Tennis: in New York, Hugo Gaston remains anonymous but released before entering the US Open in two days

In front of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main venue for the US Open, several cameras from around the world are capturing a few words from the biggest stars who will participate in the New York tournament. Djokovic, Alcaraz, Coco Gauff… Hugo Gaston walks quietly next to him, and goes to an unknown level. The Toulouse player, currently ranked 61st in the world, is approaching the tournament relatively cheap: his 2024 season has already been secured and there will be little to lose in college. This American teenager, where the attention is on others than on himself.

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He won’t be completely out of place either: This Tuesday when he enters the US Open, the Toulouse native will face Facundo Diaz Acosta. The French and the Argentine will play each other for… the third time in a month. Gaston leads 2-0: victory in three sets at the Hamburg tournament, and another by retirement in Kitzbühel. Ever two without three? For his third participation in the US Open, Gaston has the opportunity to extend the excitement a little more than his previous tours, where he won only one match, last year against Sho Shimabukuro Japanese.

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Because his year 2024 has already been rather successful. A result especially of pre-season preparation that left nothing to chance. Hugo Gaston left last winter to train at altitude in Ifrane, Morocco, with his new trainer Younès el-Aynaoui. Usually, the athletes of the Moroccan Athletics Federation take over the building. Hugo Gaston was able to improve his cardio skills there, and is now approaching the end of the season with more fuel in the engine.

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Friday afternoon Italian restaurant

A month ago, he came very close to victory in Kitzbühel. His loss in the final against the Italian Matteo Berrettini brought tears to his eyes in his chair at the end of the match. A sign of renewal, however, for the resident of Toulouse, whose year 2023 has been more difficult. From a sporting point of view, his American escape could be better now: Gaston lost in the first round in Cincinnati and Winston-Salem. But he regains mental renewal and that is probably the main thing.

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Friday afternoon, he went to share a moment in an Italian restaurant in the Big Apple, very close to Central Park where his hotel is. It marked the 22nd birthday of his partner Arthur Cazaux but perhaps also marked a carefree return, four years after the Roland-Garros that had exposed him to the public. The hard surface of the US Open may not be the best fit for his game, but his offensive and inconsistent temperament can work wonders in this environment and amid this risk-taking public.

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This weekend, on the side courts of Flushing Meadows, he put himself through a very difficult training, in the heat of New York, against another Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino. At the end of the session, several young fans came to ask for autographs and pictures. The cameras should follow quickly if the contest starts successfully.