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Wimbledon: men's schedule and results
Wimbledon: ladies schedule and results
It was at Wimbledon, the most prestigious tournament in the world, that Hugo Grenier scored his first victory on the circuit.
Not bad for a first.
Drafted in qualifying (lucky-loser), the 26-year-old Frenchman played his first Wimbledon and his first tournament on grass.
"
As in a dream, I'm like a kid
," he laughs.
Beaten in the last round of qualifying, he was finally drafted.
He can thank… Gaël Monfils: “
The four best-ranked losers from the third qualifying round are drawn.
I finished second.
With the withdrawal of Gaël I could not enter the table
”.
And he was able to seize this opportunity against an opponent, himself from qualifying.
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Grenier won after a showdown of five sets against the Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler, 104th in the world (6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 2-6, 6-4).
“
It was only my second best-of-five-set match.
I managed pretty well but in the fourth set, it was a bit hard, I was nervous.
In the fifth, I managed to regain some composure and read his serve better.
This victory means a lot.
There are my parents, my coach, I share great moments, it's a springboard, I want to continue
.
And to think that he had never played on grass before this year: “
I only have fifteen days of grass behind me,
he says .
It's a surface that suits me well.
It's quite entertaining.
I enjoy playing on it.
And I like to play pretty low
".
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With his large size (1.96 m), the 141st in the world can rely on his big serve (he served 15 aces in his first round) with a rather atypical preparation.
A spectacular rocking from front to back with his right leg.
“
They tell me that I have a special service.
I have accentuated it for two or three years.
Sometimes I may not hit the ball high enough but I have the momentum to go forward.
The native of Montbrison (Rhône Alpes) will not earn points this year at Church Road (
note: due to the decision of the authorities, following the boycott of Russian players
), but will receive a large check.
At least £78,000 (€92,000) for 2nd round qualifiers.
A very significant sum for a player who had only accumulated 290,007 euros in his career (he has been a pro since 2013)... “
There are no points but there is great prize money.
I mainly play on the challenger circuit
(2nd division)
where the sums are not huge.
It allows us to look to the future a little more calmly”.
And if he wins this Thursday against the Chilean Christian Garin, 52nd in the world, Grenier will certainly switch to another dimension.