Source: Action Network
When people talk about French tennis, four names often stand out: "Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Giles Simon and Richard Gasquet".
While the "4 Musketeers" have made French tennis shine for a long time through their achievements on the ATP circuit, they also shadowed another Frenchman playing in a very specific style.
As a strategic and silent player who rarely shows his emotions, it is clear that Adrian Mannarino is far from being the typical marketing player who gets the crowds of the biggest stadiums on their feet.
Yet it would be disrespectful not to present the man who currently seems to bring the most excitement to French tennis fans.
Let's find out more about the unusual profile of a competitor who often enters a tennis court without even knowing the identity of his opponent.
Source : Tennis TV
From a psychological point of view, the 35-year-old player seems to be totally detached from the ATP circuit and the competitive spirit that reigns there.
Tennis-wise, the character is even more eccentric. For those who still ignore it, Adrian Mannarino is playing with a racket tension of about 12 kg, probably the lowest in the Top 100.
Playing with an equipment that is closer to a trampoline than a racket is already a major achievement, beating top 20 players this way is a miracle in itself.
"Most unorthodox player? Mannarino"
Alex de Minaur
Mannarino is a player who belongs to the category of counter players, capable of absorbing the rhythm imposed by his opponent with disconcerting ease, his racket tension enabling him to effectively counter his opponent's ball speed.
The native of Soisy-sous-Montmorency also stands out for his game strategy.
In an era where most players build their points from long balls often diagonally before taking the ascendancy with a powerful shot along the line, Mannarino sees the game in a very different way.
His tennis is rather based on the distribution of varied balls to unpredictable areas.
Although this is not an academic technique, it does allow him to force his opponents to play an unusual style of tennis, far from the game plans practiced during classic training sessions.
Mannarino facing Federer, Wimbledon 2021
Source : Sud Ouest
Being a left-handed player, the Tricolor has made his game even more complicated for his opponents to handle.
Making very few unforced errors, Mannarino is capable, like his compatriot Giles Simon, of keeping up with long rallies while adding some particularly destabilizing shots.
"His serve is difficult to read, he opens very well the court, difficult to return"
Rafael Nadal
In an era where it is not uncommon to play against players over 1.90m, Adrian seems far from the category of American giants who can generate extraordinary power on serve.
However, it would be unwise to underestimate the French player's serve and more specifically his accuracy.
If the frenchman doesn't hit 30 aces per match, Mannarino almost always manages to get his opponent out of the way with his fearsome left-handed serve, allowing him to get an easy second shot off the racquet.
In 2023, Adrian Mannarino once again proved the quality of his tennis style, particularly on grass, his surface of predilection.
Despite his advanced age, the Frenchman still seems capable of creating upsets by playing a unique style of tennis.
His opponents had better have strong nerves to avoid the trap set by the most atypical player on the ATP circuit...
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