The new boss of the FFT, Gilles Moretton, elected on March 13, now has his organization chart with in particular Arnaud Clément, referent vice-president for the DTN, high level, training and competition, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, general manager, or Luigi Borfiga, in an advisory role yet to be refined.
Since last Thursday, we also know the name of the one who succeeded Pierre Cherret, the DTN for the past three years.
For now acting DTN, Nicolas Escudé, former Davis Cup winner (2001) should be confirmed in his functions after the Roland-Garros tournament (May 24 - June 6), at the end of a regulatory process which provides for a call for applications and auditions of candidates.
Gilles Moretton explained in the preamble of a long press conference: “I was looking for a boss with charisma and determination.
I found it with Nicolas (Escudé) »
“There is a French tennis model that I want to recreate. It's a long-term job. ”
Nicolas Escudé
The 44-year-old former player then drew up an inventory: “I'm not starting with a blank sheet.
Let's not forget that we had, not so long ago, four players in the ten
(note: Gasquet, Tsonga, Monfils, Simon)
.
An exceptional generation.
But I want to minimize generational gaps.
The results in recent years are not far from exceptional.
But all that's missing is the Grand Slam title.
There are things that are already working very well.
We are not going to change in order to change.
There is a French tennis model that I want to recreate.
It is a long-term job.
We are not looking for the short term result.
We are going to take stock of the situation and I will bring my sensitivity and my vision of things to it.
But I am only passing through.
I will bring my energy but to establish a policy whose fruits will not be seen for one or two years.
Ideally, I want the system we are going to put in place to be sustainable. ”
The semi-finalist of the 1998 Australian Open said that in recent years the detection system had, according to him, become "too selective".
“For me, you have to put volume back at the bottom of the pyramid, through poles.
I do not believe that we can build ourselves tennis and humanely by staying in our corner.
The more young people we have, the more chances we have of having one that goes to the end of a Grand Slam (
note: The last men's title dates back to Yannick Noah in 1983 at Roland Garros…
).
It has long been considered the best training school in the world.
Our young people were seen as the most complete and the best trained.
When I say that, I think above all of the technical aspect.
I don't want a player's career to be blocked at some point because of a technical deficiency.
This is also true for the physical or the mental.
Young people must be empowered when they reach the highest level.
From a technical, physical but also mental point of view, the Federation and its DTN have the role of arming our kids so that they arrive as quickly as possible at the highest level, but the last step depends only on the player. "
“I will obviously contact the private academies. I am convinced that there are bridges "
Nicolas Escudé
The new DTN also insists on the fact that it would still like to open up a little more to the private academies which have flourished in recent years.
“The inter-self is not good.
Tennis is universal.
I will obviously contact the private academies.
I am convinced that there are bridges.
It makes no sense to work against the academy of Thierry Ascione or Patrick Mouratoglou.
Obviously, for us, there is not the business side.
But the bridges between them and us are countless.
Same thing with what is done abroad. "
Since his retirement in 2006, the former 17th player in the world (in 2000) was captain of the French Fed Cup team from 2008 to 2012 and has coached players such as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jérémy Chardy.
He has been running the Brest Open (Challenger) since 2016 and is a television consultant.
From ancient history, since he said Monday that he "ceased all" these ancillary activities.
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