Call it “Caro-Clim Garcia”. The pun is not from us, to our great regret, but from the excellent Twitter account “Jeu, Set et Maths”, a veritable bank of stats for those who love tennis. Since the beginning of the summer, there has been plenty to do with the Frenchwoman, who has just piled up her 13th victory in a row by beating Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals of the US Open. The 23,000 spectators of the boiling Arthur-Ashe court did not even have time to warm up when Garcia was already turning off the light. Before challenging Ons Jabeur in half Thursday evening, she still has not lost a set in New York.
A roadmap still unimaginable in the heart of spring, when she had fallen to 79th place in the world after a year 2021 to forget and a start to the season (still) rotten by injuries. But we just had to wait a little for the body to get better, and especially for the breath brought by its new trainer Bertrand Perret to make “Flying Caro” take off again, who had decided last year not to be coached by his father Louis-Paul. . It is to the Alsatian, alongside Garcia since last December, that we owe this return to the forefront. How did he do it, exactly? A simple question… which is very difficult to answer, in reality.
“Someone who does not seek publicity”
Already, because Bertrand Perret, like everyone around the Frenchwoman, is not authorized to speak for the moment. Even after the title in Cincinnati, the journalists present had to do without him to tell the astonishing journey of his protege, out of qualifying to seek the third WTA 1,000 of his career, five years after his double Wuhan-Beijing in September- October 2017.
But we think not to go too far in considering that the person concerned does not feel any frustration. Perret seems to be the type to reserve his comments for the player he is dealing with. Even in the depths of the Internet, there is no portrait or large interview of him. “We see each other regularly, we say hello, we chat a little, but I don’t know his working methods well,” Georges Goven tells us from New York, where he comments on the US Open for Eurosport. The former captain of the French Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams, who trained Tatiana Golovin, Kristina Mladenovic or Alizé Cornet, nevertheless knows the environment like the back of his hand. But on his colleague, he is very sorry to have “nothing very crisp” to tell, he warns, laughing.
“He is a very charming person in life, extremely discreet. He is not looking for publicity, resumes Goven. He is for me the archetype of a very good coach, who does not monopolize the player, who does not try to push her a little so that we can see him better in the photo, like others. The results plead for him, he is a very good coach. »
Before taking care of Caro Garcia, the fifty-something Alsatian participated in the rise of Ons Jabeur. He was by her side, in particular, when the Tunisian became the first African to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament, during the Australian Open 2020. On this occasion, he returned to his career eclectic, which led him to Russia, Central America, but also to work with the Chinese Peng Shuai. “I traveled a lot, it allowed me to see different styles of play, of training, he said. Not bad. »
Diligence and dialogue
The desire to discover the world came to him after having spent a good part of his life at TC Lingolsheim, in the suburbs of Strasbourg. Responsible for the tennis school, it was there that he hatched the young Paul-Henri Mathieu, before he went to Insep and then to Florida. Bertrand Perret left only good memories there. “He was very good with young people, and he had excellent results with them, informs us Claude Gillmann, vice-president and true memory of the club, where he has sat since the end of the 1970s. He was a conscientious coach , very professional, who did not speak too much, and a friendly person. He got along very well with everyone. »
On the Perret method, the manager has no startling revelations to make, only a few observations that allow him to imagine a course of action based on dialogue. “He was always there, available if someone needed advice,” explains Claude Gilmann. He never refused to stay half an hour more if he was asked to work on a specific aspect of the game. We could ask him, he was always ready. He is someone who likes to exchange, share. »
“The line is all drawn”
It is for this reason that after nineteen years of good and loyal service, Bertrand Perret has decided to set sail. “I had gone around it and I wanted to try another adventure, he told the newspaper Alsace in 2017, when he accompanied Peng Shuai to the Strasbourg Internationals. I like the high level and above all, I like to move. I’m always on the lookout, I love discovering museums, city centers, different mentalities, meeting people. »
An experience that serves him fully today to corner Caroline Garcia. The Frenchwoman was only asking to hear another speech than that of her father, who we imagine was beginning to erode over the years. She was served. Rid of her physical glitches since May, she can apply the plan developed with her new coach. “We have clearly defined the way I have to play, the direction I have to take. When I step on the court, I know what style of game I have to practice, she explained this week. The line is all drawn, then there are always hazards that prevent you from following it as easily as that, but that clears my head. »
The right hitch at the right time
We see it on the court. Despite the faults inherent in her aggressive style of play, she never disarms and ends up disgusting the opponent. The Perret paw? “Since he has been with Caro, we feel that she is playing again with confidence, with pleasure. And above all, we feel that even if she misses, she remains convinced that it was the right choice. This is how trust is established, observes Georges Goven, admiringly. She no longer needs to think too much about automatisms, it works by itself, it’s natural. It’s wonderful how she plays. »
Garcia-Perret, so it looks like the right hitch at the right time. On the circuit, the players see the difference in any case. “It has nothing to do with it”, could see Coco Gauff, who had easily hit the Frenchwoman in Doha in February. “She is back in her place, I am happy for her”, for his part greeted Ons Jabeur, who will also find his former coach in the semi-finals. “I’m just happy for both of them, actually,” said the Tunisian. Who knows better than anyone what awaits him in the arena at Arthur-Ashe Stadium.