Hugo Gaston excited about his maiden visit to India for TPL

Tennis rising star Hugo Gaston excited for Tennis Premier League debut, aiming to improve ranking next season.

Hugo Gaston has been one of the bright players in the world of tennis. 

The 24-year-old Frenchman was No.2 in the world as a junior in 2018. Two years later, playing his first French Open at the Roland Garros, Gaston beat Stan Wawrinka in the third round in five sets. It took Dominik Thiem five sets to beat Gaston in the fourth round. Thiem went on to win the US Open later that year.

Quite excited about playing the Tennis Premier League (TPL) to be staged at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai, and particularly enthused with the 25-point format, Gaston was candid in admitting, in a chat with The HIndu, that one had to be good for a week or two to have a nice run in a Grand Slam.

“Everyone wants to win. It is not enough to be good in a match. You have to be good for a week or two. I am happy with the way I have reached No.75 this year, from being 115. It has been a good long year, and I hope to do better next season,” said Gaston who was ranked a career-best 58 two years ago.

He will be playing for the Chennai Smashers along with Conny Perrin of Switzerland and Rithvik Bollipalli.

“I have not seen the two players. They have played TPL before. I am coming to India for the first time. Conny is Swiss, so she may speak French. I know that Bollipalli won the ATP 250 doubles in Metz. Should be nice to play with him. I am looking forward to competing well for the team and hopefully we can win,” said Gaston.

He was happy to be playing doubles and mixed doubles in the TPL, as his focus on singles does not give him time for the other formats on the Tour.