"It happened very close": Hugo Gaston looks back on his Homeric duel against Dominic Thiem

INTERVIEW

There are defeats that look like victory.

This is what the French tennis player Hugo Gaston, 20, experienced this weekend, who cut his teeth in the high level at the Roland-Garros tournament.

He lost Sunday in straight sets against world No. 3 Dominic Thiem, one of the competition's big favorites.

A defeat after a heroic match that brought the young Frenchman, hitherto unknown, into the hearts of tennis fans.

"I'm happy with what I did, and I have no regrets," Hugo Gaston assured Monday at the microphone of Europe Matin.

"I knew how to take my chance. It was a slightly different Roland Garros, with very good players. We had to adapt," said the tennis player.

First tour de force for Hugo Gaston: winning against Stan Wawrincka.

This victory put the player in the spotlight.

"If I had been told that I was going to beat Wawrinka in five sets, and lose to Dominic Thiem in five sets, I wouldn't necessarily have believed it", smiles the young Frenchman.

"It came close against Dominic." 

However, he ensures that he did not get carried away by his sudden media coverage.

"I try not to pay attention to what is going on outside. I take a step back quite easily, it is important for me," he explains.

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Encouragement from Dominic Thiem

Against the Austrian, Hugo Gaston notably stood out with a massive use of cushioning.

"I am not going to change my style of play because I am on the Philippe-Chatrier court," he sweeps.

"Dominic Thiem is a very great player, with a lot of fair play. […] He congratulated me, told me to continue and that it was going to do", still slips Hugo Gaston.

His goal is now to enter the Top 100 as quickly as possible, in the hope in particular of playing again at Roland Garros next year, this time perhaps in front of a larger audience.