Between their defeat at the end of the suspense on Friday night, against Britain (3-4), and their match against China on Saturday morning, the players of the France team had a short night to turn the page. Physically? It’s okay ! Mentally, it’s another story…
“We’re a bit on the hard side. “Julien Obry does not have the strength to pretend, neither his comrades of the French team either. In less than twelve hours, they moved from the hope of a victory in the seventh match against Great Britain in the fight of the anonymous. New horizon: a fifth place finish. First step: China. “It will be whatever happens our worst result for a long time,” sighs Christophe Millard, the head of the French delegation in Marcq-en-Baroeul.
“The night was short but physically, apart from Alice (Bacquie) who has a slight pain in the adductors, it’s okay for everyone,” continues Cyrille Monet, the coach of the Blues. The day was long but not the matches, in the end. The format of the doubles, for example, means that players do not have to pull too much on the rope. Fatigue is rather nervous, in fact. Julien Obry admits: “Motivation took a big hit. One finds oneself on the courts where the matches have no stake after having been on the central almost all the day of yesterday. It is not the same thing at all. ”
“We thought we were knocking down and getting tired right away …”
He remains silent before continuing: “We thought we were knocked out and tired right away after the seventh game but not. We had a little trouble sleeping in the men’s room. We’ve been all over this. It was hard this morning, very hard. We think we have to go back to play a fifth place … It’s not obvious. Smiles bar the faces but the words say disappointment, always there. Omnipresent. “Even on the edge of the field, it is difficult to re-mobilize to encourage the buddies, whispers Alice Bacquie, magnificent loser in the mixed doubles against the British. Personally, I went to bed at half past midnight and woke up at seven o’clock this morning. ”
Sabine Tisserand, physiotherapist of the French team: “We take stock with the players before and after the matches on their physical sensations. Yesterday, it was special for my colleague, Pierre Lebreton, who had to intervene very late with the players. But physically, everything goes well overall. Fatigue is mental above all. We return. “This fatigue, when you win, is quickly forgotten, embrays Christophe Millard. But strangely, when you lose, small wounds appear in everyone. Invisible. Heartbreaking. In the heart.