Mired in a very bad run since his semi-final in the Dallas tournament last February (only two victories in the following 21 matches including 10 defeats in a row before arriving in New York), Adrian Mannarino put an end to this black streak this Tuesday by imposing himself with authority against Borna Coric in the first round of the US Open (7-5, 6-2, 6-3).
Questioned by our colleagues from The Team on this inevitably painful period, the current 42e world player admitted to having many doubts.
“I asked myself a lot of questions. From my perspective, it was the first time I had gone through such a tough series, I didn’t really know how to get through it, do new things without changing everything. It’s always the same: you ask yourself: “Should I continue to do what worked and it will come back? Or should I change everything?” It’s a lot of questioning, complicated nights and ultimately, deep down, I feel like I was playing pretty well in training. That’s what’s frustrating, I lose matches but without losing 6–1, 6–2 every week, it’s often very close and in training, it goes well so I tell myself, every time I get to a tournament that it will start again. And ultimately no. Also, I lose against guys, I don’t want to devalue them, but they are not players against whom I have the impression that I will lose if I play a good match, I always have a lot of confidence in myself when I enter the court, and I am not very proud of myself when I leave it.
Published on Wednesday, August 28, 2024 at 12:52 p.m.
