France announce tennis team for Paris 2024
France has announced its team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Tennis Event - its first home Games in 100 years - with Ugo Humbert and Caroline Garcia leading their charge.
World No. 16 Humbert, who is set to feature in his second Olympic Games, will be joined by No. 37 Arthur Fils, No. 38 Gael Monfils and No. 55 Corentin Moutet in men's singles action, while No. 22 Garcia is accompanied by No. 43 Clara Burel, No. 53 Diane Parry and No.69 Varvara Gracheva.
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For Monfils, the elder statesmen of the team at 37, it will be a fourth Olympic Games and one that he described as 'an incredible privilege' when asked about the prospect of taking part at Roland Garros earlier this month.
A Games on home soil represents an entirely unique opportunity for all the French players - not least the world No. 38.
It offers Monfils the potential to better his Olympic performances of the past and shoot for a medal – he fell in close quarter-final encounters at both Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016 (to Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori, respectively).
Never mind the unique feeling of playing at a re-vamped Roland Garros, the format being three-sets rather than five also levels the playing field. So too, for French players, does the simple fact of playing on such a special stage at home.
“[The] Olympic Games haven't been held in France in 100 years, so it is a centennial opportunity,” he said. “To play Roland Garros in best-of-three sets, that's something. It's different. It [will] be really great."
Meanwhile, Parry and Garcia are set to pair up in the women's doubles event, and doubles world No. 13 Edouard Roger-Vasselin and No. 33 Fabien Reboul will combine for the men's doubles competition.
The French are also hoping to announce another pair in each doubles event at a later date.
The full entry list for the Paris 2024 Olympic Tennis event is set to be released here on 4 July