From our special correspondent at the Plénitude Arena,
It’s not just the physique that counts, we were “kindly” told in our younger years spent self-conscious about an obvious lack of muscles. A sentence that came to mind this Saturday during the semi-final of the Masters 1000 in Paris, seeing the mirror cabinet that is Ben Shelton, square shoulders and swollen pectorals that mold his t-shirt, alongside Luca Van Assche, our little Frenchman with a slightly more versatile physique.
On paper and in front of the mirror, the American (4th player in the ATP ranking) therefore created a storm at the revelation of this Parisian week. This was much less the case on the court. Because after having brought down, somewhat to everyone's surprise, the best players in the world like Learner Tien or Lorenzo Musetti, Van Assche also started to annoy Ben Shelton. And even a little more than that, with a narrow defeat (5-7, 6-3, 6-4).
Despite many hours spent battling on the court since the start of the week, Van Assche offered his opponent of the day a trench fight, never giving him anything easy. After his victory against Musetti, his coach, Sébastien Villette was satisfied that his colt had shown “another image” than that of a solid player who defends well. An image that stuck so well to him this Saturday.
Van Assche a fait plus que résister
Because you had to be catchy, and even more, to return the minasses sent by Ben Shelton, whether on serve (19 aces) or on the forehand. Even more so when the Frenchman's first ball didn't do him much good (55% first serve) other than being hit with air-to-ground warheads all the time. But Van Assche, who will be 34th player in the world on Monday, almost 300 places better than a year ago, resisted the invader.
Better, he ended up taking the American's serve at the very end of the set, after gross errors from the last finalist of the US Open, exasperated to see this little Frenchman (1.80 m) resist so much. But, due to being bombarded with missiles, Van Assche, who had already completed two marathons during the week, still ended up breaking down. Once in the second set, after saving three break points in a row, then in the third, where he still led 3-1 before seeing the American reverse the course of the match.
“I think the game I win most often is the one right after being broken,” Big Ben analyzed after the match. I manage to recover well this way. It's not easy, of course, there are nerves, there are the public, there are so many different factors. » For his part, Van Assche was not necessarily disappointed with this frustrating end to the match: “There are obviously moments where I could have managed better. It's true that at 3-1, I didn't make a very good play to get broken, but these things happen. »
“I know I have the level to play these guys”
Luca Van Assche will surely go to sleep with some regrets, because an opportunity to be in the Masters 1000 final at home does not come around that often. Ask the only five French players capable of reaching this level of the competition. However, LVA will still be able to be satisfied with a week which could put him definitively in the world of the big guys, where he is only two places in the ATP rankings from being seeded at the Australian Open at the start of the school year.
“It’s certain that this week is super important for me because I was able to string together five matches at a very, very high level,” commented the new French darling. I don't play matches at this level every day. It shows the things I do well, the things where I need to improve. It will help me a lot, give me confidence, already through these victories, to make the semi-final, to catch a player like Shelton. This remains positive. »
All that remains is to be able to carry out these services throughout the year. The winner of Roland-Garros Juniors in 2021 had made a first breakthrough in the top 100 in the wake of this title, before experiencing a huge downgrade. Here he is again at a very high level, which doesn't surprise him that much. “I know that I have the level to play these guys and win these matches,” he assured. There's still a lot to improve on and that's what's cool too. I still have a lot of room for improvement. Even without this progression, I still manage to have a very good level. »
All the news from the Masters 1000 in Paris
After this cannonball end to the season, Luca Van Assche (22 years old, only) does not yet know if he will participate in the Stockholm tournament next week, where he could be tempted to glean valuable points with a view to climbing a little further in the rankings. Appetite comes with eating. And the one who made Paris vibrate this week is very hungry.
