The University of Mississippi Athletics
Climbing Up The Ladder
2/20/2004 | Men's Tennis
February 20, 2004
By Kim Ling
Ole Miss Athletics Media Relations
It's the kind of stuff kids dream of. Playing in the backyard pretending that they are facing Michael Jordan or Peyton Manning in a big game. For Sebastien De Chaunac, a former standout on the Ole Miss men's tennis team, Thursday night was anything but a dream. The France native took on the world's No. 2 ranked player, Andy Roddick, in the second round of the Kroger St. Jude Tournament at the Racquet Club in Memphis.
He may have lost the match in straight sets, but DeChaunac showed why he is steadily climbing up the ATP tennis ladder. Up 40-15 in the first game of the match, De Chaunac, admittedly a little nervous playing the defending U.S. Open Champion, missed a couple of easy shots and lost the game. Roddick promptly served three straight aces on his serve and went on to take the first set 6-3.
De Chaunac, a former No. 1 ranked player in collegiate tennis, seemed to get more comfortable in the second set, trading thrilling shots with Roddick. De Chaunac came up with three of his six aces in the match in the fourth game of the second set. He had a couple of chances to try and break Roddick, but every time Roddick found himself in a hole, he used his monster serve to bail him out.
In the eighth game of the second set, De Chaunac led 40-30 trying to hold, but a double-fault made it deuce. He would hold three game points, but Roddick finally converted on his third game point and served out the set (6-3) for the win.
"I thought I played pretty well," De Chaunac said. "He has a huge serve, the best in the game. I don't think I ever got used to his serve during the match. I could never put any pressure on his serve. From the baseline, I think I played with him. The main difference was his serve. I've played a few of those guys, like (Marat) Safin before, and this was the first time I felt I could play with them."
"I've never seen him play before," Roddick said of De Chaunac. "He surprised me. I think early on he might have been a little nervous. In the second set I thought he played pretty solid. He wasn't making a lot of errors. He hits it high and deep, which makes it tough to take a full cut. I was finally able to get the break and that was it."
While most of the crowd in attendance was cheering for Roddick to advance, De Chaunac had his share of supporters, including Ole Miss men's tennis head coach Billy Chadwick.
"We are really proud of Sebastien," Chadwick said. "He held his own with arguably the top player in the world. It was a great day for Ole Miss. Sebastien has made great strides during the past year, and we are excited about his future. We wish him the best of luck."
De Chaunac turned pro in the summer of 1998 following a stellar collegiate career for the Rebels. He came to Ole Miss in January of 1996, and helped lead the Rebels to the NCAA Final Four and the SEC Championship in 1997. He was a two-time All-American, SEC Singles Champion and NCAA Singles semifinalist. An outstanding student, De Chaunac earned Academic All-America honors and had a perfect 4.0 grade point average his last year.
Since turning pro, De Chaunac has had his share of ups and downs. There are no guaranteed contracts or signing bonuses in tennis like in other sports. Winning is key to everything. It's a tough life to spend every week away from home in a different city. Few make it, many don't.
In 2002, De Chaunac defeated past French Open Champion Michael Chang in the first round of the French Open Championships. But, after that he experienced a lot of close losses and then last year he had to have his appendix removed, slowing him down for awhile.
With things not going quite the way he wanted on the professional circuit, De Chaunac decided to come back and spend a few days where it all started for him.
"I came to Ole Miss in September to practice for 10 days. I worked with coach (Mark) Beyers (women's tennis head coach, former Rebel assistant) and coach (Billy) Chadwick. Ole Miss is where everything started for me and where I experienced a lot of success. I needed to be back where I had been successful and to work with people who know my game. I feel much better physically, and mentally I am a lot stronger. Ever since, I have been playing solid tennis, and I believe now that I can play with the best players on the tour."
De Chaunac went to Australia in January to try and qualify for the Australian Open. He won three rounds and made it into the main draw, before falling to No. 28 Guillermo Canas of Argentina. Two weeks ago, De Chaunac won the challenger in Dallas, his first title as a professional.
He won three qualifying rounds in the Kroger St. Jude last weekend and then defeated Irakli Labadaze, ranked No. 118, in the first round of the tournament. De Chaunac, who played in this tournament as a collegian, said it was great to return to the tournament for the first time as a professional.
"I was little bit tired after playing two tournaments in a row, but I told myself that it was close to where I played in college, and people could come and cheer for me. So I decided to give it a try. I stayed with Ali Hamadeh (teammate in college). It's been a great week."
Currently ranked 160 in the ATP rankings, De Chaunac hopes to make it into the top 100, as well as qualify for the main draw at the French Open Championships.
"I have a lot of confidence and I am happy with where my game is. For the first time in my career, I can see the top 100 in my future. That's been my main goal for awhile, and now I feel like I have a shot at it.
"I am going to play a couple more indoor tournaments, and then I am going to hit the clay courts and try to make the main draw at the French Open. I feel that my game is well-suited for the clay. We'll see what happens."
