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by Special TW Contributor, Guillaume Willecoq (assist to Mariej)
Open a map of France - Google maps will do just fine. Now, look to the north along the coast between Belgium and Paris. Welcome to the Baie de Somme! Somme is, unfortunately, famous for being the site of some of the bloodiest battles of all military history: from July to November 1916, during the First World War, 1.2 million soldiers died or were wounded here. Today, military graveyards, where the soldiers of both camps rest in eternal peace, remain a common feature of the local villages.
Now look for these two little towns on or near the coast: Rue, and Le Crotoy. The latter is on the seaside waterfront, or more precisely, in the mud of the bay of Somme. For the past six years, the villages have combined efforts to host and build a tournament in late September, the Open of the Bay of Somme. Neither is an ATP/WTA event; rather, each one is part of the French national circuit, which gives relative unknowns and journeymen ranked outside the top hundred a chance to compete for prize money. The events also draw some top players who want to keep their competitive genes firing.
As a journalist, and webmaster of our own French-language web site, 15-lovetennis, I was eager to cover the tournament. Many of you know my girlfriend, Marie Jo (Mariej, in TW patois), who accompanied me. We arrived on the grounds of the Tennis Club Rue-Le Crotoy (an indoor facility) on Friday. It’s a modest place, beside a large parking lot and a soccer field. The club has a bare-bones, metal shed-like structure, with two enclosed courts. There's also a private lounge for players, and a dining hall and cafeteria nearby. The players wander around freely in this casual, friendly setting.
That’s how we came to meet Richard Gasquet, who was with his father, Francis. “Richie” was accommodating; he granted us an interview immediately. “I did not train a lot during the last three months,” Gasquet told us. “ I have come here to find some match play. I want to play, play good tennis without pressure. If everything goes fine I’ll get my ranking back.”
It seems that Gasquet’s last-minute decision to enter had suddenly lifted the tournament to another level. Laurent Chaumont, the creator and tournament director of the event, spent most of his time running around, cell-phone glued to his ear. He found time to tell us: “We managed everything on our own the first time we ran the event. We set up tents right next to the club where our wives cooked pasta for the players.”
That was back in 2004, and for that first Open of the Bay of Somme the organizers raised 160,000 euros ($235,000) to run the event. The budget has since increased to 270,000 euros ($400,000) - prize money included. Orginally, the tournament was lucky to attract a handful of Top 200 players – below-the-radar names like those of Jean François Bachelot, or Rodolphe Cadart. But Sandrine Testud also decided to play; she was in the autumn of her career, and it was - well, it was a chance to play.
The OBS quickly built a modest name for itself, and a surprising number of marquee players signed up. Those included Nathalie Tauziat (2005), Fabrice Santoro (2006), Arnaud Clément (2006), Jo Wilfried Tsonga (2007), Nathalie Dechy (2008), Paul Henri Mathieu (2008), and the first “guest” (or non-native player), Christophe Rochus (2006).
Why would such high-value names play such a minor event? Well, there are a number of reasons, starting with timing. “We act like a warm up event for the Open de Moselle”, Chaumont said. “The players are coming from the US Open and a long, hard court season, and the must try to get ready to start the indoor season. We make that transition easier.” The best players entered in Rue will end up in the draws in Metz, Lyon, then Bercy; the others will play the Challenger circuit in places like Orleans, Rennes or Mons, in Belgium.
The OBS has a good reputation among the French players. The club may not be much, but the players have good accommodations at a seaside resort just a few kilometers from the club. “The players always leave delighted”, said Emmanuel Mas, the FFT (French Federation) appointed tournament referee. “It's the venue, the ambiance, the background of the region – also, the players talk to each other, word spreads. For example, Arnaud Clément encouraged Sébastien Grosjean to play, and he’s here this year.”
The 2009 draw was the best to date – and an unprecedented, if modest, sellout (1400 spectators over the finals weekend). Fabrice Santoro was on his farewell tour, Sébastien Grosjean coming back from a long injury; Josselin Ouanna was hoping for build further on his 3rd round finish at the US Open, and Richard Gasquet, was just looking to hit tennis balls under quality competitive conditions. On the women's side, the drawing cards were Alizé Cornet, Elena Bovina, and local heroine Julie Coin.
Julien Obry, a promising junior who last played in the US Open boy’s event, beat a 40-year-old French veteran in his first round on Thursday, and lost in the second round to Jean Christophe Faurel on Friday. Both Faurel and Obry use a one handed backhand. I felt privileged watching them hitting that shot with wonderful accuracy - most of the time. Unfortunately, Obry wasn’t as steady as his Faurel, and he grew frustrated. He berated himself, threw his racquet, and displayed a foul mood. Although he lost, Obry has loads of talent; he's currently ranked 6th in the (junior) world. Keep an eye on him. . .
Sebastien Grosjean, who’s shoulder is still aching from surgery he underwent at the end of 2008, has had a frustrating time trying to recapture his form. Here, he met Charles Roche (ranked no. 560) in his first match; a tough assignment, given that Roche has been knocking around at just below the tour level for some time now. “Seb” hasn’t changed much from his days as a Big Name - same white polo, same cap backwards, same three-day beard. . . and same game too.
Seb’s forehand has lost some bite, but he still moves extremely well; he still has great touch at the net, but he needs more time to get full power back on his serve. Grosjean’s game may have fallen far from his glory days, but Roche felt he had to be at 120 percent – that’s what reputation, and experience at the highest level, can do for you. And that advantage ultimately helped Grosjean get through.
Seb has no illusions about how much work he needs to do in order to recapture his status as a day-in, day-out ATP Tour staple. He sounds almost defiant when he says: “I come back to play - and to win too. I want to get back to a good level, play big tournaments and feel the adrenaline of big matches again. I don’t come back to play the tourist, otherwise I can give the racquets to my kids and play with them in the backyard garden.”
The big news in the later stages was the upset of Ouanna, at the hands of crusty French veteran Jerome Haehnel – who has an interesting story of his own. Haehnel had the potential to be a solid pro, but a phobia about air travel kept him from playing international events. Haehnel beat Andre Agassi (do you recognize the name?) in the first round at Roland Garros in 2004, and he won his lone ATP-grade title later that year at Metz. Enroute to that win, he beat Richard Gasquet – whom he would meet again in the semis if the OBS. What a tale of contrasting fortunes those two men have written.
It was a hard fought re-match, but in time Gasquet found his range and won. Meanwhile, on the other side of the draw, Santoro rolled through Grosjean, who was consoled by the fact that he was able to play free of pain. So the tournament got the final the organizers had dreamed about: Gasquet vs. Santoro. And nobody could complain about the quality of the women’s event, either, as Elena Bovina and Julie Coin battled through.
!Julie and Elena Enroute to the final, Coin’s greatest stumbling block was Cornet. But even in a minor event like this one, Cornet was all nerves, and so anxious about and frustrated by her serve that she won just one game on her own serve – and that barely. Bovina, who was ranked as high as no.14 at age 22 (2002), is coming off two lost years (shoulder problems). But, like Grosjean, she's determined to claw her way back to the top. The final was a two-and-a-half hour battle, with Bovina taking a big step in her comeback by winning, 7-6 in the third.
The men’s final was played in a totally relaxed, almost festive mood. Santoro couldn’t stop smiling – he was like a kid with a new Christmas toy. He bantered with ballboys and threw in dazzling drop shots and lobs – seemingly, just for the joy of it. He could easily have been mistaken for the younger and more carefree of the two players. Gasquet was no grim-faced warrior, either. He looked relaxed, and may have smiled more during that match than he has through this entire, trying year.
In fact, Santoro, a former champion here, had booked his return seven months ago. He said, “Twenty-one years on the road is quite a lot, but I can’t complain. I was lucky, I met a lot of people, I travelled across the world, I discovered other cultures, other religions. It was very instructive.”
Santoro may be prepared to hang his racquet up for good, at least on the world tour level, but his eyes still sparkle and dance as he talks about the sport he loves. We’re going to miss him, that’s for sure.
The most striking thing, for us, was the human scale of the tournament in every aspect. For three days, we wandered around, casually, mingling with fans and players – most of whom were enjoying themselves, feeling comfortable. Here was Gasquet, smiling, and Grosjean, hanging on his cell phone. Kids ran around, seeking autographs. Nobody minded. The adults in attendance looked happy, and stress-free.
And it all happened because Laurent Chaumont, on vacation in Arcachon one summer, had stumbled upon a similar small event, run at a local club. He remembered: “I was curious to see the local tennis club, and they were running that kind of tournament. I thought it was a cool idea--why not us?”
Six years later, the Open of the Bay of Somme has a significant reputation, and Chaumont, when he isn’t savoring the success of his tournament, can only scratch his head and wonder, “What am I going to do for 2010?”
Let us suggest bring in Amelie Mauresmo. . .