It has become a refrain in France. With the approach of Roland-Garros, tennis fans do not hesitate to mock the Blues, and their performance on the Parisian ocher. French tennis has been waiting for a successor to Yannick Noah since 1983. It’s a long time, yes. But that’s no longer than the Aussies at the Australian Open, who haven’t won at home since 1978 (Mark Edmondson and Christine O’Neil). Both for men and women, while Mary Pierce won in 2000 Porte d’Auteuil.
“It’s pretty amazing when you think about it”, believes Christophe Mallet, a Melbourne-based journalist and correspondent RTL. Incredible because talented Australian players, with the weapons to win the tournament, have not been lacking in recent years. Lleyton Hewitt, a time number one in the world, at the top of the list, almost ended the curse in 2005. He lost in the final, against the Russian Marat Safin.
“The pressure is not negative”
There was also Patrick Rafter, in the 90s, who did not manage to do better than a semi-final. In girls, all hopes now rest on Ashleigh Barty, the current world number 1. Among the boys, the Australian players were more noticed by their brilliant moves: Nick Kyrgios, Alexei Popyrin, who faces the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech this night, Alex de Minaur, Bernard Tomic…
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“The Australians are eternal optimists and when one of their players makes a quarter-final, they think he can win the tournament, explains Christophe Mallet. While the margin is still huge before winning. According to the journalist, the media pressure is real on the local players during the Australian Open. But not in the same way as in France: “The pressure is not negative, it’s not really like in France. In Australia they think they are the best at everything they do. »
“Not like in France”
Patrick Mouratoglou, renowned coach and who notably had the young Australian Alexei Popyrin (22 years old) in his academy, shares this opinion: “I don’t have the feeling at all that it’s like in France with the concrete screed, even if the French have managed to galvanize themselves at Roland. » And to continue: “When you look at the history, almost all Australians have already played well at the Australian Open, apart from (Samantha) Stosur. Kyrgios has already played incredible matches there, Kokkinakis has played legendary matches – at his level of course -, etc. Hewitt had some amazing matches there too. But they are struggling to go to the end of the tournament. »
To explain this, Christophe Mallet tries to provide some clarification: “You should know that in Australia, tennis remains a minority sport compared to other disciplines. It’s not super popular, like in France where there are a lot of clubs. The Australian Federation is present but much less than in France. » This does not prevent the development of excellent players.
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“The French Federation helps the players a lot and manages to place a lot of them in the top 20, top 30, continues the journalist. In Australia, there is no such help but it is not necessarily a bad thing. They still had two number 1s among the guys (Hewitt) and the girls (Barty) these last years… “ And from this point of view, France is still waiting.
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