Luca Van Assche gave Banja Luka the best opportunity of his career by beating Stanislas Wawrinka. The tricolor will challenge Novak Djokovic this Wednesday, April 19.
Currently 87th in the world, the French could well climb further in the ATP rankings. Competing in Banja Luka, the player managed to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka Monday April 17 in Bosnia. It is undoubtedly the best victory of his career even if the Swiss plays at a fairly low level compared to what he has been able to show in the past. The native of Lausanne still won three Grand Slams during the prosperous period of the “Big 3”. In front of him now stands a player of a completely different caliber: Novak Djokovic.
In Bosnia, the young player will face the best of professional tennis on Wednesday April 19. Whether he wins or loses, the tricolor will be able to get an idea of the level required at the top. The Serb watched the meeting of his future opponent and imagined seeing “Stan the Man” again on his way. “I sincerely thought that Wawrinka was going to win today, he was leading during the match. It’s a surprise the victory of this little guy”, whom he doesn’t know very well. The world number 1 has “never met him before. I don’t know much about him. I know he is young, that he has just joined the top hundred in the world”, he detailed in front of the press on Monday April 17. The young hope of French tennis will perhaps have a chance to obtain a second renowned victory, we must not despair! The man with 22 Grand Slam titles feels discomfort in his elbow which is not in an ideal state.
Luca Van Assche was born on May 11, 2004 in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert in Belgium. As a child, he moved with his parents to settle in France. He lived in the south near Aix-en-Provence where he first walked on tennis courts. “My mother signed me up for a tennis camp in April, I think. I was about to be 4 years old and I really liked the week I did during the camp,” the young player said in an interview. of Tennis News. He never let go of the racket, even in Paris where he lives today. His progress has obviously been dazzling and among the youngsters, his results have shown that he has great potential with the consecration of a title at Roland Garros in the Juniors in 2021. After obtaining his baccalaureate in 2021, he joined the University of Paris Dauphine. At the same time, he continues to compete in tennis on the professional circuit.
Luca Van Assche joined the top 100 on March 20, 2023. Today beyond 100th place in the world, the very promising Frenchman should continue to gain positions in the ATP rankings. Among the Juniors, he occupied the place of world number 1 after his title at Roland Garros in 2021.
Luca Van Assche has so far won a Grade 2 tournament in Haskovo in 2021, and two Grade 5 tournaments in 2019: Telde and Chisinau. He also won Roland Garros Junior at the expense of Arthur Son. In 2023, he was crowned challenger Sanremo in Italy.
Her father is Belgian and her mother is Italian. Luca Van Assche was born in Belgium but he has French nationality. He moved to France when he was 3 years old.
The Frenchman is not an impressive player. The young tricolor measures only 1m75, far from the standards of certain players who exceed the meter 90.
The former glory of French tennis have almost all hung up their rackets. Gilles Simon and Jo Wilfried Tsonga retired in 2022. The new generation is exploding and starting to emerge like Luca Van Assche who is only 18 years old (born in 2004).
Luca Van Assche obtained his baccalaureate in 2021 after his title at Roland Garros Juniors. He then enrolled in a course in mathematics at the University of Paris-Dauphine. With his multiple performances, the French player had the possibility and the right to study remotely.
They are friends and rivals at the same time. The two French players train together within the federation and both have the hope of becoming great tennis players. Luca Van Assche managed to beat his compatriot in the final of Roland Garros Juniors in 2021.