Roland-Garros: can French tennis avoid a new fiasco?

Axel May and Gauthier Delomez 6:19 a.m., May 19, 2022

DECRYPTION

French tennis is still looking gloomy.

A year after an already calamitous edition of Roland-Garros, where no player had passed the second round in the singles draws, French players are more than ever in uncertainty.

After the package of the best tricolor, Gaël Monfils, 22nd in the world, for the first time in more than 20 years, none of them will be seeded this year at Roland-Garros, a tournament of which Europe 1 is the official radio.

So, are there any reasons to hope for a French performance all the same?

>> Follow the 2022 edition on Europe 1, radio partner of Roland-Garros

Will the "Musketeers" be there?

The mission promises to be complex.

First of all, the "Musketeers" clan, which brings together the four best French players of the past 15 years, is not arriving in great shape and has lost its best element:

.

Two other members of this recognized club,

, who announced that he would retire at the end of the tournament, and

who will stop at the end of the year, are experiencing a lackluster end to their careers.

Despite everything, a Musketeer seems in good shape:

.

The 35-year-old Biterrois, 75th in the world, performed this week by eliminating number 2 Daniil Medvedev in Geneva.

A victory that can give him confidence, as he has not passed a third round in a Grand Slam for almost six years.

ALLEZ GASQUET

@richardgasquet1 takes out top seed Medvedev 6-2 7-6(5) for his first Top 2 win since April 2005!#gonetgenevaopenpic.twitter.com/cfkB8nXRLy

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 17, 2022

Other French players who have already performed in the past are struggling to regain their best level, like

, who is slowly picking up on the circuit, or the unpredictable

.

They therefore do not arrive in the best conditions before Roland-Garros.

, winner of the doubles tournament twice, was released in qualifying.

Alizé Cornet, the highest ranked Frenchwoman of the tricolor clan

The best French hopes for the 2022 edition could well rest on 

.

At 32, the Niçoise is the highest ranked in the French clan, with a 40th place in the WTA rankings.

His season is strong with a quarter-final at the Australian Open earlier this year, his best Grand Slam performance in his career.

However, the Habs have failed to shine on clay so far.

She will want to raise her head in a tournament she particularly enjoys, and where she reached the round of 16 in 2017.

>> READ ALSO

- Roland-Garros: a Frenchman who is both a player and a commentator for France Télévisions

Still among the ladies, the French

(73rd in the world) and

(110th), who have already reached the quarter-finals at Porte d'Auteuil, are going through a difficult period and are also struggling to regain their feelings of yesteryear.

Young players ready to take over?

If the picture drawn up of French tennis leaves little room for optimism, the tricolor salute could go through his successor, like

.

The Toulousain is still looking to confirm his excellent performance in the 2020 edition. However, six months ago, the young 22-year-old tennis player managed the performance of defeating the Spanish phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000.

To see what the young 21-year-old tennis player has in store this year, in a season so far more than sluggish.

To date, it is

, 23, who will be the highest ranked Frenchman on the men's side with his 45th place in the world, but clay is not his favorite surface.

Other promising players like

(53rd),

(86th),

(95th), 

(96th), or even the precocious 

 who will play the third qualifying round at 18, are very expected by the French Tennis Federation, which hopes to see them come to light.

To raise the head of French tennis.