French tennis feared a lackluster edition after a catastrophic 2021 vintage at Roland-Garros. He is not immune to a private tournament, once again, as a player in the second week, but will be able to rejoice in having ensured the show, deployed goodwill at all places on the courts and having raised cheers day and night. By taking advantage of unexpected sparks.
Paris inspires him, Paris carries him. Hugo Gaston (21, 74th in the world) had won only four games in 2022 by landing on the starting line at Roland-Garros. His confidence was in tatters. His game was a scattered puzzle. The unique atmosphere of the court was enough to give him back his magic racquet to help him distill the best of a perilous game, in small touches, like these drop shots sometimes posed to excess. In 2019, it was the spark of a fall edition due to Covid-19. His eye, his left hand, his touch had driven Stan Wawrinka crazy in the 3rd round, before making Dominic Thiem tremble in the round of 16.
This precious perfume of audacity floated Tuesday at nightfall in his 1st round against the Australian Alex De Minaur (seeded n 19). Driven to excess by spectators overflowing with enthusiasm, the French elf, trailing 3-0 in the 5th set after watching the fourth pass (6-0), turned everything upside down until the decisive game. Gaston chooses the places to shine well. Last November, the Toulousain had rekindled the wick of passion by dominating Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 of Paris-Bercy. The young Spanish prodigy has surely not forgotten this crazy evening. Like Fabrice Santoro, Hugo Gaston has mischief and magic, the Roland-Garros public loves it. In the second round, he will be opposed to the Argentinian Pedro Cachin (133 worldwide).
Child star, promised to the biggest stages, compared to Martina Hingis for her wide technical palette, Léolia Jeanjean saw her world turned upside down following an injury (triple dislocation of the left kneecap). Rather than staying at the foot of the merry-go-round to weep hot tears over vanished dreams, the young Frenchwoman opted for a study cycle in the United States with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in investment finance from heritage: “Nothing to see, but, as in my life, it goes a little in all directions…”, she laughs.
The tennis practiced in university has returned to whisper to him: “Get back on the circuit…” Installed in the time machine, Léolia Jeanjean (26 years old, 227th in the world) assures, after winning her first Grand Slam match (against Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz, 45th in the world): “I would not have believed it a year ago (1180 in the standings). The circle will be complete when I have played the four Grand Slams and achieved the goals I had when I was a child. She meets Thursday, May 26 the Czech Karolina Pliskova (seeded n 8).
At 37, Gilles Simon (158th in the world) is living his last season on the circuit. Aware of the time that is slipping through his fingers: “The end of your career is difficult, you no longer win a match, you go down, you are going to play in the Challenger, you say to yourself: “Here, it will be better”… No, you get beaten up by whoever comes along, because the guys are very, very strong. You feel that you are no longer at the level, that you are making an effort, but there are days when things are going well, days when things are not going well.
The Niçois (a victory on the main circuit in 2022 before Roland-Garros), torn between the fear of ridicule and an overflowing desire to “see Gilles Simon again one last time, the one who can play three hours, four hours, who is brave, who is going to try to find solutions, who is going to fight”, showed himself to be true to his reputation. Pushed by the noisy night owls of the Simonne-Mathieu court, Gilles Simon, weary of war, unseated the Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. “It’s unreal.” He has a second-round meeting with American Steve Johnson (92nd in the world). On the Philippe-Chatrier court.
