End of game for Moïse Kouamé. On the greenish gray clay of Florida, the young Frenchman, 15, lost in the final of the prestigious Orange Bowl, which serves as the 5th unofficial Grand Slam for his age category. On the Plantation courts, the blue-white-red champion seed was beaten (7-5, 6-2) by the Spaniard Santamarta, two years his senior, and will not join Guy Forget, Gianni Mina, Hugo Gaston and Arthur Fils on the winners of the event.
The somewhat sad but logical epilogue of a week where the teenager from Sarcelles took out the seeds 4, 14, 12 and 13 to reach the Sunday meeting of a competition which brings together the world elite of the under 18 years old.
Under a wind that would blow the surrounding palm trees, Kouamé was level during a set (even though he was broken at the start of the match) before a big air gap, a mixture of frustration and pressure, at the start of the match. the second round (4-0). The continuation of learning…
The Parisian still ends the year 2024 with a bang. A few weeks ago, he gleaned his first two points and his first ranking on the ATP circuit (1582nd) by winning his first pro match during the Brest Challenger qualifiers against the 222nd in the world. “What a blast”, summed up the French nugget, whose name began to caress the ears of the general public during the last Roland-Garros.
In Paris, where he benefited from an invitation and yet gave three years to certain opponents, Kouamé had plotted his way to the quarter-finals of the junior tournament (one of the earliest in history to enter the big eight ) thanks to a big serve and beautiful looks on the forehand.
“I am aware that we are looking for the rare pearl,” whispered this fan of Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé and Formula 1, carefully guarded by an entourage keen to protect him from the too blinding light of notoriety. And I'm giving my all to one day be like Yannick Noah, or even more. Don't worry. I work very hard and I hope that one day I will be at the top of the bill. »
Since then, he has patiently continued his climb, knowing that the road is long and that many former winners or finalists of the Orange Bowl have remained by the side of the road that leads to the summits. “Like any Tennis player, my goal is to be world No. 1,” he said a few months ago. Afterwards, do I have the capabilities? We'll see that later. I hope to go very, very far in my career. »
Next big meeting in January in the junior draw of the Australian Open.
