ITF

18 ITFWORLD SUMMER 2017 F rance's lengthy wait to win one of tennis's international team competitions has been a source of frustration for Les Bleus for well over a decade. Not since 2001 have they lifted the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas trophy, the silver salad bowl that they have so coveted ever since the famous Four Musketeers embarked on a glorious run of six straight triumphs in the 1920s and 1930s — and have won on just three occasions since then. The Fed Cup, which last made its way to France in 2003, has proved similarly elusive. Team tennis has long been high on the priority list in France but though the nation hasn't come up trumps recently in the professional game, their trophy cabinet is anything but threadbare. France has already produced a team championship triumphs in 2017. And there are still two more World Championships to come in Florida later this year — the Seniors World Championships in Miami in November, after the Super-Seniors event in Lake Nona at the end of October. "This year our performance in the Young Seniors category was very, very good, but we don't expect so many titles every time," admits Julien Borfiga, Director of Competition and Teams at the French Tennis Federation. "We know we have a lot of good players but, of course, around the world they have good players too. We have two other Seniors World Championships this year, so maybe we won't have good results there…" Modesty aside, France's achievements in Cape Town were significant. So what are the reasons for that success? It's a combination of factors, believes Borfiga, spanning everything from the enthusiasm for tennis in France and the nation's successful club culture, to the diligent approach the FFT takes in preparing all of its teams — juniors, professional or seniors — for international competition. "We try to take care of every population of players in France — from the very young to the very old," says Borfiga. "Part of my job is to take care of every French team, from the Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams through to the Seniors teams. We arrange everything from accommodation and airplane ITF SENIORS CIRCUIT Magali Malbet helped France win the Suzanne Lenglen Cup in March France is currently riding high in ITF Seniors competition as one of the most successful nations on court. Jamie Renton investigates the rise of over-35s French tennis, and finds that esprit de corps plays a vital part. catalogue of World Team Champions this year, albeit aged 35 and above. At the ITF Young Seniors World Team Championships in Cape Town, South Africa in March, French teams walked away with four of the six trophies on offer, and finished runner-up in a fifth. Their dominance of the Young Seniors category, which spans the 35-45 age groups, was extraordinary. The men's team won the 35 Italia Cup and the 40 Tony Trabert Cup before finishing runner-up in the 45 Dubler Cup, while the French women added the 35 Suzanne Lenglen Cup and 40 Young Cup to the nation's haul. Never mind Jo- Wilfried Tsonga and Kristina Mladenovic, it is the unheralded Caroline Dhenin, Magali Malbet, Alexandre Martinatto and Steeve Noblecourt, amongst others, who have flown the flag for France in rance's game plan F

• Cover