On the London grass, for his first Grand Slam, the 27-year-old Tricolore will face the Chinese Zhizhen Zhang (n°33). He also got noticed for his post-match celebrations. “When I was younger, for a very long time, I loved the sport. Today, I find tennis very unfair,” he explains.
For his first Grand Slam main draw match, Maxime Janvier (n°225) will have his work cut out for him, even if his opponent’s name is not the best known.
The player licensed at the Gien Tennis Club will face the 27-year-old Chinese Zhizhen Zhang (n°33 and last seed in the tournament), as decided by the draw on Friday June 28.
Great performance for Maxime Janvier, player from the Tennis Club de Gien, who joins the main draw of Wimbledon
To get there, the Tricolore achieved a great performance during qualifying, winning all three rounds, and in particular the last one, Thursday June 27, against his compatriot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (n°59 and seed n°1 in qualifying) in four sets (6-7 [10], 7-5, 7-6 [4]7-6 [5]).
If he shone on the field, Maxime Janvier also made himself noticed by his celebrations just after the match ball. “For the thunasse (money), nothing but the thune!”, after the second round; “The house! The house!”, Thursday after his success against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
The TC Gien player also confided in The Team to talk about his discomfort. “Tennis really disgusted me. Tennis really disappoints me. When I was younger, I didn’t think it was like that at all. I would never have played tennis if I had known.”
“This permanent lack of stability, you can be 50th and the following year 800th… There is nothing acquired in tennis, he continues. And there is no protection.”
“I no longer expect much from this sport. When I was younger, for a very long time, I had a love of sport. Today, I find tennis very unfair.”
“There are guys who are ranked 300th in the world and who are better players than guys ranked 50th. Because some are helped, they have wild cards all the time.”
“I was ruined, completely ruined”
The Tricolore also talks about his money problems, which forced him, a few years ago, to borrow 50,000 euros from the bank to travel with a coach.
“I was ruined! Completely ruined. Too stressful. I worked 24/7 and ended the month with a deficit of 2,000 or 3,000 euros. I couldn’t continue, it was unbearable, horrible.”
“I will never have a coach again. I have been alone for two years. Too many expenses. I earn nothing. I am on a minimum wage in tennis. If I stop tomorrow, I am at zero.”
“I have never been helped, neither by my family nor by anyone (he still benefited from three wild cards in the main draw of Roland-Garros between 2018 and 2020). There are guys who are lower ranked, who have less good careers, but who have sponsors. I tried to find sponsors, no one wants to. I don’t know how it works. I don’t have the answers anymore.”
Could his performances on the London turf allow him to move forward?
M. K.
