Fontaine/Pottier: seeds and next rotation to watch out for
In the U16 boys’ draw, Gabriel Fontaine is entered with Tyrone Pottier, with the status of seed n°7 and a bye in the first round. On paper, it’s a small advantage: one match less, and a little more freshness when Saturday can become a “double” day mentally.
His next encounter is scheduled for Saturday February 14, in rotation on court 4, against Edoardo Anselmi and Pasquale Cardamone. The schedule is not set in stone (it says “Followed by”), but the match sheet indicates a sequence that can’t start before 1pm on this court: so you’ll have to keep an eye on the progress of previous matches to find out the exact time of entry on court. To watch this rotation, the most reliable information is theofficial Order of Play.
FIP Promises Torino
The FIP Promises Torino is played in Palavillage (Grugliasco, near Turin) and concentrates the main event over three days: Friday to launch the main draw, Saturday to string together the semifinals and quarterfinals, and Sunday for the semi-finals and finals. In this format, the reference points change: there’s little time to “get into” the tournament, and a lot of value is placed on managing routines (serve/volley, aggressive returns, lob quality under pressure).
Indoors, the glass makes reading sharper… so mistakes stand out more. At this level, an exchange is often won on simple details: a a chiquita to the middle, a chilled bandeja that keeps the pair at the net, or a bajada controlled after a short restart. This is also what makes Torino so interesting to watch: the hierarchy is established quickly, without many jokers.
A structured project: FIP points and framing in Belgium
Fontaine’s FIP profile shows 680 points in the junior ranking. This figure doesn’t tell the whole story, but it does tell one thing: he’s already “on the radar” of the on tour, with a regular presence at the competitions that count.
Another signal: on his networks, he presents himself as a GARRINCHA Belgium player. In a junior’s progression, training volume, sparring, physical preparation and, above all, the ability to repeat the right choices when the score gets tight, are often decisive factors. Torino is precisely that: a stage that doesn’t forgive carelessness, and an ideal context in which to measure what holds when the tempo rises.
