Interview with Jérémy Scatena, who had a very good match alongside the Spaniard Toni Bueno despite the defeat in the first round of the Mendoza Premier Padel P1 facing Chozas / Cepero.

An expensive first set

“This match was very intense in every way. I just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to play in a tournament of this quality. Congratulations Premier Padel for the quality of these tournaments.

Regarding the match, there is obviously a little frustration, even if I certainly have one of my best games of my career on all fronts. The first set is maybe my best, even if we lose it. Apart from the first game in which I was tense, then I was very happy with my level of play. I think we lose on some small irregularities from Toni, and Chozas and Cepero managed to exploit them at the perfection.

But I think that the match, we lose it in this first set and that we fished at key moments. It's a pity on this point.

In the second set, we continue to offer a good level of play. We are above. We are on a good dynamic. Winning this second set is really not a steal.

In the 3ᵉ set, at 2/1, game point for us, I fall and open my knee. We had to stop the game because I was bleeding. It took too long, I got a little distracted and behind, we lost our service game. There too, it was a very important moment. This stop influenced the result.”

Jeremy Scatena dialogue
Jeremy Scatena silence

The public for Chozas, but what an atmosphere!

“There is nothing more beautiful than playing in a full stadium. The public was completely behind them. Normal, Chozas is at home. But the vibes were positive, and the viewers were awesome. I manage to be happy even losing when we play such matches. That's what I'm looking for for the end of my career, matches like that.

It is certainly one of my most successful matches despite the defeat. My craziest match will remain against Muñoz / Blanco at the Barcelona Challenger in 2018. I tried everything and anything, and that day, I had played a completely crazy match against these two players who were at the time in the top 50 in the world.

In the FIPs, in general, I haven't always played well. But on the Premier Padel, I played pretty well, even if I didn't always have good draws. We are not going to lie to each other, there are no longer really good draws like a year ago.”

Jeremy Scatena victory
Jeremy Scatena victory

For a foreigner, it is more difficult to find a partner

"The padel, it is played as a team. And for a foreigner, it's more complicated to impose himself in this very Hispano-Argentine atmosphere. Because at an equivalent level, the Spanish player will want to play with one of his compatriots. We will rarely, if ever, see a Frenchman playing, for example, with a player better ranked than him. For a foreigner on the professional circuit, you have to do a lot more. It is a simple observation, without victimization.

Next tournament at Roland-Garros. Maybe a FIP before, depending on the partners. I should play with Nuno Gomez. He's a player a bit like me who is a fighter on the track.

Players complain a lot about the conditions while the padel is exploding. We have to say thank you to the FIP and Premier Padel, and thank you for having 24 great tournaments Premier Padel in 2024. We have Roland-Garros, Rome, Argentina… We have lots of completely crazy competitions, the conditions of the players have improved by 300% in just one year.”

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovers the padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since padel is part of his life. You often see him touring France going to cover the major events of padel French.

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