Forty years after Noah’s triumph, French tennis seeks path to Grand Slam glory

It’s been 40 years since a Frenchman last won a singles Grand Slam title – and marking the anniversary of Noah’s famous win has become a nostalgic ritual for a nation starved of success.

The former tennis-champ-turned-pop-star was back on the French Open stage at the weekend for a celebration of his 1983 title, this time holding a mic instead of a racket. He strode barefoot on the famous red clay of Court Philippe Chatrier and performed a dozen songs – joined on stage by his opponent from 40 years ago, Matts Wilander.

Asked why no other Frenchman had emulated his success since then, he joked: “Because I’m not coaching anymore.”

Noah, who captained France to victory in both the Davis Cup and Fed Cup, later had a stark piece of advice for French youngsters hoping for a breakthrough: to pack their bags and travel abroad.

“You have to go and nourish yourself elsewhere, because we're used to losing at all levels,” he told reporters. “All coaches have lost. None of them have won. So you're surrounded by people who have all lost.”

Look abroad is precisely what the French Tennis Federation (FFT) has done, tapping Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic, the former player and coach who was credited with improving Roger Federer’s game in his twilight years, guiding the Swiss to three more Grand Slam titles.

A former world number three, Ljubicic was put in charge of a programme dubbed Ambition 2024, aimed at improving French tennis and nurturing a new generation of champions. As he took on the job in December, the towering Croat expressed bafflement at the dearth of tennis success in France.

“Non-French people are always puzzled by tennis in your country,” he told French reporters. “It’s as if Real Madrid had won nothing for a long