It was well worth devoting our weekly sports show “The Crusaders, you know” on the treat announced from Bercy, with a title bordering on active solicitation (“Towards a legendary Bercy?”) only to find themselves face to face in the gutter on the second day of the tennis tournament. However, I promised-swore-spit, we didn’t play a fool’s errand on you. No, we really believed it.
Arthur Fils being called to a bright future, we could imagine him spending a lap or two for his first participation here, Adrian Mannarino was in the form of his life before putting down his Decathlon backpack in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, Gaël Monfils was coming to win the Stockholm tournament two weeks earlier and Richard Gasquet… Well it’s Richard Gasquet, always ready to offer us a little happiness as long as we want to believe in him.
Frankly, you would have had to be very defeatist not to have some hopes for this last tournament of the season. No ? Yes. But no. At the finish, this first round of Bercy 2023 will have seen, if we take into account the qualifications, 14 grunts being taken out of the… 15 entered under the flags.
How are you ? Boh, like the start of the week in Bercy
It must be said that Tuesday’s day began with a false air of Sunday morning, with a hangover like an ice ax in my head after Richie’s unbearable defeat the day before, despite a first set of fire from God and a comeback. blaugrana in the third against the American Tommy Paul. But one Doliprane later (and blinders on our eyes) and we left as if nothing had happened, naive as we are. Before going down twelve floors at the start of the afternoon with the (very) dirty elimination of Arthur Fils, swept away without a fight by Daniel Altmaier, although less comfortable indoors than on clay. Result, 6-2, 6-4, take a chewing gum Emile.
Only two lads remained to avoid the grand slam of looseness in France. And it was Ugo Humbert who got there first and became, at around 4:35 p.m., the first national of the stage to cross the threshold of the first round. A masterful victory, in two sets, against the American Marcos Giron (59th in the world and from the qualifiers). “I expected a not easy match, I remained serious. I still served well, I think. I did the job, I’m happy with my first match,” he said at a press conference.
Did he feel any particular pressure, knowing he had the penultimate chance not to end up a fanny? “No, that hasn’t changed anything,” he replies. I’ve been doing my thing for a year. I’m already trying to concentrate on what I have to do. I find that I do it quite well. There is no pressure. I’m just trying to do my best. I’m almost at my best ranking, I’ve played well these last few weeks. I’m very relaxed about it. »
The Monf passes very close
Invigorated by this ray of sunshine in the gray, the Bercy public wanted to believe in an apotheotic end to the day (yes, for us, two French people in the second round of Bercy we call that an apotheosis) at the moment when Gaël Monfils tumbled onto the Central to face the Argentinian Cerúndolo. But the Argentinians and us, for some time, that’s what… Despite a first set snatched in pain, but snatched all the same, the Monf did not manage to realize its first match point during the second act.
“If it goes to the third, it’s done,” we said to ourselves then. But here again, the boy managed to find pep, legs and some crazy shots, to ignite the Central and make the break (3-1) and (almost) the double break. Before collapsing and letting the victory slip away (6-4, 6-7, 5-7). “I played my match point badly, but not only that,” he analyzed after his defeat. I can do better on a lot of things, a lot of points, take this double break to protect myself a little more. Afterwards, congratulations to him, he played his part, he is 20th in the world. But I offered a good fight, I take the positive more than the negative of this match. »
This is also what we are going to do this Tuesday evening, now betting everything on Ugo Humbert, new French number 1 at the ATP. Because the stakes are not small, casually, it will be a question of avoiding, on Wednesday, against Alexander Zverev, to equal the sad record of 2018, a not really erotic year in which none of our compatriots had reached the 8th finals.