Benneteau Pays Tribute to Mahut: "My Only Real Regret Is Not Winning a Grand Slam with Nico"
Julien Benneteau, former captain of the French BJK Cup team, paid tribute to Nicolas Mahut, who, at 43 years old, played the final match of his career earlier this week in doubles at the Paris tournament.
Mahut said goodbye to tennis in recent days. Present at the Paris tournament where he competed in the doubles event with Dimitrov, the Frenchman delivered one last fine battle on Court 2, but, alongside the Bulgarian, he ultimately succumbed in a nail-biter against Hugo Nys and Edouard Roger-Vasselin (6-4, 5-7, 10-4).
On the show *Les Grandes Gueules du Sport* on RMC, Julien Benneteau spoke about his friend Nicolas Mahut, with whom he shared many great moments, particularly in doubles, throughout his career.
"It was moving, because it's 25 years of a career. He had already experienced a special moment at Roland-Garros. We play a very itinerant sport, even before the professional career begins.
We travel, we are never at home. I lived with Nicolas Mahut at the Pôle France in Poitiers, at the INSEP. We were roommates. When we were 20, 21 years old, we spent more time together than with the rest of our families.
It was moving with his son because he had said he hadn't been around much. Today, Nico (Mahut), it's a record of achievements. First, he was a very good singles player, having been top 40 and winning several titles on the tour.
But in doubles, he won all the Grand Slams with Pierre-Hugues Herbert, he won the Masters. For me, they are the greatest French doubles pair of all time. They are stronger than Santoro-Llodra. There are some Musketeers teams who won everything, but that was a different era.
Forget-Leconte are undefeated together in the Davis Cup with eleven wins in eleven matches, but they didn't play together extensively on the tour. The only real regret I have in my career, because it would have given us an exceptional emotion, is not winning a Grand Slam with Nico.
We reached the semi-finals several times, and then we didn't play together much for the rest of our careers. A Grand Slam title with him would have been a different emotion," Benneteau stated.
