Arthur Rinderknech and Benjamin Bonzi face off at the US Open, with the same surprising recipe

Is choosing a player at the end of their career as a coach the recipe for success in tennis? The fine performances at the US Open of Benjamin Bonzi (world ^number 51) and Arthur Rinderknech ( ^number 82), who face each other on Friday, August 29, for a place in the round of 16, suggest so. The two Frenchmen, who are close friends, are almost the same age: Bonzi from Nîmes has just turned 29, while Rinderknech, born in the Var region but living in Brittany since 2021, is in his thirties.

As if they didn't already have enough in common, the two players are coached by active compatriots ( Nicolas Mahut for Bonzi, Lucas Pouille for Rinderknech) who, initially, did not see themselves moving so quickly into a full-time coaching career.

Certainly, at 43 years old, Nicolas Mahut announced his retirement at the end of the year, after twenty-five years on the professional circuit. The man, who is also a consultant for Eurosport, is on a "farewell tour" this season, playing at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open in doubles, his specialty. World number 1 in the discipline in 2016, the server-volleyer has won every Major at least once and even has two victories at Roland Garros with his partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert (in 2018 and 2021).

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