Tennis: Mountain woman gets career back on track

By Foster Niumata

Julie Halard-Decugis so loves the mountains that she decided to live among them.

She and Arnaud Decugis, her tennis coach for 10 years and husband for four, last year left the craziness of Paris for postcard-perfect Pully, near Lausanne in the Swiss Alps.

"We needed some peace," said new ASB Bank Classic champion Halard-Decugis, though if you ask Arnaud, she needed it more than he did.

Until six months ago, Halard-Decugis was the most confounding player her husband knew.

She could be in perfect condition and bomb out. Other times, her buildup might be haphazard and she would go all the way. She let small details like bad line-calls or lost points annoy her.

Then, at the peak of her career, ranked 15th in the world, a string of injuries derailed Halard-Decugis from mid-1996 to the end of 1997. The forced exile, according to her husband, helped the 28-year-old to mature, think more positively and learn to be patient.

As Arnaud put it: "She is more quiet in her mind."

Now he has a better feel for how well his wife will do, and convinced her that preparation was 80 per cent of success.

Nothing surprised them last week as she won her ninth career title and her third in seven months.

The new, calmer Halard-Decugis - so laid-back that sometimes you could think she was sleepwalking - so overwhelmed 19th-ranked Silvia Farina, last year's runner-up, and 12th-ranked Dominique van Roost, last year's champion, that her reaction was underwhelming.

"She is happy inside," said Arnaud after 22nd-ranked Halard-Decugis' 6-4 6-1 coup d'etat in the final over van Roost, who was trying to become the first titleholder or No 1 seed to win in 10 years, but who shortcircuited.

Even after the match, given prize balls to hit into the crowd, van Roost swatted one over the Yock Stand and into the street.

Despite a final too one-sided to be memorable, it capped the best Classic in at least 25 years: blessed by great tennis, record crowds, sunny days and the confirmed promise of giantkiller Leanne Baker, whose folks once sold their Te Awamutu home to support her.

Plus, ASB Bank announced it would sponsor the tournament for three more years.

Halard-Decugis and her husband celebrated quietly on Saturday night at the Milford home of their billets since 1994, former tournament director John Fairhurst and his wife, Gill. Julie cooked up lamb shanks.

"Right now we are enjoying life," Decugis said, "because I think - and I am not afraid of saying this - we love each other so much.

"We were able to find the solution to get Julie playing again and winning again. Love was the key for both of us.

"We have a very exciting life. I like my work, she is healthy and likes to play her best tennis, and we have moved to Switzerland because we both like the mountains, the lake, the nature.

"We're having a nice time together on the tour, the whole thing is perfect."

For good measure, Decugis got up and touched a door made of wood.

Pictured: Julie Halard-Decugis. HERALD PICTURE / RUSSELL SMITH