My reports on the Optima Open are finally online! This match took place on Saturday, August 16th (read my complete Optima Open report here).
Second match of the day: crowd favorite Henri Leconte against Greg Rusedski.
Rusedski won the match 7-5 6-3 but as expected Henri stole the show on court (let’s say Rusedski is not really a charismatic player…)
Rusedski and Leconte were both Grand Slam finalists: the Brit lost to Pat Rafter in the 1997 US Open final, and Henri lost the infamous Roland Garros 1988 final to Mats Wilander.
Leconte is now a commentator for Eurosport and has recently launched a padel club in Manosque, South of France.
As for Rusedski if I’m not wrong, he’s involved with junior players but I’m not so sure about that.
A tender moment: a little baby started crying, Henri gave him a tennis ball, and the baby stopped crying immediately.
Nadal, Djokovic, Lendl, Wilander... they all took part to the 16 and under Summer Cup held each year in Le Touquet. Discover the tennis stars of tomorrow.
Lower tournaments are a good opportunity to discover young players in the making like Karen Khachanov and Quentin Halys, or some charismatic veteran players like Rudy Coco.