El Aynaoui reflects on coaching Gaston, Australian Open epic vs. Roddick

Hugo Gaston won just two games in the final round of qualifying against Lloyd Harris at the Australian Open. The Frenchman was ready to fly out of Australia until he received a call: as the second lucky loser, he would replace Borna Gojo in the draw.

Harris has since lost in the first round of the main draw, while Gaston won his opener against Roberto Carballes Baena.

“He was back in the tournament and he was so happy to be honest when he received that call,” said Gaston’s coach, Younes El Aynaoui. “That was amazing. You could see his face lighting up and the first round against Carballes Baena wasn't easy, but I think just to be back, to have a chance again to play here in Australia, he took it and now for him it's all a bonus. We already had a flight to go back to Europe and now here we are in the second round against Taylor Fritz, so it's great.”

Many fans in Australia will recognise El Aynaoui’s name beyond his coaching duties. The Moroccan began working with Gaston last April in Marrakech, but he climbed to No. 14 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and played in many memorable matches, including at the Australian Open.

In the 2003 Melbourne quarter-finals, El Aynaoui competed in what was the longest fifth set in Grand Slam history at the time against Andy Roddick. The Moroccan held a match point, but eventually the American triumphed 21-19 in the decider.

“It's been a while [since I have watched the highlights], but sometimes you ask yourself, ‘Was it really me there playing for five hours still trying to give everything?’” El Aynaoui said. “But it's nice to look back at it after you're in it. After Australia [that year] there was another tournament, so you didn't really have to think, you didn't really look at what you were doing. You just kept on going for the next one and the next one. So once the career is over, those are very good memories.”

Now El Aynaoui is coaching Gaston, who was just two years old when his coach played one of the most memorable matches of the 21st century.

“He was just born… He was still too young to see. But yes, for sure, he knows what I've been through here in Australia with those long matches. And I guess that's why he called me, to benefit from that experience,” El Aynaoui said. “I'm trying as much as I can for him to avoid maybe the little mistakes I made at that time in a Slam. So he's well aware about my experience, and he's trying to take all the advice that I give him.”

When last year El Aynaoui received the call about working with Gaston last year, he was thrilled. The Moroccan remembered watching the French lefty use his creativity to make early-career runs at both Roland Garros and the Rolex Paris Masters. After stints coaching at the Qatar Tennis Federation and the French Tennis Federation, Gaston is the best player he has worked with, he said.

“I was very excited, because everybody wants to be with the most competitive player he can. So I thought Hugo was a good prospect, is still a young player who had very good progression on the ATP,” El Aynaoui said. “The ranking dropped a little bit, he was 140 when he called me. So the challenge was interesting to try to put him back at least where he was and maybe improve his game.

“He has very spectacular tennis to watch, because he's playing a lot of drop shots. He's really using all the angles and all the surface of the court. But I thought already at that time — I was far away from working for him — but I already thought that would be an interesting player to work with.”

It would be fitting if Gaston makes a deep run at the Australian Open, where El Aynaoui made plenty of history himself. It is the first time in nearly 15 years the 52-year-old has been back to Melbourne Park.

“I'm a bit lost from the old facility I used to know, but now it's great to be back here. All the players love this tournament, the beginning of the year, the summer. The crowd is here. The weather is beautiful,” El Aynaoui said. “So I'm really happy to be here and maybe I say to myself, I should have come back before.

“A lot of time, the people remind me of that match [against Roddick] in particular. That year, I also got something that really honoured me a lot from all the press people. They elected me the best ambassador of tennis.”