the essential
Winner in Bolton last week, the young Habs will face the American Tristan Ascenzo in the final of the Tarbes World Cup. Among the girls, the final will pit the Russian Dotsenko against the Latvian Matvejeva.
When Mario Vukovic entered the court early yesterday afternoon, his friend and doubles partner Samuel Dakessian applauded him. An hour later, the two boys found themselves at the net, hugging each other. Just before, Mario Vukovic had been very happy but not too much… A nice mark of respect between these two young French players who share the courts.
“I tried not to think about it too much, I even encouraged myself less than usual because I respect him even more than other opponents. So I tried to stay focused on myself, not to think that in front it was my best friend” explained François Mottier's protégé.
“The match was very tactical”
We had talked about it, that between these two boys who know each other by heart, it would be a mental success, in little things. And yesterday afternoon, at a packed Central, it was Mario Vukovic who got off to the best start in his match. Quickly leading 3-1 in this first set, then 5-2, he nevertheless saw Dakessian break him and return to 5-4. But in this “war of nerves”, the recent winner from Bolton showed himself to be very solid on a final throw to take the first set (6-4).
“The match was very tactical. We tried to put things in place which I managed to do during the match” continued Mario Vukovic. A feeling shared by his coach François Mottier: “It was a chess game somewhere. The disadvantage of knowing each other well is that it generates a little more emotion. The advantage is that we know each other very well Samuel, his strengths, where he is most vulnerable Mario used them well and I believe he won the match thanks to that.
In the second, Vukovic was going to break Dakessian before seeing the latter return the favor. Trailing 1-2, Vukovic would regain control of the match, and literally fly to a new final after that of Bolton (6-4, 6-2). Far from being dejected, Samuel Dakessian, already looking towards his doubles final, took stock of his match, and his World Cup
-“I only take the positive. I have a lot of things to improve, the highlights, the pressure. I need to improve my forehand, my placement, but there are a lot of positives in this match. Bravo to Mario, that he goes to the end of the tournament” explained Samuel Dakessian for his part, recognizing that his compatriot had managed the pressure better than him in this semi-final. “I believe that it was the one who remained the most calm who won. He was calmer, more solid, he deserves it…” finished the protégé of Maxime Teixeira.
Russia-Latvia in girls
Facing him today, Mario Vukovic will find the American Tristan Ascenzo, who got rid of the surprising German Lucas Herrera Sanchez (who beat Evan Giurescu on Friday). And yet, the US almost missed the World Cup, because when he came to France, he realized 20 minutes before his flight that he had almost made the wrong connection.
Originally from Texas, and trained by his mother (former tennis player), Tristan Ascenzo could not settle at the start of the match. “It was a little confusing at first because he only plays forehands. So I tried to look at which side he was hitting a little less hard and less well. And I realized after For a while he was a little less solid with his left hand. I adapted to that because at the beginning I had a little pressure, I was a little nervous, stressed. It's not nothing. play in the semi-final of the Petits As, everyone looks at us” explained the young American. Trailing 2-3, he would then find the solutions to thwart the ambidextrous Herrera Sanchez and win the first set (6-3) on his second set point. The second round was going to be a solo affair as Ascenzo was going to take the measure of his opponent. “I don't know the two Frenchmen, but I know that the spectators will be on their side. I saw them play this week, they are two very, very strong players. It will be a real battle tomorrow in the final. I will watch them carefully semi-final to try to gather some information. In the final, I will have to ignore the supporters, put myself in my bubble and play my game. I'm ready for that” finished Tristan Ascenzo, who is in Tarbes. his first tournament in Europe.
For the girls, from 2 p.m., the final will pit the Russian Ekaterina Dotsenko against the Latvian Darina Matvejeva, number 2 in the tournament. But before that, see you, from 9 a.m., with the girls' and boys' wheelchair tennis finals.
