Apart from a few games, Luca Van Assche could have permanently changed status this Wednesday. From the great hope of French tennis, he could have become a major topic of discussion in international tennis if he had beaten Novak Djokovic as he only went so far today in Banja Luka (ATP 250, clay) , where he took the first set at world number 1 and then had a break lead in the third before finally losing in three sets, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2 in 2h38 of a marathon during which the Serb really had to take out the overalls to bring him to his senses.
Causing such an earthquake in a city “homonymous” with his first name would have been bad for Luca. It would have especially marked the spirit. At not even 20 years old (he will be on May 11), the young Frenchman would have become the second youngest Tricolor to beat a world number 1 in exercise, after Richard Gasquet who was more or less the same age when he struck down Roger Federer in Monte-Carlo in 2005 during a match that greatly marked the Biterrois’ career, positively of course, but also negatively in certain respects.
Gasquet also never beat a world number 1 again afterwards, and perhaps never again found the relaxation he had that day. When we know the ton of pressure that fell on him after this memorable success, it is to wonder if, to keep the lightness that accompanies his current rise on the circuit, it is not preferable that Van Assche finally lost this match against Djokovic. We’re joking, of course. Whatever.
I have a lot of respect for him but above all I didn’t want to enter the game taking him for a living God.
Luca Van Assche, at L’Equipe
Victory or defeat, the person concerned, he was in any case impressed by the emotional maturity he showed in this match which he played bravely, without complex and ultimately giving the impression of playing a match like any other. . Which is not quite true, if we are to believe his remarks reported by L’Equipe : “All the same, there was a different approach. I can’t say that playing Novak Djokovic, I prepare for it the same way as a first round in a Challenger! But above all, I didn’t want to be a spectator of the match. I have a lot of respect for him but above all I didn’t want to enter the game taking him for a living God. I wanted to enter knowing that I had my chances”, declared the former winner of Roland-Garros juniors.
The state of mind he showed after his defeat finally seemed just as positive as that demonstrated on the pitch: disappointment, which is a good sign, but also the firm intention of extracting the substantial marrow from a defeat that we can still classify them as positive defeats. “Inevitably, there is disappointment to have lost, but to feel that I could compete, that gives a lot of confidence”, declared in addition the now 87th player in the world, who said he had no particular regrets about the part set. “Playing the world number 1, in front of his home crowd, will remain a great experience that can bring me a lot of things. And that shows that I am on the right path.”
When Van Assche was born, Djokovic was already a professional
A path that he will therefore be able to pursue relatively quietly for the moment, without having the light of the spotlights too blindly turned towards him, which is not necessarily bad news. As he seems to be the type to see the glass half full in all circumstances, Luca Van Assche will undoubtedly be satisfied with it. Especially since this match against Djokovic, preceded, let’s not forget, by a second victory on the main circuit against Stan Wawrinka, also gave him real avenues of work by showing him what still separated him from the elite.
Because if Novak Djokovic has certainly not delivered the best version of himself, embarrassed by the extreme heaviness of the conditions and perhaps still concerned about the state of his right elbow (which however seemed to hold up well this Wednesday), he has, at almost 36, ended up physically stronger than an opponent who was not yet born when he started his professional career.
Obliged for his part to compensate for his (relative) lack of power by his taste for effort, his game intelligence, his exceptional eye and his vivacity, Luca Van Assche does not have the strike force of an Arthur Fils, the other French nugget of the “2004 vintage”. But it’s been like that since he was young. This was already the case in 2018 when he won the title of French champion for 13-14 year olds in Rueil-Malmaison by creating a little surprise against the already very powerful Sean Cuenin, then a scarecrow in the category.
In the end, that never stopped him from winning and going through the stages at breakneck speed. How far ? No one knows but failing to have caused a gigantic sensation, Luca Van Assche may have proven for good today that he no longer had no limits.
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