Marion Bartoli and Didier Deschamps are both French sporting icons.
Bartoli – former Wimbledon champion. Deschamps – a World Cup winner as a player and manager.
On Tuesday, Deschamps will lead France in their World Cup semi-final against Spain (20:00 BST).
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In the build-up to that game, Bartoli spoke to BBC Sport’s Katie Gornall about his friendship with Deschamps and offered an insight into the man hoping to lead France to international success.
Playing tennis with Bartoli and padel with Zidane and Iniesta
Bartoli met Deschamps at an awards ceremony shortly after winning the Wimbledon Women’s singles title in 2013. [Getty Images]
After Bartoli won Wimbledon in 2013, the French newspaper L’Equipe named her their female Champion of Champions.
He met Deschamps, who was France manager last year, at the awards ceremony.
“We have been friends for 13 years, which is something I appreciate a lot because I know he is under a lot of pressure,” said Bartoli, 41.
“He comes to Dubai, where I live, often. He loves his tennis… now he has moved to padel, which I tease him about.
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“He’s a funny person. He always takes the time to answer me, he always takes the time to answer me, he always asks me where in the world I am.
“He knows my daughter well and he knows my husband well because they play padel together. I see him as a true friend.”
It is not only Bartoli’s husband who faces Deschamps, 57, in padel.
Zinedine Zidane – his team-mate who won the World Cup in 1998, and a possible France manager – is among his usual rivals, as is Spain’s World Cup winner Andres Iniesta.
But Bartoli would prefer Deschamps to get back to playing his game.
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“We used to play together before, but he’s like: ‘I’m getting old, now padel is perfect for me – I don’t have to put together a big court.’
“He loves his padel a lot and Zinedine loves playing with him, so they play together a lot in the south of France. They play together with Iniesta and in Dubai.
“It’s great to see those amazing champions moving forward in the padel game and fighting each other. I find it very exciting, but when it’s in your blood, it never really goes away… I’m always a competitor.”
Success on the field, loss on it
Although tournament favorites France impressed on the World Cup stage, Deschamps had to deal with the loss of his mother Ginette.
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He died aged 86 on 23 June, and Deschamps briefly left the national team camp in the United States to return to France for his funeral – missing their 4-1 win over Norway.
“I wrote him a message,” said Bartoli. “He responded within an hour thanking me and understanding the difficulties he is facing due to grief, but at the same time he has a good voice for the team.
“He may feel very depressed when the World Cup is over, because that’s when you actually go back to what’s happening outside of your life.
“But he’s high spirited, very enthusiastic, as always. I just know him as a tough competitor.”
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‘You really want to go out on top’
Deschamps captained France to World Cup victory as a player in 1998 – and was manager when they repeated that feat in 2018.
In his 14 years in charge, they also reached the final of the World Cup – losing to Argentina on penalties in 2022 – and lost to Portugal in the final of the European Championship in 2016.
Should they beat Spain, his last tournament as manager will end with a match against Argentina or England.
“It is unreasonable to take this generation to become world champions,” said Bartoli. “They won in 2018, they made the final in 2022, and he wants to come out on top now.
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“Spain will be a tough opponent. You know that. We lost to them in the Euros, so you want revenge, definitely.”
Bartoli feels that Deschamps has not received the praise he deserves due to the high standards of French sport.
“In France, we have 67 million coaches who are trying to make the French team win,” he said. “It’s not an easy job, but you do it with pride.
“It has been very bad over the years to have amazing players – like Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Eric Cantona – and we always feel when we have to win.
“For me, he doesn’t get the reward and the press he deserves based on extraordinary results, but that’s France and he knows it.”
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Bartoli says Deschamps’ best finish as France manager will be lifting the World Cup on July 19.
Whatever happens, he expects him to have a future in the game.
“I’m sure, if I know him, he will go back to another incident,” he said. “I don’t know if he will be in the club and where.
“Maybe he will take a year off, but he loves his football too much to leave it.
“He wants to go out on a high and obviously winning would be the best. He’s a real winner.”
