French tennis

[Progressive10s]

The French, especially in the men's game, are developing some very good young players. Gasquet is making his mark on the ATP tour with some nice wins. Last year's U.S. Open Junior Champion was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and this year's Aussie Junior Champion was
Gael Monfils and the runner-up was also French, Josselyn Ouanna. What are the French doing? Seems like some of these players have an African connection like Yannick Noah. The French are certainly developing some very promising players.[/b]

[Jonas]

Indeed the French are at it again, but don't their flashy players come out in waves?? Gasquet, I believe is the real deal. He can play on all surfaces including grass. I believe time will see his best surface as slow/medium hard courts. Richard has an all court game that will remid you very much of Cedric Pioline, but with more power!

[Joe Oldschool]

The French have had remarkable success in sports in the last 10 years or so. They won the World Cup in 98', the European Championships in 2000, and the Confederations cup in 2001(date?). That makes them the only nation ever to win all three of those tournaments consecutively. (Of course I am talking about Football/soccer here.)

They have also had remarkable success with their rugby team, skiers, and of course tennis players as well. Apparently, they are putting something in the water over there.

I spent a little time in France and can say that the French are still the subjects of a lot of unfair stereotypes over here in the U.S. As to the WHY/HOW are they producing this kind of success...I venture that it is because they provide fairly open access of sports/activities to young people accross the economic spectrum. Sweden has always done the same thing with certain sports. There was an article on TennisOne.com a while back on the uncanny success the Swedes have had in pro tennis. I think it said something about them having had nearly as many top 100 pros over the years as the U.S., even though they are a nation of only about 9 million people compared to 260 million people. There is also a lot of comaraderie and a team mentality to even this most individual of sports. Let's face it, tennis is a rich man's game in the U.S. We have phenomenal athletic talent and loads of it. It just doesn't get channeled into tennis unless a kids parents can afford it. I have always admired McEnroe for repeating this obvious fact to the tennis establishment in the U.S. (one of those few things he deserves credit for).

Anyway, I digress. Yes, the French have some excellent talent on the way up, and here now as well. I, too, think this Gasquet could be the real deal. I would love to see him mature into a rival of Federer. Imagine the matches that could produce.

Allez les bleus!

Tout a l'heure.

[david aames]

Unfortunately, the FFT (french equivalent of the USTA) is a mess right now. Guy Forget is the french Davis Cup captain at the moment and doesn't get the respect of his peers.

People still care a great deal about tennis in France. The French Open is still a major sports event over there.