3rd French girl in the European ranking, Tara Zoppas wants to use her experience last year on Les Petits As to perform this year. On fire at the end of 2017, the young French girl has the ambition to go far in the tournament this year. Could Tara grab the title?
Could you describe Les Petits As in couple words…
It’s a very important tournament for me. There is no comparison possible with other tournaments, the athmosphere is so different, we feel already professional when we are playing here. Everything is huge from courts to stands… you want to play your best tennis here. We all want to go as far as possible in the competition and to keep playing on crowdy courts.
Tu as déjà joué Les Petits As l’année dernière et tu as été éliminée au premier tour. Que gardes-tu comme souvenir de ton passage et qu’est-ce que cette défaite t’a apporté ?
You have already played Les Petits As last year but you lost in the first round. What memories do you have from it and did you learn something from your defeat?
First of all: experience. Even if I lost in the first round, I saw other players and I played against a great opponent. If you want to win something big, you have to play the best players. I have discovered the venue and to play on the courts, this year I know the tournament already.
You are the 3rd French girl in the Tennis Europe ranking, what are your ambitions this year?
Yes, obviously with my ranking this year, I hope to go further in the main draw. I mostly want to play well cause a tennis match is not only about me, it also depends of my opponent. I would like to show my best tennis. I will give everything to play at my highest level and to go as far as possible. I would like to reach the semifinals, it will be great.
Les Petits As is considered as the world championship under 14. What do people say to you about it?
Indeed. I know that it’s one of the only tournaments where Americans come and they are really tough players. It’s a very well knowned tournament, all the best players are here, everyone wants to win, so the level is higher than anywhere else. The venue is also so different, I haven’t seen a tournament with that much people and such a village around the courts.
Es-tu satisfaite de ton année 2017 ? Retiens-tu un événement en particulier ?
Are you satisfied of your performances in 2017? Do you retain a specific moment of the season?
I started well my season with some good results in a tourney in Netherland. After this, I was not satisfied of my results during the clay season. It was not a very good period for me.
Since we are playing on hard court again, I did some good results, especially in Norway. It was a key moment for me, I won consecutively 2 Tennis Europe tournaments. I played very well and I managed perfectly the desicive points of the matches. These 3 weeks between November and December were the best period of my season.
Selon toi, qui peut l’emporter aux Petits As cette année ? Est-ce qu’une Française a les moyens de s’imposer ?
In your opinion, who is able to win Les Petits As 2018? Does a French have the potential for it?
It’s tough question, there is a lot players that I didn’t see since the last edition. Some of them are really good ranked on Tennis Europe, I think about Alexandra Petric (ROU, N°2) or Matilda Mutavdzic (UK, N°4). I believe that they have the potentiel to win. Of course we will have to watch the Americans cause they are really great players.
French players as Océane Babel or Laïa Petretic could also, but there is also a lot of girls who can breakthrough!
Interview by Pavel Clauzard
In collaboration with Les Reporters Incrédules