It seems far away the Hugo Gaston who had raised the crowds doors of Auteuil and kept in suspense more than 5 million viewers. One autumn evening in 2020 in such a special Roland-Garros postponed at the end of September because of Covid-19, a minot out of nowhere warmed the partially filled stands and stopped time for a cushioning subtly deposited at the foot of the net.
Before the fortnight of 2020, no one really knew the 20-year-old left-hander with 73 meters and divine ball touch. However, from the age of 16 (in 2017), Hugo Gaston made a name for himself on the circuit by winning the Orange Bowl in Florida, a tournament considered a Major among juniors, since the list of winners of this one is the Swiss legend Roger Federer (1998), the former world number 1 Andy Roddick (1999) or Dominic Thiem (2011). In 2018, he proudly wore the French colours by winning gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina. And two years later, here he is in the big leagues where he will offer his first victories at Roland.
Roland Garros 2020: the apogee of Hugo Gaston
239th in the world at the beginning of the tournament, the 20-year-old from Toulouse had benefited from an invitation in the final draw to play his first Fortnight. Falling to his compatriot Maxime Janvier in the first round (7-6/6-4/6-3) and Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in the second (6-4/7-6/3-6/6-2), it was in the third round that the French fully attracted the attention of the public. Opposed to the Swiss Stan Wawrinka, winner of the Parisian Grand Slam in 2015 but also of the Australian Open 2014 and the US Open 2016, during this meeting, Hugo Gaston will use his atypical game to overcome his opponent in 3h15 (2-6/6-3/6-3/4-6/6-0), on the menu: bulging forehands, jumped backhands, cushioning festival, lobs, slices, soft strikes and bell balls. With this victory, the one who began to be nicknamed the "little prince" of French tennis reached the knockout stages and was the last French player in contention.
The reference match
On October 4, 2020, Hugo Gaston was close to achieving one of the biggest feats in the history of the tournament. The Toulousain came back from hell to offer himself a decisive fifth set against the ogre Dominic Thiem (former 3rd in the world, winner of the US Open and double finalist at Roland), the Austrian bit the ochre 58 times in 50 games against the cushioning so well controlled of the Frenchman. "It's been a very long time since I've seen a player with such a touchdown. Its cushioning comes from another planet," revealed the Austrian. The minot finally lost under the honors in 5 sets after 3h32: (4-6/4-6/7-5/6-3/3-6) in front of 5.6 million viewers. A legendary match with an exit under the ovation of the center court that the young Frenchman will never forget, a farewell to the Chatrier who surely means to tomorrow.
Despite the defeat, Hugo Gaston probably had the best match of his career against Dominic Thiem. GONZALO FUENTES
The other side of the coin
With such enthusiasm and such performances, Hugo Gaston has really changed the media dimension, the public was impatiently waiting for the confirmation of their new hero but as often, the hardest part is the aftermath: "There was a more or less unexpected runaway, Hugo was solicited from all sides. It was very strong and it shook him a lot. We had to digest that," his former coach, Marc Barbier, told Le Figaro. Precisely, the following year, Gaston is white cabbage in Grand Slam, eliminated in the qualifications of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open and out in the first round of Roland Garros against Richard Gasquet.
Terrible disappointment for Hugo Gaston out in the first round of the 2021 edition of Roland Garros against Richard Gasquet (1-6/4-6/2-6) BENOIT TESSIER
The madness of Bercy
It was during another French major tournament (Paris Bercy) at the end of the year that Gaston found the magic of his atypical game and the cries of the public. In tribute to the Toulon singer Gilbert Bécaud, Hugo Gaston comes back to get us. Out of qualifying, he reached the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 of Paris after beating Carreno Busta (6-7/6-4/7-5) and disgusting the future world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz (6-4 / 7-5) after a crazy match. Thanks to this victory, Gaston will reach the Top 100 for the first time in his career and will have won back the hearts of the French. The French explained his successes: "I think my game bothers a lot of players, they do not necessarily know me, so they do not really know how to play me. "
The sad return to reality
After the months and years, the circuit has come to know the atypical game of the little Frenchman, finished the euphoria of the first times, 2022 is much more complicated. Despite an ounce of superb recreation at Roland-Garros and a first Challenger title in Roanne, the Toulouse native was too irregular and heavily penalized by an often failing serve as evidenced by Daniil Medvedev after his victory against the French at Paris Bercy in 2021: "What saved me was his serve, otherwise Gaston would already be Top 10. Terrible disappointment, with an elimination in the first round of qualifying in Bercy against the Swiss Marc Huesler (3-6/6-3/6-7), Gaston goes down beyond the 130th place in the ATP.
Heading for Roland 2023
This year, Hugo Gaston will have been talked about more for his acts of anti-gambling than for his sporting performances. A few days ago, we learned that the current 108th player in the world was going to be fined an astronomical 144,000 euros after voluntarily dropping a ball on the course of Madrid in a key moment with the hope of distracting his opponent and replaying the point. With "only" 114,218 euros collected through tournaments this season, the almond was going to hurt the finances of the tricolor. Fortunately, pending the penalty has been reduced to 72,000 euros if the young player behaves well for a year. Roland-Garros should do good to the wallet, directly qualified for the final draw thanks to several forfeits, Hugo Gaston is sure to pocket at least 69,000 euros.
The Toulousain will make his debut in the competition this Sunday for his fourth Roland-Garros, his first with his new coach Younès El Aynaoui. He will face Slovakia's Alex Molcan (83rd), a match far from being won since Hugo Gaston remains on a withdrawal at the Challenger de Oeiras on the side of Portugal. His first match will serve as his first test before perhaps a big fight against Alexander Zverev in the second round.
