The record of French tennis at these Olympic Games is “catastrophic”, as Ivan Ljubicic, who resigned from his post as director of high level, acknowledged. At the centre of the criticism is the preparation of the doubles, a fiasco among fiascos.
Installed this Wednesday at noon in the first row of the presidential stand of the Suzanne-Lenglen court, Gilles Moretton pushed Corentin Moutet against Tommy Paul. But after saving six match points, the Parisian left-hander surrendered and the axe fell for the president of the FFT: after five days of competition, the Blues have recorded thirteen defeats in these Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Not a single quarter-finalist, which is the worst result for a host country on a par with South Korea (1988) and Greece (2004).
When he returned to his office, Gilles Moretton had a discussion with Ivan Ljubicic, head of the high level. The Croatian technician, who breathed new life into Roger Federer’s career in 2017, offered him his resignation. After Rio and Tokyo, French tennis is still unable to bring home a medal.
Ljubicic is realistic. He knows that in tennis, the support of the public may not have the same strength as for judokas or fencers.
“The public is good. But if you don’t have the level,” he sighs.
A relentless general observation that does not prevent Ivan Ljubicic from pointing out the details of the fiasco, and in particular a rather incomprehensible fact: “That the four doubles pairs could not play a match together, it is difficult to understand”, he judges. As if he did not have control over the programming of the players. But it is more subtle than that.
The Mahut-Roger-Vasselin plan comes to a sudden end
Flashback. Last winter, the Croatian technician validated the option of associating Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Nicolas Mahut. “I agreed, I even sent Boris Vallejo (a federal coach, editor’s note) to accompany them on the circuit,” he explains. But the first results at the Australian Open, Rotterdam and Doha are worrying.
In Indian Wells, the Angevin gets injured. After Monte Carlo, Edouard Roger-Vasselin feels that his Top 10 status is slipping away and decides to play again with the Mexican Santiago Gonzalez, with whom he had a fantastic 2023 season. If he is Top 10 in the ranking of June 10, the Baulois can choose his partner. But the elimination in the first round of Roland-Garros upsets all his plans. He is ranked 14th. As Nicolas Mahut is then out of the race, there are two possible paths for the federation: one bold, the other more secure.
“The idea was to have two pairs on the starting line,” Ivan Ljubicic interrupts.
The hypothesis of an association between Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Pierre-Hugues Herbert – by means of a wild card and, therefore, by drawing a line under a second team – is then abandoned.
To make the cut in terms of ranking, Fabien Reboul is chosen to support Edouard-Roger-Vasselin. With minimal preparation because the French forty-something is engaged at Wimbledon with Gonzalez. They line up in Hamburg where their association seems to work since they reach the final there. Unfortunately, in Germany, the Toulouse player feels pain in his hand. His withdrawal is confirmed the day after the opening ceremony. A real blow. Gaël Monfils is called to the rescue. But facing a quality German pair, Monfils and Roger-Vasselin are eliminated in the second round.
The heavy absence of Kristina Mladenovic
Another enigma: the composition of the Caroline Garcia-Diane Parry women’s doubles. The Garcia-Mladenovic association seemed obvious but, to everyone’s surprise, “Kiki” is not in Julien Benneteau’s selection. The captain of the French team explains that Mladenovic wants to prioritize her personal career. Getting her ticket to the US Open qualifiers – which she managed to do – was therefore her priority.
But for a girl who has always loved wearing the blue jersey, it remains a mystery. It is also rumored that she refused to play the mixed at Roland-Garros with Edouard Roger-Vasselin. “I had two refusals from French women,” said ERV, who finally contacted the German Laura Siegemund at the last minute to go for the title. Ivan Ljubicic did not want to confirm this information. But he was struck by attitudes that could be described as too individual.
“As a Croatian, I don’t know the emotion of playing the Olympic Games at home,” he says. “But I imagined that the preparation would be more intensive, with more motivation to try to reach 100%,” he regrets. Does he feel betrayed?
“If you talk to every player, everyone will tell you that they did their best,” he sighs.
Ivan Ljubicic chose his words carefully, but in his press briefing, he still mentioned “fictitious responsibilities”. He also mentioned the resources invested. And the choice not to stay in the Olympic village. “We sent physiotherapists and a doctor to Wimbledon. At the CNE, we even brought the piano and the cook…”
All the ingredients were there, but the mayonnaise turned. In the end, it’s a real waste. In four years, the bleeding will have to be stopped in Los Angeles, on cement. A better surface for the Blues. Perhaps that’s where the problem lies, these Games should have been held at Roland-Garros…on grass.
