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Why hasn't a male player won a GS for almost 30 years?

  • Structural problem in french tennis

    Votes: 3 4.8%
  • Lack of luck

    Votes: 8 12.9%
  • Just not good enough

    Votes: 18 29.0%
  • All mental midgets

    Votes: 33 53.2%

What's the problem with french tennis??

6K views 101 replies 51 participants last post by  redshift 
#1 ·
Honestly guys, it's becoming more and more embarassing.
No GS won by a male player for almost 30 years despite the fact they have more ressources invested in tennis and more players than all the 4 countries represented by the currently top 4 combined.
How can it be explained??
Mental strenght?? well, if it was really a french specifity then they wouldn't perform as well as they do in other sports (team sports especially).
Not good enough?? perhaps.........
Unlucky??? 30 years of no luck?? give me a break.......
A bit of both?? probably.....
 
#56 ·
If Tsonga played up to his potential he could win a slam. He just has problems with focus and consistency. Gasquet's forehand lets him down too much. The rest of them don't have a slam-winning game.
Even when he played up to his potential(AO 2008 or Wimbledon 2011), he couldn't win one so signs are that he will never do it,especially with all the new young guns who are coming (Tomic,Dimitrov,Dolgopolov,Nishikori) and the top 4 being as strong as ever.
 
#61 ·
Nothing wrong with French tennis, so none of the above. It has lots of depth, maybe no GS winner but that doesn't define a good tennis program. In fact depth is probably a better indication of a strong program than a GS winner - ask the Swiss and Federer.

Stop obsessing about Grand Slams. A country has very little to do with developing a Grand Slam winner - those are few and far between. A GS winner has something special that comes from within not developed by a country.
 
#64 ·
Nothing wrong with French tennis, so none of the above. It has lots of depth, maybe no GS winner but that doesn't define a good tennis program. In fact depth is probably a better indication of a strong program than a GS winner - ask the Swiss and Federer.

Stop obsessing about Grand Slams. A country has very little to do with developing a Grand Slam winner - those are few and far between. A GS winner has something special that comes from within not developed by a country.
It's not only about Slams: actually,France's resume in M1000s (only 3-4 M1000s won in the last 20 years with 3 being at Bercy at a moment where the top players are either tired either injured either not motivated anymore) is even worse in some sense as there are far more MSs than Slams in a season.
 
#62 ·
Honestly, if someone had told you 5-6 years ago that the Gasquet-Monfils-Tsonga trio would probably never win any Slam and that they would win only 1 M1000 combined, would you have believed it???

In many international tennis forums polls , i remember for example that at the end of 2006, when it was asked who you thought would win the most Slams out of yougnsters like Murray,Djoker,Wawrinka,Gasquet or Baghdatis, the one who was very often leading was Gasquet.
 
#65 ·
in the end of 2005 yes, in the end of 2006, I guess if the forum polls said that, it's because people just like Gasquet : it's the same as 60% of the people expecting Federer to win the Aus open before the tournament ;)

What I remember from serious people in the end of 2006 was that Murray was the most expected one, Gasquet and Djokovic were close seconds but Djokovic was one year younger.
 
#67 ·
Call me crazy but I think Gasquet is way better than Murray. He only lacks a bit of fitness and especially a tennis brain. He plays the best tennis to lose. When he is really offensive throughout a match, he is a top-notch player (see his Gonzales A0 09, Roddick IW 10, Roddick W 07...) This guy is just a tactical and mental nonsense.
 
#77 ·
What is this best tennis to lose stuff? Gasquet is quite limited as a player man. While having a great shot in the game, the BH, he also has one of the weakest, the FH. The Forehand is the second most important shot in tennis, just behind the serve, having a weak Forehand like Gasquet has is no joke. In my view, He is one of the weakest of the top French players, now compared to Murray? he is not even in the same picture.
 
#74 ·
They care more about hiting the ball pretty than actually winning.
 
#76 · (Edited)
The French have nothing to complain really. They have the best that a nation can hope to get with investment and appreciation for Tennis, a solid number of top 10 players and top 20, top40, top 100, etc.

Getting GS and being N.1, while highly desirable, is not a science and something that can be controlled, doesn't mean that something is not right. Now, having several top players is, and France is in that.
 
#89 ·
The French players as a group are my favorite to watch- lots of drama and shotmaking and/or hot guys:hearts:

As to what is wrong with French tennis- nothing I don't think. What about Swiss tennis? What if Fed had decided to play for South Africa(where his mom is from)? Would look a lot different.
 
#96 ·
France should be proud of producing the most interesting crop of tennis players at a seemingly continuous rate.
They may not be grand slam winners (most of all frenchies happen to be headcases or mental midgets, which would be interesting if it is due to some cultural thing or what), but hell there are some really beautiful tennis players:

The MAGIC of Fabrice Santoro. This guy is simply unique and always a pleasure to watch. I miss him greatly.
The Paintbrush of Llodra. The best S/V of the decade. Always produces beautiful stuff.
The showmanship of Paire, Tsonga and Monfils. Always exciting to watch.
The simplicity of Simon. The most economic player I've ever seen.
The backhand of Gasquet.
 
#101 ·
The problem is that we have a hard time with the transition with junior which is my case now.Im Not pulling great results in men tournaments. We have the best juniors but yet for a reason we fail do do well in the pro world
 
#102 ·
There are not that many slam winners, the probability of any country having one is quite low.

Don't think there's anything wrong with french tennis, from what I've heard it's the best tennis school in the world. Each player as a kid is fostered to find his own playstyle, and during the first years no results are demanded. I think it's great and has as been shown, it produces players very enjoyable to watch, that's what matters. France has the best package in the top 100, quantity and quality wise.
 
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