2023-05-28 06:04:51
Very good 8th finalist at Roland-Garros last year, Jil Teichmann then plunged into a black hole. She returns to Paris this Sunday with a first round once morest former finalist Sara Errani. Time for a rebound for the Bienne?
But where is Jil Teichmann when it comes to attacking Roland-Garros – only his third appearance in the main draw of the Paris tournament – on Sunday once morest Sara Errani? Asking the question inevitably leads to taking a look in the rear view mirror, not so long ago, when the Bienne had managed to climb to the round of 16 of the event. It was only a year ago, on May 27, 2022, when, finally, his game cut for clay was best expressed on the side of the Porte d’Auteuil.
A fall of more than 50 places
The Swiss had in particular rolled Bernarda Pera and Olga Dalinovic before emerging victorious from a Homeric fight with the former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka (4-6 7-5 7-6), this by delivering a rather exceptional performance that she however, might not repeat in the round of 16 ahead of Sloane Stephens. Twelve months later, everyone – and her first! – would like to see “Jily” repeat the same route, but it must be said right away: the omens are not good.
And for good reason, since Roland-Garros 2022, the interested party has not won three matches in a row on the WTA circuit. Worse, she tumbled to 77th place in the world, far from the 21st she occupied at the beginning of last July. Just look at her results sheet to understand that the player trained in Catalonia “derailed” following Paris. Eliminated in the 1st rounds at Wimbledon and at the US Open, then in the 2nd at the Australian Open, she no longer finds the key, neither in the Grand Slam nor during the other events.
Passed by a Challenger
It is no coincidence that at the beginning of May she went through a Challenger tournament in Reus, near Barcelona (eliminated in the quarter-finals), to try to regain confidence and, therefore, to revive. But the tactic did not bear fruit. We saw it very quickly, already in Rome, where Teichmann (soon to be 26) bit the dust from the start, then in Strasbourg, where it was dominated by the unknown Emma Navarro.
More able to beat players lower ranked than her, the Bienne unfortunately wanders like a lost soul on the court, without anyone understanding much regarding it. In the wake of the promising Roland-Garros 2022, where she had signed her best course in a “Major”, some had spoken of a possible click for her. We too, by the way. A hasty and erroneous judgment, since the grass tour turned into a disaster, before the passage through Toronto was only a sham, his victories over Venus Williams and Anett Kontaveit (then World No. ultimately not serving as a springboard for the end of the exercise.
The BJK Cup, a magical thinning
It’s very simple: between August 12, 2022 and the end of this same season, Jil Teichmann won… only one match on the main circuit! Terrible for a player then a member of the Top-30 WTA. Above all, his defeats were conceded once morest opponents who were not impressive. Her only bright spot – and not the least that said… – was the Fed Cup (now called BJK Cup), where following having to share the place of Swiss No. 2 with Viktorija Golubic, she brought the first point of the final once morest Australia fighting to beat Storm Sanders (237th in the world), Belinda Bencic then settling the day-to-day business.
So yes, Jil Teichmann can boast of having won the most beautiful team competition, this for the first time in the history of Swiss tennis, which no one can take away from him. But despite this, when trying to find out where it is when it comes to attacking Roland-Garros 2023, the answer is in a few words: in the heart of a tunnel. Will the air of Paris finally allow him to get out?
Arnaud Cerutti – @arnaud_cerutti
1685257052
#RolandGarros #Jil #Teichmann #counting #Paris #tunnel