Henri Leconte the French legend joined us and we had a mid-tournament conversation.  He shared how he became a longtime Australian Open fan favorite broadcaster, first at Channel 7, then 9, and now Eurosport.  Henri Leconte explained that he began broadcasting when Jo Wilfried Tsonga was playing well in Australia. He told us about the immense pressure he faced when he was a contestant on Britain’s Top Chef.   Henri discussed Felix Auger-Aliassime and Coco Gauff.  We learned what his perspectives have been regarding the French tennis players Caro Garcia, Pierres-Hugues Herbert, and Hugo Humbert. Henri also talked about some of the problems the French Tennis Federation is facing.

Henri Leconte discussed his own tennis career and how he learned tennis from his mother.  He told us that he was thrown out of the French Tennis Federation and joined the Romanian Ion Tiriac. Henri  described what it was like to train with the Argentine legend Guillermo Vilas .  We discussed his run to the finals of the 86 French Open and his great performance at the 1991 Davis Cup where he beat Pete Sampras. He followed up the Sampras win with a win in doubles vs the great team of Ken Flach and Robert Seguso.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL:

For other UNDER REVIEW episodes with other luminaries and broadcasters check out:

Henri’s opponent in the French Open Final, MATS WILANDER [Ep38]  2 time French Open winner Jim Courier [Ep23] Pete Sampras’ longtime coach Paul Annacone [Ep15]

(Recorded January 29, 2020. Released February 7, 2020)

UNDER REVIEW is a podcast in which tennis insiders share unique stories and insightful perspective. For more information, please contact info@underreviewtennis.com

KEYWORDS:

Coco Gauff ,Felix, Roland Garros , French Open , Tiriac, Vilas, Sampras, Becker, Australia, Kooyong, Lyon, Paris, Lille, Australian Open, Melbourne, French tennis, tennis mom, Top Chef