The French qualifying match Atmane is running its heads in the Cincinnati open this week, where it rose to the semi -final in Ohio. The 23-year-old wants to get his biggest upset in the semi-final on Saturday when he the Jannik Sinner No. 1 accepts.
In anticipation of the collision, Atptour.com looks at five things to know about the Lefty.
Cincinnati: A breakthrough in the career
Before his run to the semi-final in Cincinnati, the Frenchman had never been past the third round during an event at Tour level and he had never achieved a top 10 victory. Atmane plays this week with a sense of freedom after qualifying and the tennis world surprised by World No. 4 Taylor Fritz and World No. 9 Holger Rune to beat a semi-final showdown with Jannik Sinner.
With its impressive turnout, Atmane 67 places rose to no. 69 in the PIF ATP Live rankings, making it ready for a new career high. By reaching the last four, Atmane also earned $ 332,160 in prize money. He went to the tournament by $ 310,376 for the season.
Pokemon -Passie
Off Court, Atmane owns a lifelong Pokémon Card collection, which he started in 2007. The 23-year-old spent more than two years tracing some of his most exclusive cards, with his favorite card the ‘Kyogre Ex’ from the Crystal Guardians Set 2007.
“When I was a small child, I watched Pokémon on TV. It came quite of course, at school and everything, people were talking about this Pokémon maps and it was pretty famous in the world at that time,” Atmane Atptour.com in 2023 told me that I played with my friends at school and then I started collecting this.
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Video games provided a route to Tennis
A big fan of video games, Atmane’s first trip in tennis is thanks to that passion. The Lefty started playing the sport at the age of seven, thanks to the PlayStation Game Virtua Tennis and Wii Sports.
“I played every day every day. One day my mother came back home and she said:” Okay, enough video games, I’m going to buy a tennis racket for you and let’s go to a tennis club and try, “said Atmane. “Since then I have never stopped playing tennis.”
He has the nickname ‘The Magician’ and has three cats
The 23-year-old likes to spend time with his three cats and practiced magic tricks when he does not compete, specialized in handy card tricks. Atmane is not the only Frenchman on tour who enjoys magic, with Gael Monfils Magic Mad …
Challenger Tour Success
Atmane has produced some of its best tennis on the ATP Challenger Tour. The Lefty, whose idol Fernando Gonzalez is, won titles earlier this year on hard courts at events in Busan and Guangzhou and has won a total of four titles at the level in his career.
*Reporting of the contribution from Grant Thompson
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