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16th July: When Framboise caught up with
Gregory Gaultier at the British Open in Nottingham he was hoping to
move up the rankings ... since then he's become
Double European Champion ... |
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from
November 2004 |
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 GREGORY:
Where are you based ?
Still in Aix-en-Provence.
How do you choose your tournaments?
It depends of my physical preparation. For example this
summer, I did two months of intense training, but as I didn’t
have any training partner, I came and spent a week in England
to be able to play, then another week in Holland. Then, 10
days in Malaysia, then Hong Kong, then right after that the
European Championship. That is why I couldn’t physically play
the US Open in Boston. It’s enough to look at what happened to
Thierry. He did the same tournaments that I did, and after
Hong Kong, he did the US Open, and got knocked out in the
first round.
I was told that you didn’t feel at your best while in America…
You’re right, I played St Louis and Detroit, but I really
didn’t feel right. For 10 days, I was in a pitiful state, I
was sort of ill, I couldn’t move on court, didn’t have any
impulse to play. In Detroit, I got lucky, as Jonathan Power
got injured. After a few days, I started to feel slightly
better, but I still had a concentration problem.
How did you sort it out?
Well, as soon as I came back to Europe, I was able to rest at
home, and then I went to Hungary, and I felt 10 times better.
I’m only starting now to get my sensations back.
How do you see your future in squash?
Well, I’m hoping to get there soon…
In the top 5, you mean?
Yes. Not sure how long it’s going to take, maybe a short
period, maybe longer. It will depend of my quality of play in
the next weeks. If I play well here, in Qatar and in Pakistan,
I think I could jump into the top 8. But if I don’t play that
well, I’ll stay around 10, 11. Last year, I was prevented from
playing because of a foot injury, so I couldn’t play the
tournaments I wanted. I hope that I’ll be able to catch up in
points this year…
How do you feel at the moment?
Not on top form really. I’m still very tired, I don’t have the
urge to play, but I’m doing my utmost best to overcome those
feelings. I just did 3/4 tournaments, I guess I feel
“oversquashed”… But I love playing on a glass court, it’s a
court that suits my game very well, so I’m pretty confident
for the rest of the tournament. But then again, nowadays, the
world level is so high, and starting from the second round, all
matches are fierce, and all players are contenders for the
title. In the top 12, anybody could beat anybody. But my two
favourites for the tournament? Thierry and Lee of course…
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from
November 2004 |
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