Marion Bartoli, the former Wimbledon champion, has praised France manager Didier Deschamps as both a winner and a true friend ahead of Tuesday's World Cup semi-final against Spain.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Bartoli revealed a 13-year friendship with Deschamps, which began after she won Wimbledon in 2013 and was named L'Equipe's female Champion of Champions. Deschamps, who took over as France boss a year earlier, was at the ceremony.
"We have 13 years of friendship, which I massively cherish because I know he's under so much pressure," said Bartoli. "He comes to Dubai, where I live, quite often. He loves his tennis... now he has moved into padel, which I tease him about."
Bartoli described Deschamps as funny and attentive, always taking time to reply and asking about her life. "He knows my daughter really well and he knows my husband well because they play padel together. I see him as a true friend."
Deschamps, 57, regularly plays padel with other football legends, including Zinedine Zidane—his 1998 World Cup-winning teammate and likely successor—and Spanish great Andres Iniesta. Bartoli would rather see him return to tennis, but Deschamps jokes that padel is perfect for his age, requiring less court coverage.
"It's nice to see those incredible champions going on for a padel game and fighting against each other," Bartoli added. "Once it's in your blood, it's never really going away... always a competitor."
Deschamps has also faced personal challenges during the tournament, losing his mother Ginette, who died aged 86 on 23 June. He temporarily left the team camp to attend her funeral in France, missing the 4-1 win over Norway. Bartoli said she sent a message of support, and Deschamps replied within an hour, acknowledging the difficulty of grieving while managing the team's positive momentum.