One day in February, during the Challenger in Cherbourg (Channel), the Frenchman Titouan Droguet (171st in the world ranking) and the Czech Jakub Mensik (206th) compete for a place in the main draw. The first emerges victorious from the duel in two short sets (6-3, 6-1) and will reach their first final – lost – in a tournament of this category a few days later. Six months have passed and the two men have another meeting, Wednesday August 30, at the end of the evening (Paris time), this time not in the anonymity of the secondary circuit but under the spotlight of the US Open. At stake: a place in the third round of the last Grand Slam of the season.
Both players had to go through the qualifiers for the New York tournament. The 22-year-old from Ile-de-France notably beat the Chilean Cristian Garin (90th), former 17th in the world, before creating a surprise in the first round of the big draw. He who had never played a Grand Slam match – or on the main circuit for that matter – overthrew the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (18th) in five sets (6-3, 0-6, 6-7, 6- 3, 6-2). “It’s hard to put into words, I still have trouble realizing it,” he explained on Monday after his victory. Today’s match and the whole week are incredible emotions. This is the first time I’ve experienced this. »
Another proof of its sensational entry into the big leagues, the Habs are sure to leave Flushing Meadows with at least 123,000 dollars (about 112,000 euros), more than all of their earnings since their professional debut in 2018, $119,000.
“He’s a warrior on the field.”
Originally from Villeneuve-Saint-Georges (Val-de-Marne), Titouan Droguet grew up in a family that played tennis. As a child, he hit his first balls in Saint-Germain-lès-Corbeil (Essonne). Since 2021, he has been training at the French Touch Academy, at Cap d’Agde (Hérault), under the guidance of Yannick Jankovits, a former French professional.
“Before coming, Titouan did not necessarily have the professional framework to express himself and there he found it, tells Eurosport Charles Auffray, the director of the academy. We quickly detected that he had tennis potential and significant ambition. Among his assets: a versatile game that allows him to be as good in attack as in defense, a speed of movement and a big character. “He’s a warrior on the pitch, he doesn’t give up, that’s probably his main quality,” he continues.
Upon his arrival in the south of France, when he was around the 600? place in the world, the thin but explosive tall brown (1.91 m) sees his volume of work increase with “very long days” during the off-season. “But these sessions are thought out so that the body does not let me go, to chain matches and tournaments without physical glitches, specifies the player in an interview given at the start of the year. This was my main problem before. »
Top 100 goal
This year, after his defeat in the first round of Roland-Garros qualifications against the Italian Andrea Vavassori (163?), Titouan Droguet continues to play on clay, his favorite surface, and continues the performances with four finals – for a title – consecutive.
The Frenchman therefore arrived in New York without a preparation tournament on hard courts but with a lot of confidence. No question, however, of speaking of a “stroke of luck”, according to Charles Auffray, who sees it rather as “a start” of his ascent to the top 100, an “achievable objective by the beginning of 2024”.
In the short term, the Francilien has another idea of ????his “post-US Open”. “I haven’t enjoyed the city yet, but when the tournament is over, we’re going to visit Manhattan, it’s going to be fun,” he anticipates. I will remember this trip…” Tonight he has the opportunity to make it even more unforgettable.
