Julien Benneteau: An ageing explorer without a conquest

One of Benneteau’s contemporaries, with a career of similar proportions, is 33-year-old Michael Llodra.

The 50th-ranked player has a 182-213 win loss record, but has managed to capture as many as five titles. Surely, it must pain the Frenchman to be at the receiving end of the friendly banter he must be copping from the likes of Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet and the like, who are all multiple winners.

Keeping the Frenchman company are some names from the past – men who, like Benneteau, have failed to close out victory despite being on the stage long enough. Raymond Moore, who was ranked 34th in 1976 with a 307-349 win-loss record also never managed to win a title, despite reaching two finals in 1977.

Then there was Charlie Pasarell, the Peurto Rican who was ranked 35th in 1974. The former owner of the BNP Paribas Open tournament in Indian Wells racked up a 229-240 record without a single title. He did reach three finals – two in 1973 and another in 1975 – but failed to cross the final hurdle.

Another example is Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic – the former world No. 26 reached five finals and played over 400 matches on the ATP tour without getting his hands on a winner’s trophy.

A contemporary of the Czech player, Brett Steven also met with a similar fate. The New Zealander was ranked 32nd around the same time Vacek was having the best run of his career, but he never won a title. Steven lost each of the three finals he reached in his career.

Julien Benneteau

At 31, Benneteau is racing the clock to try and wash off the stigma and find that elusive honour or risk remaining in this group of soldiers who plodded for very long without the success to show for their efforts.

If the Frenchman does wind up his career without a singles success, it would be the most baffling case of them all, considering that Benneteau has enjoyed a near 50% success rate on grass, clay and hardcourts throughout his lengthy career.