Born and Made

by Benjamin Driguez
(Paris)

As for many issues, it's a little bit of both of course.
As a true tennis fan, I'd like to think that these champions were born, that they had this destiny and that it was "meant to be".
But if you look at most players and at their development, you realize that these champions were made for the most part.
They had this amazing talent in the first place, you cannot deny that. Most of these players were already dominating the competitions at an early age, when practice and hard work were not a factor.
Richard Gasquet for example, could beat any 12-year old in France when he was only 10! And e was in the front cover of the tennis magazine at age 9!
In his case, you can say that he was practically born a champion. He could do things nobody else could do, and he wasn't practicing more than the other to achieve that.
But a lot can happen after these young categories, since athletes are exposed to lots of distractions when they're teenagers.
Their physical development can be disrupted by injuries, they can lose their motivation because if they experience an "overdose" of tennis etc.
You can never predict that someone is going to be number 1 in the world for sure. Too many factors come into play to be a great champion.
Some athletes are amazing but don't get a chance to develop their games because they don't have the infrastructure for it. That's why you see so many players cheating on their age when they are in the juniors. That was, they can get recognized and sponsored to travel and play international tournaments.
I think you need you need an amazing talent in the first place, a real "gift". You need passion,work-ethic, confidence, talent and courage to excel at the highest levels of the game. If you don't have all these characteristics, it's impossible to become one of the greats.
Federer and Nadal dominate today's tennis scene because they are real professionals, who never miss an opportunity to improve. Even though they probably are the most talented, they're also the ones who work the hardest. So it's not surprising to see them win almost all the grand slams since 2005.