Louis Borfiga leaves office | “He changed the face of Canadian tennis”

Frederick Duchessnia
Tap

Louis Borphii remembers his 15 years with Tennis Canada. At the top, victory for Bianca Andres at the 2019 US Open.

Canada won most of the doubles. Eugene Bouchard reached the final at Wimbledon in 2014. Milos Raunik, in 2016. And the Canadian juniors had great success.

“It proved that the training approach was good,” Borfiga argued.

Andreas’s headline made all of this happen.

“I think this is a great moment in Canadian tennis. He said it was a dream come true. Now we are looking forward to the boy’s Grand Slam victory.”

Borfi, one of the greatest architects of high development in the country, met the media via video conference on Monday afternoon to discuss his departure, announced in a statement a few hours earlier.

Internally, everyone knew his intentions for a while. But his retirement discovery was triggered by an article in a French newspaper last weekend. Team. Gilles Moretton, the newly elected president of the French Tennis Federation, said he had asked a man called “Luigi” to work as a “consultant”.

Nothing has been confirmed in this direction, the concerned principal said. But we suspect it is a formality. Moretton and he have known each other “for a long time”. Borfi insisted that it would be a part-time task.

Either way, this news may have pleased some connoisseurs abroad.

“He has coached champions for France in the past. This is continuing in Canada. Bianca is a perfect example of this. I feel it is imperative to return home with the skills,” we read. Dictionary of Tennis Lovers Published last fall by Laurent Binet and Antoine Bennett. In a way, they are answered.

This possible work in France does not prevent him from remaining a consultant and honorary advisor on a team assigned to the upper classes of tennis Canada. To ensure a smooth transition with his successor. But most of all, he does not like to be intruded. In particular, indefinitely, he answers the phone for advice and counsel.

“If I always have my shadow over the person in my place, his job will not be so easy. I’m too involved is a very big mistake, he judges. It negotiates from a distance.”

In all directions.

The pandemic game has changed

Joe-Wilfried Tsonga, Gal Monfils, Gilles Simon, Nicolas Mahut and Julian Bennettu, Borfiga from Morocco, joined Tennis Canada in 2006. The following year, he was in Montreal, where the National Tennis Center (CNT) developed the country’s elite.

“I believe a lot in bringing the best ones together with great coaches. This is really the cornerstone of the program, “he told CNT last Tuesday.

So he led the cast for Milos Rounik, Eugene Bouchard and Rebecca Marino, then Felix Agar-Aliassim and Bianca Andres.

During his reign 40 players graduated from the center.

At 66, he has been thinking about crossing the flames for a while. “You need to know how to leave your place. Making another speech would be positive, ”said the man, who received his Canadian citizenship earlier this year.

Finally, the epidemic speeds up the process. Almost a year without seeing his son and his parents, the “very difficult” distance is even heavier.

In a few months, he and his wife will join them.

Calm leader

Eugene Lapierre has worked with Louis Borfiga for the past 15 years, dominating the Montreal National Bank Open Tournament for twenty years.

As mentioned earlier, his departure will not come as a surprise to his colleagues. “If I were his old age, I would already be gone! , Joked Lapierre, turns 65 next month.

When asked about Borfi’s contribution to the company, he replied: “Do we have too much time? ”

“He was a soft-spoken man, but louder than anyone. Nice to see him never raise his voice, but the message is so much more. It represents the overall development of the athlete’s environment from the start. The strength of the message to all. ”

Lapierre Tennis credited him with many cultural changes in Canada. Not all, apparently, is teamwork, they both emphasize. But he was very supportive.

“As soon as he arrived, the results started to fall apart. And we thought we could win. It’s a way to see things, to see if it’s possible. And with Lewis, it’s possible. His performance has really changed the face of tennis in Canada.”

The team is well-armed to realize Borfiga’s loss. Skill is ubiquitous, the next generation is ready, they promise. Still.

“If you give me a choice, if Louis is gone or if he’s another 20 years old, I want him to be,” Lapierre said.