US Open: The incredible genetics of Quebec giant Gabriel Diallo, on and off the court

NEW YORK | Even as a child, Gabriel Diallo had an incredible genetic background. In fact, everything related to his family is incredible, emphasizes with palpable admiration Sébastien Prieur, who coached the Quebecer when he was between 5 and 12 years old and when he was developing the rudiments of his powerful game with tennis Montreal.

“I remember that, even at that time, his tracksuits were two sizes bigger than those of other young people his age,” says Mr. Prieur, who today serves as technical director within the organization.

“His father is very tall and slender. His mother is a former handball player,” he explains.

It is no surprise, then, that some 10 years later, the last Canadian still in the running at the US Open, who will face the 24^e seed Arthur Fils, Thursday around 2:15 p.m., is 6’8″.

But above all, praise Sébastien Prieur for the Diallo family, they are very “grounded” people.

“They have such deeply rooted values,” notes the coach. “His father is very polite, very respectful. Even today, when I see him, he is very grateful to us. I think Gabriel inherited these values ​​and that explains who he is today.”

Not in the best

Luckily, because the young player’s rise was not that of an athlete predestined to make his mark among professionals.

“Gabriel was passionate, but above all he loved to compete. So when he excelled, it was mainly in the points, in the matches. […] Otherwise, he was, I would say, in the “strong average” in his age group, but he was not in the best.”

And on top of that, explains Sébastien Prieur, Diallo had a growth spurt at age 9 or 10 that impacted his knees, forcing him to miss about six months of activities when he was about 11.

“We had to really reduce the training loads, whereas we usually increase them every year.”

“He didn’t steal it”

It therefore took a good dose of perseverance for young Gabriel to climb the ladder. “What he has today, he didn’t steal. There’s a lot of work behind all that,” congratulates Mr. Prieur.

The latter is also not a little proud to see to what extent, beyond this big forehand and his powerful serve that he has had for a long time, the 22-year-old Montrealer is on the way to becoming a much more complete athlete than many players of his size.

Because in tennis, being 6’8″ is certainly an advantage when serving, but not in all aspects of the game. The coach compares players to F1 cars: “The lower you are, the closer you are to the ground and the faster you are, the more balance you have.”

One study, he adds, has already shown that the “ideal” tennis player is about 6’1″ and 172 pounds. That’s about the size of Novak Djokovic.

Like Boucar Diouf

But watching his former protégé in action recently, and especially on Tuesday in the first round of the US Open, Sebastien Prieur was impressed by his ability to move around the court. “It’s crazy how he moves on a tennis court!”

An asset he attributes to the fact that he is very slender compared to some other players his size (he weighs 198 pounds), as well as to the advances in science in developing these big athletes.

And above all, the coach is proud that the good “little” boy he trained, very young, has become such an eloquent man. “When I hear his interviews, he sometimes reminds me of a Boucar Diouf, with great thoughts, great concepts.”

“I’m glad this is happening to him.”