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Henri Leconte NYC & US Open

(Sir) Roger Federer

Let’s talk about Roger Federer, the man who holds all the records. 17 Grand Slam titles are among his very long list of achievements ... A world of it’s own!

This exceptional player with his impressive talent, the tennis dream everybody wants to copy. His unique, distinctive style. His play is so good and beautiful to look at. You get the impression that he is playing his best tennis, and it 's terrible when he misses simple shots.

Roger is an exceptional player not only because of his own play, because of his charisma and aura, too.

Never a bad word, always with respect to his opponents even in difficult situations. I've never seen him angry in a match or he was hiding it very well. That is his strength and it was his strength that now left him at the U.S. Open.

Roger is simply world class. The way he moves on court, just fabulous, his outfits always accurate, an absolute dream come true.

So, when Mr. Roger Federer loses a match or is not playing so well, then you can hear voices now saying that his career is over or he would be too old. These guys slightly forget what he has achieved in his incredible career. In addition to that we are talking about the world No. 7 in the current ATP rankings!

The behavior and comments towards him are irreverent and very unfair. The problem is that everyone is used to it that he always wins. If he is not winning, which is more than normal, criticism comes from those who prayed beforehand that he would win.

Roger Federer is an incredible player with his normal problems, physical or psychological. He is like you and me except for one difference: HE is a true champion.

It is a dream when he comes on court. He will remain in our memories as the one who has perfected various tennis strokes. He takes e.g. a volley with ease and plays the ball through the legs. Everything seems to be easy for him.

We respect Roger Federer for all his work and sacrifice. Thanks to Roger tennis got more popular and addictive – a new dimension in tennis.

Another incredible player: Rafael Nadal. Crazy matches we’ve experienced mid-2000. Roland Garros and Wimbledon –epic fights between the two we were have been allowed to witness.

I can not and don’t want to imagine that ends his career now. This year is definitely the worst season for him. He will respond, it may not remain so. I have tremendous confidence in him.

His dream is to take part at the next Olympics, not to mention the Davis Cup.

Roger, do not grieve, please do us a favor and fight back. You have nothing more to prove yourself, do not listen to those idiots who say that you were at the end of your career.

You're the best in the world – with all due respect for Novak, Rafa, Andy and the others.

We believe in you.

Go Roger!

Henri Leconte NYC & US Open

Media

Let's talk about the media, what they do and how they spend their time during the tournament, but also how I feel about that.

To be a sports journalist is a job that I first had to discover, and it seemed to me to be much easier when I was a player on the tour. But the job of a sports journalist / presenter / commentator for Eurosport turned out to be different, not quite as easy and pleasant as I thought it would be.

From an outside point of view you can’t imagine how many difficulties you face and how much work it is to do print, radio or TV. Plus the reactions of the specialists in this sport. One example: Right before the end of a match, Daniel Benedict, journalist / presenter of Eurosport, had to end his on-court interview with Gael Monfils in order to be in time at the ‚Avantage Leconte’ show.

You do interview requests in advance of the TV shows, ask for approval of the male and female players from ATP and WTA and try to achieve a quick okay from them so that everything works out. It's not easy as it also depends on the willingness and mood of the players.

For radio journalists, it is a bit easier. They really do a great job and are also stressed out during the U.S. Open, too. You do have to wait a lot. At press conferences, then ask questions, take your notes and go to the office and work on it. It’s like that: A match again ended late at night, everyone is waiting for the subsequent press conference. Then the job starts again. Articles have to be written, TV shows to be prepared, produced and aired ...

I do have the greatest respect and feel happy to be a part of the media crew. And I have to say: Well done guys, what a great passion!

There are also interviews with coaches of players or interviews with ‚legends’ like me. Especially when it comes to French players. I enjoy that, I watch the matches and analyze them, try to identify the strategy. As fairly as possible and of course as objective as possible. Not easy!

It is true that I was not always nice to you journalists out there during my ATP career. But at least you’ve had a lot of fun with me. Now being on the other side is more complicated, a lot of players keep on saying the same things.

Nowadays I can understand your situation. Thank you for having me here with you.

See you

Henri Leconte NYC & US Open

Henri Leconte NYC & US Open

Ants

Today we look behind the scenes of one of the most prestigious tournaments. The last Grand Slam tournament of the season is like an anthill, everywhere a lot of people, whether on stage, backstage or in the other places. There's a lot going on like on the streets of New York. Security men are on the move, anywhere. If you go backstage to the toilet they ask you to who your ID/badge and the bag gets searched. The USA takes safety very serious, especially at an event with so many people .

Many people work behind the scenes. It is the area that is reserved for the players and the media. It is the group of people who deliver towels and drinks to the locker rooms, cleaning services , referees, ball boys and girls ... Amazing how many pallets of water and energy drinks are brought every hour.

People think that the area behind the scenes is huge. However, this is not true at all. The place for the players, coaches, escorts and Press/ Media is really too small. The Players Lounge, the room for the players, is far too small, especially when it rains like today. 

Where, we the journalists, consultants, cameramen eat, that is a joke. Luckily we have a terrace. If the weather is nice, it is okay. And I'm not talking about the food. For 8 days I eat salad like a bunny, it makes me crazy.

The players have a relaxing terrace which is large enough. This is the place where we do most of our TV interviews. It is really cozy.

Yesterday I was able to see Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, and made an interview with Richard Gasquet after his victory. He was very relaxed, had a good mood and happy to have won in four sets.
Very good!

Another unique place is the stringing service. It is located next to the player office, referee office , reservation team.

At other Grand Slam tournaments, for example at Roland Garros everything is much better.  But even if everything is much smaller, but you feel at home !

So much for today

Henri Leconte NYC & US Open

Frilly Panties

Let's talk about fashion. Fashion on the tennis court which has evolved tremendously in recent years.

I remember my early days at Roland Garros in the late 70s. It would have been impossible to wear something any other than "White" on the court. I remember really tight shorts for men and tennis dresses for women with small lace panties. At that time this was very sexy :-)

Men's shorts were very short in length just as the football players shorts at the time, and the female audience was particularly pleased when Yannick Noah played.

They shouted from the stands: "Run Yannick!" And Yannick lifted his shorts even higher to provoke them and also to be able to move more freely. The cut of the pants was actually not the most comfortable. I had the same problems and even had to tighten my belt to fit the shorts. To play tennis in these shorts was not easy, but so was the time and it did not prevent us from playing and winning great matches.

The quality of the shirts ... After an exhausting set my shirt was dripping with sweat, and must have weighed around 15 kilos or so :-)

80% of the clothing was white. I remember an anecdote at Roland Garros. A Davis Cup match between France and Romania. I think it was in 1978, Ilie Nastase against Francis Jauffret. Francis incidentally holds the record in the French Davis Cup team: 35 appearances between 1964 and 1978!

Ilie Nastase appeared in a fancy outfit on the court. Hold on tight ... caution: red shorts, red socks and the icing on the cake was his shirt in the Romanian colors (blue, yellow, red)! I can tell you that caused quite a big outcry.

Today really everything has changed for men in terms of outfit. The outfitters have made enormous progress with regard to fabrics, cut and style. And it's true that certain outfits are unacceptable, such as the currently trendy neon. Some playerscould work on the highway. You know, like the little plastic figures waving flags in a danger zone or the road workers by night in their reflective vests. So we could play at night without light, who knows, maybe a new concept? :-) I think it's great!

Tennis fashion in the 80s was predominantly white, very classic and far less sexy than today. Some wore classic skirts, others wore dresses. With the exception of Chris Evert who always had an incredible classy style. She was wearing a little white blouse, a white skirt and frilly panties underneath that you could see when she was serving! I loved how the television constantly showed the frills!

The real change in tennis fashion happened in early 2000. The players began to really dress up on court since a lot of women demanded from their sponsors to produce form-fitting outfits in new high-tech materials.

I think it’s great and sexy. The audience loves it, too. So why hiding :-)?

A tout à l'heure!