On his first visit to Australia, Alexis Galarneau easily blended in. With his long hair, his joie de vivre and his usual relaxation, he quickly felt in his place. On the beach and in the field.

“Everyone makes jokes. Everyone is sarcastic. Life is relaxed here. It’s a quiet island,” said the Laval resident between two games in the Australian Open qualifying draw.

Galarneau first dropped off his bags in Canberra, in the southeast of the island, to play the first Challenger tournament of the season. He lost from the start to Liam Broady, 159^e world player.

His stay in the capital lasted a few days before heading back to Melbourne to experience his baptism of fire in the Grand Slam tournament.

It had started well for the 206^e world racket, with a victory in the first qualifying round against Ryan Peniston. A few hours after his call with The Presshe stumbled in front of Juan Pablo Varillas, in a duel of almost three hours.

Casually, Galarneau has taken giant steps over the past year to make a living from tennis.

In 12 months, he jumped 172 places in the ATP rankings, made his mark on the Challenger circuit, was able to play on the center court of the IGA stadium at the Omnium Banque Nationale de Montréal and was part of the Davis Cup winning team.

Being able to fight for a place in the main draw of the first major tournament of the season was like a reward for him.

“It feels good,” he says. Certainly more than some training sessions under the Oceanian sun. “It’s starting to get hot at times though. From 32 to 35 ^ohC in the middle of the afternoon, but I think they are used to worse, ”says Galarneau.

The weather remains a tiny detail. He considers himself “lucky” to be able to have such an experience at this stage of his career.

the top 100 in the viewfinder

Since leaving North Carolina State University in 2021, Galarneau has been playing tennis full time. It is therefore normal and legitimate to read “Professional tennis player” at the top of his Instagram profile.

By turning professional, he realized one of his dreams. At the end of the last season, he and his entourage set new goals for the coming year. Some athletes are reluctant to share this kind of information. Out of superstition or to avoid getting it back in the face at the end of the season.

Galarneau, he was transparent: he wants to break through the top 100 and qualify for a Grand Slam tournament.

The Lavallois was unable to qualify for the first major tournament of the season. Obviously, he would have liked to suffer a better fate, but he believes he has to “measure expectations” at the start of the season. “We still had a good month of rest, so we need to get our bearings,” he explains. I don’t have too many expectations, it’s my first Grand Slam. I work on the details, so I also accept making mistakes, but I know that in the end it will pay off and I will enter the top 100. »

Confidence on the rise

Galarneau says he feels comfortable in big tournaments: “Because I’ve worked all my life to be able to participate in tournaments like that. […] and I feel that’s where I have my best performances. »

Moreover, his time at the National Bank Open was beneficial for his confidence: “It proved to me that I had the level. I feel like I belong. »

To achieve his goals, he thinks he has to play with more consistency. The eternal quest of any tennis player, but also the most difficult thing to obtain. He had had a good streak at the end of the season and he hopes to be able to ride on that.

So for 2023, could just being consistent make him happy on the court? “If there’s a week or two in the year when I win titles, I’ll take it too,” he concludes with a laugh.