"He had tears in his eyes, I saw him," Roger-Vasselin discusses Mahut after their doubles clash in Paris
Édouard Roger-Vasselin, the opponent of Nicolas Mahut in doubles for the latter's final match, spoke about his long-time friend, who is now retired.
Aged 43, the former world number one in doubles has hung up his racket after a final match played at the Paris tournament. Alongside Grigor Dimitrov, the Frenchman delivered one last great battle, but the pair ultimately succumbed after a suspenseful super tie-break in the third set against the duo Hugo Nys/Édouard Roger-Vasselin. The latter spoke about Mahut after the match.
"As an anecdote, we saw each other in Brussels two weeks ago, and at breakfast, he tells me: 'Hey, I dreamed about you last night, you hit a winning passing shot right in front of me.' And I thought about it just before the match point. I said to myself: 'If I hit a passing shot like that...'
I saw he was very emotional, it moved me too. I admit I was quite tense from the start of the match. I knew it could be his last match, there were many federation members and friends there for him. It was a bit tough even for me, but I did the job.
And that super last point, which allowed us to finish the match. It's pretty crazy that he ends his career on that point, it's quite moving. He had tears in his eyes when he was about to serve, I saw him.
Nico, we've known each other for 20 years, I'm emotional talking about it, that I was the 'assassin,' it's strange. He can be proud of his career, that's obvious. I'm happy to have been so closely present for his last match.
We've had many great moments, but also very, very difficult ones, the Wimbledon 2019 final, the Davis Cup match in Manchester in 2023 (four missed match points in the decisive doubles), moments that hurt a lot. He is obviously someone I've known for a very long time, and it goes beyond tennis," Roger-Vasselin assured for L'Équipe.
