with a racket in hand.He left the 40th-ranked Lajovic shaking his head and chuckling after some of his best shots, but though Paire clearly cared, which was progress to be sure, he could not back up his strokes of genius with enough solid play under duress.There were double faults at inopportune moments, unforced errors that looked lackadaisical but were also down to fatigue in the heat and humidity.Though Lajovic’s shirt was soaked through with sweat early on, Paire was the one who looked the weariest, hunching forward and resting a hand on each knee as he settled in slowly to return serves.But he still found the energy to blow off some steam late in the second set, losing his temper after stopping play because of a shout from the crowd and a lost point.Tennis rules are clear on this: the point stands. But Paire took umbrage and eventually took it out on the umbrella over Lajovic’s chair, smacking it hard enough with his racket to break the umbrella and startle the chair umpire and the fans sitting in the front few rows.Paire received his second code violation of the match — this one for unsportsmanlike conduct — and was docked a point. He went on to lose the set and the match 6-3, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.It was a downbeat result after his joyful run to the quarterfinals at the Western & Southern Open in the Cincinnati suburbs earlier this month. But Paire sounded like an unusually happy man for a first-round loser.A different French player is missing the U.S. Open this year because of quarantine: Gilles Simon, who is not vaccinated and restricted to his New York hotel room after his coach tested positive for Covid. Simon was considered to be a “close contact.”But Paire is free to swing away, free to move around the grounds that were packed on Monday as he left not-so-lucky Court 13 and made his way back to the locker room with two security guards running interference.Not that Paire wanted to stay in his bubble. The fans kept running toward him, cellphones in hand, to pose for selfies, and though many a first-round loser would have kept his chin down and picked up the pace to refuge, Paire slowed down and accommodated each and every one. More

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      2021 Australian Open: What to Watch on Monday Night

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story2021 Australian Open: What to Watch on Monday NightOne of the several young Americans taking the court, Sofia Kenin will begin her defense of her 2020 Australian Open title.Sofia Kenin won the 2020 Australian Open.Credit…Graham Denholm/Getty ImagesFeb. 8, 2021, 7:00 a.m. ETHow to watch: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern on ESPN and 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on ESPN2 in the United States; streaming on the ESPN+ app.The first round of the Australian Open is set to finish on Monday, with a few previous champions on the schedule. Rafael Nadal and Ashleigh Barty will both be featured on the court at Rod Laver Arena in the early hours of the morning for fans on the Eastern Seaboard. For those who don’t want to stay up too late on a school night, there are plenty of exciting matches planned for the evening.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are guesses at best and certain to fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.Rod Laver Arena | 7 p.m. MondaySofia Kenin vs. Maddison InglisSofia Kenin, the defending women’s singles champion in Melbourne, had a breakthrough year in 2020. In addition to her first Grand Slam victory, she reached the final at the French Open and the round of 16 at the United States Open, finishing the year at No. 4 in the world. Kenin, 22, is one of four women who have won their first Grand Slam titles in the past two years, creating a cluttered field of players with heightened expectations. Inevitably, some won’t live up to them. Kenin’s aggressive baseline play and well-concealed drop shots are potent weapons on the fast hard courts of Melbourne Park. Kenin, who had a leg injury going into the tournament, will hope to have an easy time against Maddison Inglis in her first round matchup.Maddison Inglis received a wild card into the main draw. She has never advanced past the first round of a Grand Slam main draw.Credit…Mike Owen/Getty ImagesInglis, an Australian who received a wild card into the main draw, has never progressed past the first round at a Grand Slam. Her counterattacking style has trouble holding up against some of the harder hitters on the WTA Tour, although she certainly shows moments of brilliance. Getting her first main draw victory will be a tall order, especially against Kenin. But this match should help illuminate whether Inglis was able to improve on her previous performances and make the improvements necessary to succeed on the tour in the future.Margaret Court Arena | 9 p.m. MondayVictoria Azarenka vs. Jessica PegulaVictoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion and former world No. 1, struggled with her return to the tour after injuries and a mentally draining custody battle. Last year, she reached her first Grand Slam final since 2013 and proved that she was still capable of challenging for titles, winning the Western and Southern Open before the U.S. Open. Azarenka is one of the tour’s veterans, but her game does not look out of place among the young power hitters seeking to supplant former champions.Jessica Pegula pushed Sofia Kenin to three sets in a tournament leading up to the Australian Open.Credit…David Gray/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJessica Pegula, the world No. 61, has had some recent success on hard courts. She reached the third round of the 2020 U.S. Open, and pushed Kenin to three sets at the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne last week. Pegula’s focus on deep, consistent shotmaking is an asset, but it can be undercut if she doesn’t move her opponents on the court well enough to unsettle them. If she can take control of points, there’s a possibility of an early upset.John Cain Arena | 10 p.m. MondayCoco Gauff vs. Jil TeichmannCoco Gauff, a 16-year-old American, and Jil Teichmann, a 23-year-old Swiss player, played each other just last week in the first round of the Gippsland Trophy, with Gauff winning in three sets. Both players represent the brightest hope for the future of women’s tennis in their countries.Teichmann has found the most success on clay, having won WTA titles in 2019 at the Prague Open and Palermo International. Gauff won her first title at the Linz Open in 2019 but has raised her profile most on the Grand Slam stage. She has reached the round of 16 twice, including last year at the Australian Open.Like their last match, this one is bound to be close. Gauff’s tenacity and mental strength have been on display recently, although Teichmann has shown a little more inventiveness in her play, continually searching for her opponent’s weaknesses.Rod Laver Arena | 5 a.m. TuesdayStefanos Tsitsipas vs. Gilles SimonStefanos Tsitsipas, of Greece, the fifth seed in the men’s singles draw, was in good form during the ATP Cup this month, defeating Alex de Minaur and Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets. But inconsistency has been an issue throughout his career. His shotmaking is on par with many of the other top players, but he has struggled with securing victories on the biggest stages. A 2019 ATP Finals championship has been the highlight of his career, but aside from that he has won only ATP 250 events, the lowest rung of events on the ATP Tour.Stefanos Tsitsipas is the fifth seed in the men’s singles draw. Aside from his 2019 ATP Finals championship, Tsitsipas has won only ATP 250 events, the lowest rung on the tour.Credit…/EPA, via ShutterstockGilles Simon, of France, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 6 in 2009, emphasizes mental toughness as the most important aspect of tennis. A lack of focus on that part of the game, he suggests in his recent autobiography, is the main problem with the development of young tennis players in France. Although his best days are behind him, he can still provide a formidable challenge to Tsitsipas if he can create opportunities for winners through clever shot placement and prevent Tsitsipas from unloading his favored one-handed backhand.Matches for the Night Owls:Nikoloz Basilashvili vs. Tommy Paul — midnightKevin Anderson vs. Matteo Berrettini — 3 a.m.Karolina Muchova vs. Jelena Ostapenko — 3 a.m.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More