At 20, the French tennis player participates in his first Master’U. Magnificent loser at the end of a mixed doubles which eliminated France, friday, in quarter-final, the Antonian nonetheless keeps the smile: he knows it, he comes back from far.
In the midst of visitors and organizers, it is impossible to miss the inscription “France” in the back of its impressive silhouette. Louis Lechevretel is there, leaning at a table in the entrance of the complex. The jogging is well adjusted, the facial features are drawn. Ereinted after his two homeric performances of the day before? Not quite. “Physically, it’s okay. It’s hard mentally, at the end of the day, he says. I feel tired and, since there is tension in tournaments, you must have some stiffness. ”
The elimination in the quarter-finals, from friday evening, is certainly in the lead. No matter, his smile seems timeless. The fellow does not dwell on a defeat: “I am especially happy to have played under a crazy atmosphere and to have taken advantage of this moment. An astonishing statement from a 20-year-old man, but far from being the fruit of a patently lassitude. No, Louis is especially happy to be back on the courts. A long absence, from “late February to early September”, the fault of an illness. The nature of evil? The sportsman sweeps the subject with a backhand: “I do not want to stretch too much on this episode. I do not want to make tons of it, I’m here to play tennis, “he says, always with a smile.
Sport and education go hand in hand
During this period of convalescence, the prospect of stopping his career never crossed his mind: “I relativise very quickly. It must be said that I am very well surrounded, whether by my parents or my coach. “Impossible for him to hang up while his life rhymes with tennis. Impossible, above all, to change a rhythmic daily since more than seize. “I play in the United States,” says the tennis player. It is enough to look straight in the eyes to understand the passion that inhabits it. If he concedes that his BTS Commerce International started at the lycée Joliot Curie is not undertaken that “by security”, there is no shortage of serious rapper: “I do this at a distance and everything goes well. My priority is tennis but I try to study at the same time. Combining my studies and my career is a question of motivation. ”
It is the occasion of a pivotal period of his schooling, the terminal, that Louis Lechevretel draws a decisive conclusion: “The year of the bac I was level 0 and physically very limited. I sent for my work. I took the opportunity to remedy it, as I could not move too much because of the exams. I did six months of preparation and played two to three times a week. I was only physically aside, twice a day. On my return and from my first tournament, I beat -2, -4 and I held in three sets to a -15. “Well he in a hold: his tray in his pocket, he can then celebrate his progression to -4. As far as being irreconcilable, sport and education can be at the origin of a turning point.
Turning points
It is decisions of this kind that allow him to honor his first selection with France, on the occasion of the Master’U this weekend. A strong and special moment for him, in more ways than one: “Friday was just my return to the courts. I resumed training in September and I feel 100% today. His daily life, before his illness, was then the Grand Tournois National Circuit (CNGT), in Hazebrouck for example, and the Futures tournaments in Turquia or in Croatia. At the time of the proposal of Cyrille Monet, co-captain of the team for the French Federation of University Sports, Louis does not hesitate for a second: “Cyril has contacted my coach. I told him I was interested and I felt ready. I had planned to resume in Montluçon the week after but the timing was perfect. It’s a really nice experience. So his long convalescence dropped him down from -15 to -4 and dropped him to 1446 at the ATP. Certainly, he owes his presence this weekend only to the defection of two players and Cyrille Monnet revealed to him that he would probably play only doubles. But in such a competition, every opportunity to prove its worth must be grasped. And Louis Lechevretel did not delay.
Proofs and learning
“The cause of success or failure is much more a mental attitude than a mental capability,” wrote the Scottish poet Walter Scott. This is what made the difference in the French ten-nisman: the mind. “My illness has made me considerably mentally mentally,” he admits. And once his first double ended, when the captains of the team call on him for the final encounter against Great Britain, the Francilian takes responsibility: “I felt capable. If I was not there for the team, I would have stayed home. I knew I was ready to replay important matches. There was a lot of pressure and the lack of competition made me commit some mistakes. I had a lack of lucidity. To resume under the jersey of France under such conditions, with the atmosphere, it was an incredible experience. Unfortunately, it did play a few details. A few details, therefore, which deprive France of an expected revenge against the Americans.
The Antonian had a revelation: “Usually, I’m not super comfortable in doubles. On Friday, the context pushed us. I feel I must work on it. It will bring me to singles and it will allow me to play both sides against very good players. Then financially, even if it’s not huge, it’s very interesting. When you go off to play tournaments abroad, you count all the expenses. That is why I created a crownfunding project. (See the article on the site, The crowdfunding, also patron of university sport). From this magnificent defeat, it emerged once again grew.
The look is always lively, the smile always on the lips. Nothing disturbs him. Not even the horizon that is looming. “I’m going back exactly on the same goals as last year, that is to say to be in the 800 at the ATP and a French number. I had seriously started the Futures and taken my first ATP point in Turkey. I hope to make a good recovery until mid-January in France history to find my bearings, to renew games quietly, without pressure. In two years, if I play well, I would like to start the Challengers. It really depends on my progression. “He is sure, the Master’U can launch his season. In a weekend of competition, where France plays fifth in the tournament against Belgium on Sunday, there are reasons for satisfaction and confirmations. In the midst of the world academic hopes and under the gaze of the spectators, it was impossible to miss it: Louis Lechevretel was in the light.