Holder of a wild-card, in other words an invitation, Léolia Jeanjean never ceases to amaze. While she was ranked beyond the thousandth place, a year ago, and she was unknown to the general public, the Montpellier player took out, without trembling, the Czech Karolina Pliskova, seeded number eightthis Thursday, during the second round (6/2, 6/2).
Already falling for the Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz (45th) in the first (6/4, 6/3), the 26-year-old young woman has therefore achieved a new feat, she who reveals herself late and who disputes her everything first Grand Slam tournament.
Indeed, if Léolia Jeanjean was one of the great hopes of tricolor tennis when she was a child and then a teenager, the Héraultaise was very early on faced with enormous pressure and was unfortunately largely hampered by serious injuries.
Exiled to the United States for several years, until she was 24, she did not, however, never gave up hope of breaking throughto return to the front of the stage, to put behind her the physical and financial galleys, and to live from her passion, while she nevertheless followed, across the Atlantic, studies in sociology and criminal justice, to secure his back.
She is of a certain age, so she is far from being stupid! She is even rather very intelligent and very brilliant (Thomas Delgado, trainer)
New darling of the public at the Porte d’Auteuil, the young woman dismissed in Toulouse after having defended the colors of La Grande-Motte, is endowed with a “monstrous tactical science“according to Thomas Delgado, his trainer, and now wants to prove things to himself”to herself“, without a spirit of revenge towards the outsidehe also said at the microphone France Info by Fabrice Abgrall.
Determined to continue her ascent, she will face the Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu (63rd), this Saturday, with the ambition to reach the round of 16 of the competition.
REACTIONS
At the microphone of Fabrice Abgrall, Thomas Delgado, coach of the French for three months, is not surprised at his current level of play at Roland Garros.
Report by Jérôme Val.