INTERVIEW. Yannick Noah: “I’m part of the heritage”, says the last French winner of the Roland-Garros tournament, 40 years ago

He is definitely never where you think he is. Yannick Noah will celebrate in a few weeks the fortieth anniversary of his victory at Roland-Garros and it is in Taden, in a small Breton town of barely 2,300 souls, near Dinan, that the former tennis champion posed his snowshoes, Saturday April 29, to celebrate this very special birthday alongside his friends Cédric Pioline and Mickaël Llodra.

A curtain raiser before a tribute with great pomp at Porte d’Auteuil in just over a month. Strapped to the right knee, the now 62-year-old successful singer did not lose his hand or his showmanship for almost an hour. Franceinfo: sport went to meet him.

Franceinfo: sport: 40 years after your victory at Roland-Garros, you are celebrating this anniversary here in Taden. Why this place?

Yannick Noah : Here, we celebrate the stories of veterans. I was already invited two years ago to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Davis Cup victory, but I couldn’t be there. It’s a great event, a great tournament. There, we are celebrating 40 years, it was time, we must act quickly. It’s nice to meet the friends here. This is an opportunity for me to see if I can still hit the balls. I feel like I’m a bit at home, there are Yannicks everywhere (laughs).

Is forty years a special birthday?

I’ve been reminded of it for a few weeks. My age (62), we avoid, but this event meant so much to me and to tennis fans… At the time, it resonated. I still meet people who remind me of it and it always surprises me. For some, it lasts a few seconds, but it means a lot. Celebrating this victory at Roland-Garros is great.

What memories do you have of this success?

A few years later, the memories were very present. Over time, these are images that remain. We are all getting old! (He thinks) There remains the emotion. It’s very chic to have one of the most beautiful moments of your life on film. It is very difficult to rewrite history, but it was the dream of my youth. He motivated my adolescence, it was an impossible goal. As a cadet, the dream was already to play at Roland-Garros, but then to win the tournament… I am grateful to have reached this holy grail.

We play for others. We create emotions for ourselves, but also for those who watch us. I live from that.

Yannick Noah

at franceinfo: sport

How do you live the fact of having marked people so much?

I live it well. The testimonials that I receive are always very benevolent. There were people at the stadium, others on TV, it’s a moment marked by emotion. I was touched myself as a sports fan by the epic of Saint-Etienne in 1976, of the Blues in 1998. I am part of the heritage. When I started playing, it wasn’t necessarily for that. And you bond with people you don’t know. It’s even prettier, I think.

Did you find the same emotions on stage?

I was very lucky to make a living from a profession that I loved, and to live a second life through music. Today, I still go on stage because I want to share. I live for those emotions. Sport was a way of existing through my passion. From there to making it my job, it was not easy. When I started the music, I put the same energy and I knew the success but it is almost incidental. Because I like the game, tennis, meeting up with friends.

How do you explain that you don’t yet have a Grand Slam successor for men?

There are players who have not gone far. Guy Forget, Henri Leconte who made one final (Roland-Garros), Cédric Pioline who made two (Wimbledon and US Open). I did not think that 40 years later, it would still be the case.

Do you still follow tennis?

I watch less and less. I followed when I was captain. When there is a French player who provides, I start to vibrate, but tennis today for me is above all social and associative.