Rising French star says he has ‘a bit of Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner and Monfils’ in his game
Rising French star Moise Kouame has declared that he has parts of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Gael Monfils in his game.
Kouame, a 16-year-old prodigy, won his first match on the ATP Challenger Tour on Tuesday, defeating world No 232 Matej Dodig 6-4, 6-2.
The Frenchman is currently ranked 507th in the world, having reached his career-high ranking of 503 last week.
At the start of February, Kouame won two matches to qualify for the ATP 250 tournament in Montpellier as a wildcard.
At the age of 16 years and 10 months, he became the sixth youngest player to qualify for an ATP Tour event this century. He lost in three sets to 83rd-ranked Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of the main draw.
Kouame won his first two professional titles — both on the ITF Futures circuit — in January.
After his maiden Challenger victory, Kouame spoke to reporters and addressed a comparison to French great Monfils.
“There’s a bit of Gael, there’s a bit of Djokovic, there’s a bit of Sinner, there’s a bit of Alcaraz… and above all, there’s a bit of Moise Kouame (smiles),” Kouame was quoted as saying by L’Equipe (translated from French).
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“That’s the most important thing. I’m attached to my identity, my own identity. Later, I hope in 10-20 years, young players will be able to say that there’s a bit of Kouame in their game.
“That’s really the identity I want to create little by little.”
He dismissed the suggestion that his first Challenger match win had been easy.
“It’s never easy. I don’t think the score really reflects reality,” Kouame said. “The first set was incredibly close. He broke me first; he was playing really well. I didn’t know him at all.
“We had a certain strategy before the match, and it worked. I managed to pull it off, so I’m really happy.
“You could say it was a good match in terms of objectives and game plan. I’m really pleased to be able to string together these good matches week after week. It shows that hard work pays off.”
The Frenchman was also asked about his dreams as a player.
“There are many, in tennis. To improve, to enjoy myself on the court, to smile, to have fun,” he said.
“After that, I have other goals set with the team, but it’s really about having fun and winning as many matches as possible.”
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