Adrian Mannarino: The man with the flypaper bat

Both First Bank Open The 38-year-old is in for a surprise again in Vienna. The left-hander fought his way through the qualification and is 6:4, 7:5 against the rising Czech young star Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals. The second oldest player in the top 100 of the ATP world rankings proves that he can still keep up with his much younger opponents. Only Novak Djokovic is even older.

The most unusual detail about Mannarino’s game is in his bat. He usually leaves his strings at around nine to eleven kilograms string – in 200 to 400 gram increments. In a Davis Cup game he even went down to eight kilograms. “It sounds like a fishing net,” Mannarino joked about the sound of its loose strings in an interview with Tennis Majors magazine. “It’s just what works best for my game.”

The soft strings give the ball a stronger feel Trampoline effect. He can jump off the bat quicker, but it’s also harder to maintain control. Mannarino has learned to deal with it. When he increases the tension, he says he lacks confidence in his punches. Starting from around 23 kilograms, he gradually reduced the covering over the years.

Unorthodox movements

Also be Momentum does not fit into the modern tennis world. While many players apply pressure with long backswings and maximum topspin, Mannarino plays the balls flat, early and often surprisingly unspectacularly. His punches sometimes seem almost casual. But that’s exactly what makes it unpleasant: the ball bounces low, the tempo is difficult to estimate, and the opponent rarely gets any rhythm.

Mannarino’s most successful season was 2023: He won three ATP tournaments, celebrated 43 match wins and reached the top in January 2024 Platz 17 his best world ranking position to date. At 35, he became the oldest player to reach the top 20 for the first time.

After a knee injury that forced him to give up against Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2021, he had to fight his way back. He later slipped to 145th place. But the Frenchman found connection again. At the US Open 2025 he achieved a sensational victory against US hopes Ben Shelton the round of 16 of the Grand Slam tournament.

Mannarino also cultivates his peculiarities when preparing for a game. He prefers not to know who he is playing against. The identity of the opponent should not concern him before he comes onto the pitch. An unusual stance in a sport where coaches and players spend hours analyzing video footage and developing tactical plans on how best to defeat their opponents.

“That’s bullshit”

“Many players want to train with a left-hander before a game against a left-hander. I think that’s bullshit.” One fan particularly annoyed him Australian Openwho gave him good luck Novak Djokovic wished.

Even if he doesn’t want to know: Mannarino will be in the town hall on Friday Daniil MedvedevVienna Champion 2022 and current number five in the world. One thing is already certain: As extraordinary as the duel will be to watch, the game of both players will not be a treat for tennis aesthetes.