Distance learning, physique of a marathon runner, undermined by injuries and dubbed by Nadal… how Arthur Cazaux managed to be one of the 100 best players ?

Arthur Cazaux will play at home this week at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier. JB AUTISSIER – OPEN SOUTH OF FRANCE

Among the stars of the Open Sud de France, which he will start against the German Maximilian Marterer, Arthur Cazaux is the revelation of this start of the season. At 21, the Montpellier native is flying high the colors of regional and national tennis which really needs it, but how did he get there ?

Between the two pierced ears of this angel's face, most of the time wearing a backwards cap, things must have been happening for several days now. Your choice: a world No.8 Holger Rune scattered to the four winds of Down Under and an open love letter to La Paillade and the Montpellier Hérault football club.

Blooming in the eyes of the general French public, a long time after those of those close to him, Arthur Cazaux (83rd in the world in the next ATP ranking) is still light years away from his illustrious elder Yannick Noah, the last French winner of a Grand Slam at Roland-Garros (1983).

But after a start to his career undermined by repeated injuries, the Montpellier native undoubtedly laid the first piece of a building in Melbourne whose posterity will be determined in the years to come.

Also read:Ligue 1. "I'can't wait to be there" : Arthur Cazaux will make a "childhood dream come true” during the match between MHSC and Lille at the Stade de la Mosson

"He’is someone who’intelligent, who has a head on his shoulders"

"In Melbourne, he had his tournament but we know very well that the hardest part is behind, that we must confirm, believes his coach for a year and a half, Stéphane Huet. The objectives are ambitious, that is to say entering the world top 50 by the end of the year. But we must not rush, there is still a lot of work to do."

"Keep a cool head towards the media and requests. It's up to us, the staff, to do the job and it's up to them to be lucid and trust us. But he's an intelligent person, who has a head on his shoulders so I'm not worried about that", continues his coach . 

"He knew how to remain humble all his life"

"He did’not take the melon, adds Johan Moschetti, childhood friend who shared the tennis courts with him. I find this really remarkable for a player of this level, which could be normal. He knew how to remain humble all his life, I already told him." 

Cazaux coach in his youth, Frédéric Pawlak continues: "He doesn’not have a big head. A year ago, I trained him and there was a young man at the club that I know who is a fan of his. Well he made her type for 30 minutes without anyone asking him anything. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He even paid for tickets for French fans at the Australian Open".

Tennis and distance learning

The only son of a mother who is a university professor and a father who is a business manager, Arthur Cazaux can therefore rely on an extremely close-knit family.< em> "Arthur has very good values ​​and he is well educated, which is important for me, says his current coach Stéphane Huet. I know that he is well surrounded with parents who will put him in his place if he ever intends to take off", he smiles.

If they prefer to stay away from all the hustle and bustle and let the light shine on the prodigy himself, then they are no strangers to this success. From the fourth grade onwards, her mother acted as a teacher thanks to correspondence courses following her dropping out of school. A profitable choice since Cazaux ended up obtaining the baccalaureate with very good honors in the middle of the Covid period.

Also read: Open Sud de France in Montpellier: a German for Cazaux, a qualifier for Gasquet, a Paire-Murray… the final table revealed

"It’was quite complicated, we often got tired of it, laughs Théo Serre, known in tennis and another friend childhood having shared these school lessons at home. His mother scolded him because he was distracted. But she was very patient and that helped us a lot in hindsight. Even if Arthur was much less stressed than her."

The endurance of a marathon runner

This atypical form of teaching thus offered more time to the passion and future profession of little Cazaux. After starting tennis at the age of four, the Hérault native, who played for Montpellier Handball until he was 11, chose to devote himself exclusively to the little yellow ball. Rightly so.

"The first memory of him is his first training. He must have been 6-7 years old. We had a game where I wanted to see how many times he was able to hit the ball without missing. He had made more than 50 strikes", remembers Julien Gillet, Cazaux's first private coach from the ages of 13 to 18. Little by little, the latter quickly impressed with his physical qualities.

"He was impregnable, I never beat him in an official match. He was everywhere on every ball, he didn't necessarily have big arms but he ran everywhere, he was ahead of everything", describes Théo Serre, his friend. He was always very good at endurance, says Gillet again. I remember that at 15, he ran on a treadmill at 19.5 km/h for ten minutes is very tough. This is not ordinary, he has the VO2 max of a long-distance runner or a cyclist."

Toni Nadal: “Finally a Frenchman who wets his shirt and dirty his socks”

In addition to his physical abilities, Arthur Cazaux also relied on a big serve throughout his career. And this, in particular thanks to very good relaxation and arms longer than normal, allowing it to gain more than 10 cm on an "average" 1.83m. The Héraultais acquired this challenge thanks to hours and hours of training, swallowed almost with pleasure.

Also read: "Allez la Paillade" : after his exploit at the Australian Open, Arthur Cazaux declares his love for the MHSC on the other side of the world

"ITwo or three years ago, he trained for two days with Félix Auger-Aliassime (former world No.6), whose trainer was Toni Nadal, Rafael's uncle, remembers Frédéric Pawlak, his former youth coach. And after the two days, Toni goes to see him and says: “Bravo, congratulations. Finally a Frenchman who wets his shirt and soils his socks”". 

Never innocuous words in the mouth of the former coach of "Rafa", a true idol of young Arthur Cazaux even in his room, lined with numerous posters of the man with 22 titles of the Grand Slam. To the point of being completely petrified on the day of their first meeting, in a weight room at Roland-Garros, requiring the help of his then coach to ask for a photo from the most earthly of the extraterrestrials of this sport.

Injuries to avoid

S’he wants to realize his dream of equaling the Majorcan, that is to say becoming No. 1 in the world and establishing himself at Porte d’Auteuil , Arthur Cazaux will in any case have to pay attention to himself and his body. The list of injuries suffered by the Montpellier resident is too long to expand further: stubborn pubalgia, elbow fracture, tendinitis in the wrist or shoulder, tear in the psoas or even in the abdominals.

"2023 is the first full year since I was little", Cazaux declared after his victory against Holger Rune in Melbourne. Since last year, the Héraultais has actually hired Paul Saint-Germain, a physio who follows him to the four corners of the globe, at his own expense. "For me, it’s the biggest and best investment he could have made. It’was essential for him", breathes his coach Stéphane Huet.

All of which allowed him to reach the top 100 at the age of 21. "I knew full well that he was going to break through, even if I didn't know how far, said Tanghi Garnichet, one of his very close friends. Because he put his life aside for tennis. He wasn't partying here and there, it was tennis, tennis, tennis. I knew that sooner or later he would reach a high level. He has always believed in himself and that is his strength." It's up to Montpellier to prove him right. Loud and loud.

Arthur Cazaux news in two pieces of information

A crazy fortnight in Australia

In Melbourne, Arthur Cazaux had a completely crazy fortnight, between unprecedented performances and the atmosphere set by the French supporters. Invited into the final draw by the Australian Open, the Frenchman piled up the highlights: first Grand Slam victory against the Serbian Laslo Djere (33rd in the world), and first victory against a top 10 on the Dane Holger Rune (8th) during the second round. After beating the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (31st) in the third round, Cazaux then lost to the Pole Hubert Hurkacz (9th), weakened by gastro. “Arthur really wasn't 100%, far from it. We hadn't trained the day before because he hadn't slept. He was at 60%, maximum", recalls his trainer Stéphane Huet.

The MHSC never far from it

"Allez la Paillade", he wrote after his victory against Rune. A Montpellier Hérault supporter since his youth, Cazaux never misses a Pailladins match. "When there are matches, he takes out the jersey and the bucket hat. In Australia there was a match that night. I told him that if he looked at him, I was going to hit him, laughs his physio Paul Saint-Germain. At the table he shows us the screen, he's always on full blast. We try to arrange it in relation to the training program when there is a match." Cazaux was also there ;comfortable with the ball being little. "He has a very good level, he built small bridges with everyone. He was as strong on the left as on the right", describes his friend Théo.

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