This Sunday, Benjamin Bonzi won his sixth challenger tournament of the season in Rennes.
He has just won three in a row, for 15 compiled successes.
At 25, the native Gardois is 61st in the world, his best ranking.
He must now confirm at the highest level.
The catastrophe announced for ages ended to take shape during the last US Open. In 2021, for the first time in 43 years, French men's tennis has not placed any representative in the round of 16 of a Grand Slam tournament. Yet in this devastated world populated by tired old heroes and not very voracious young wolves, a middle-aged gamer keeps a little flame of hope alive.
At 25, Benjamin Bonzi appears as the terror of the Challenger circuit, the second world division. This Sunday in Rennes, the Gardois won his third title in a row, his sixth this season after Potchefstroom, Ostrava, Segovia, Saint-Tropez and Cassis, a record equal. He remains on 15 straight wins, and even 20, if we cross the qualifying defeat of the US Open. When tackling the floor above, this Wednesday at the Astana Open (Kazakhstan) as part of an ATP 250, Bonzi points to 61st place in the world. He was only 368th at the start of 2020 ...
Just ridiculous, @BenjaminBonzi 💪🔥
âś… Record-tying sixth title in a single season (joins Bagnis, Chela, El Aynaoui)
âś… First to win three titles in three consecutive weeks since 2016 (Youzhny)
âś… First to own a 20-match # ATPChallenger win streak since 2017 (Tipsarevic) pic.twitter.com/p6Mjn34x3T
- ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 19, 2021
“What he did, it's just crazy, underlines Matthieu Blesteau, director of the Rennes Challenger and privileged witness of the rise of the pupil of Lionel Zimbler, former coach of Santoro, Mahut, Benneteau, Mathieu and Paire .
I told myself every day that physically, he was going to stall especially when playing close matches.
And he never stalled… What is even more impressive is the adaptation to changing conditions.
He plays hard outside, he wins.
He comes back indoors, he also wins… ”
Stronger than Gasquet in Rennes
In a tournament that hosted names such as Andy Murray (released in the 2nd round) and Richard Gasquet, it is therefore the much less known Bonzi who went to the end.
By watching in the final the German bomber Mats Moraing (193rd in the world), winner of “Richie” in the half.
“Where Gasquet was frustrated, Bonzi cashed aces without flinching, continues Blesteau.
He calmly waited for the tie-break and made the difference at the slightest opportunity.
This is where we feel the player in full confidence.
"
However, the kid of Anduze, in the CĂ©vennes, licensed at Stade Toulousain, has not always evolved "in the area".
Even if “he has always played well, as Philippe Reboul, captain of the Rouge et Noir Pro Team, where Hugo Gaston also plays.
In the past, he had already beaten Top 100 players in Interclubs.
"
The Gardois landed in Toulouse in 2014, the year of his main achievement among the juniors: a double title at Roland Garros, associated with the French hope of the time Quentin Halys.
“He was in Paris with Cédric Raynaud, head of Insep after having been that of the Pôle espoirs de Toulouse, unrolls Reboul.
As he was not kept there, especially because of injuries, he told me that he was looking for a club to train and play as a team.
Here, he found friends like my son Fabien or Sadio Doumbia.
He is a boy with an excellent state of mind.
"
Alongside current prodigies like Alcaraz, Sinner or Musetti, we can speak of slow maturation.
"He was already around 160th place two or three years ago, before having a difficult season and dropping down beyond 300th place," explains Reboul.
But for some time now, he has gained confidence and gained in consistency.
His game has always been complete: he serves well, he returns well.
But there, he raised the level in all compartments.
"
Slowed down by Covid-19
Its rise could have been faster without the damn virus that crippled the entire planet and froze the tennis world rankings. While some of the top-ranked took advantage of their preserved status to do just about anything and seal in the most lucrative tournaments, the less well-endowed struggled to survive by attempting to integrate Challengers and Futures (the 3rd division), when these took place.
Consequence: the level of these tournaments has risen, as confirmed by Matthieu Blesteau, specialist in the issue since he manages the Challengers of Rennes, Brest and Vendée, after having created that of Quimper. “Between 50th and 150th place, anyone can beat anyone,” said the Breton. For Gasquet [recent finalist at Umag, then quarter-finalist at Winston-Salem, two ATP 250s], coming on a Challenger is not a walk in the park. Ditto for Murray, who had just made five sets against Tsitsipas at the US Open. "
In a world little publicized but ruthless, Bonzi displayed an anchorite serenity, which owes a lot to his choice to join Lionel Zimbler in Marseille at the beginning of 2020. “Benjamin is solid and does not get angry, but I know Lionel a little, he works miracles, smiles Blesteau.
He had managed to calm Benoît Paire when he was training him, so he is able to do it with everyone!
"
Bonzi regularly praises the emotional stability brought to him by his mentor, who also changed his game. “I asked him quickly to try to go forward, to retreat less, Zimbler testifies on the Eurosport site.
He was playing very far from his baseline.
For me, he had no chance of succeeding or entering the Top 100 in this sector.
"
#Maxine returns for @ 20Minutes on his victory, his career in #KohLanta and evokes his professional projects: "I hope that at the Olympics in Paris, in 2024, I will be as close as possible to athletes, with my microphone to interview them. "
👉https: //t.co/n4FTOtARMq pic.twitter.com/CYkc8QuE4U
- Fabien Randanne (@fabrandanne) June 7, 2021
Here is the companion of Maxine Eouzan, winner of
Koh-Lanta
last spring, finally installed in the world elite.
"This will allow him to have his place in all the Grand Slams and the Grands Prix", underlines Philippe Reboul.
A big step in sport but also financially, as the difference in earnings is enormous with the 2nd division of the circuit.
"Now, he will have to confirm at the level above," says Matthieu Blesteau.
Finnish reunion
The task is immense for the French number 2 in the Race, behind Ugo Humbert.
For the moment, he has won only three matches in the final table of a Major, including two at Roland Garros: in 2017 against Daniil Medvedev, then a simple Russian hope forced to retire, then in 2020 against Emil Ruusuvuori.
The world is small: it is precisely against this 22-year-old Finn, current 84th in the world, that Bonzi has to fight this Wednesday at the Astana Open.
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