Grosjean content at Wimbledon Monday, June 28, 2004 Life sits easy on the shoulders of Sebastien Grosjean. He loves being in London and is in the fourth week of his annual visit to the city. Away from Wimbledon, where he is a quarter finalist for the second year running, he has been watching some football in Euro 2004, listening to jazz or maybe some other music. The 26-year-old was born in Marseille (and, naturally, supports the city's football team Olympique) and has based himself in Boca Raton, Florida, since 1999. Tennis was not Grosjean's first love. His first sport was skiing in the Southern French Alps. But when he did turn to tennis a major career was beckoning. In 1996 he was ranked top in the world in both singles and doubles as his talent dominated all comers. No player had achieved that double for nine years but Grosjean did it comfortably and collected all kinds of titles as his development continued impressively. Grosjean made his Grand Slam debut in the French Open in 1998 and was a semifinalist at Roland Garros three years later. He has also been into the last four at two other Slams, Wimbledon and the Australian, and by 2001 became the first French player to end the year in the top ten since Cedric Pioline in 1993. If you ask Grosjean if he speaks to other French players who have a good record on grass he smiles and says 'no.' He relies on the information coming from his coach Thierry Tulasne who, unlike his charge, had no great record on grass. He played Wimbledon twice, winning one match, but has made up for that as Grosjean surges on. Grosjean clearly likes the challenge of tennis in the English summer. Last year he was runner-up in the Stella Artois championship and a semi-finalist at Wimbledon and having repeated the first feat there is every chance that he will repeat his Wimbledon semi-final as well. "I stay focused on my game and what I have to do and that's it," says Grosjean of his approach as the demands increase at Wimbledon. "I am here to win the tournament so I will be focused on my next match. "My serve is better than on clay, it is a little bit faster. I use a slice serve and I return well, that helps me a lot on grass. Grass is a surface I love to play on. You know, just to play my game." Last year Andy Roddick was the only player to beat Grosjean on grass. They have already met in the Stella Artois final this month. The only time they could meet at Wimbledon would be in the final. Written by Barry Newcombe -- (脱) --

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