University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Spotlight Of The Week
April 19, 2007 | Men's Tennis
April 19, 2007
TarHeelBlue.com continues its Q&A sessions with members of the 2007 University of North Carolina men's tennis team. This week's featured player is Benjamin Carlotti, a junior from Paris, France. Carlotti finds comfort in playing the one singles position this season, posting an overall record of 21-14.
THB: How do you feel about the upcoming ACC Tournament? Can you describe the difference in playing the tournament and the regular season?
BC: Confidant, excited. I'm excited about going into it. We've had one of the best years as a team that we've ever had. And the losses we've had were close. We aren't going to jump into this like we did last year. We're not going to make the same mistakes as we did last year.
They are two different things. In the regular season, you play match after match. If you lose one, you know you have another like two days later. It also doesn't matter if you win the regular season; this is what counts. This is where you get the ring at the end, not in the regular season. We are all looking forward to it and we're excited going into it.
THB: You had a pretty good run at the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Tournament this past fall, advancing to the Round of 32 after posting three upset wins over nationally ranked players. Can you describe that a little? Did you have expectations going into it?
BC: No, I didn't have any expectations going into it. I played a lot of tournaments over the summer, so I was ready to compete. I knew I was ready. I was playing match after match, I think two matches a day I was playing. I beat three ranked opponents who I think just weren't ready to compete. I don't think they were in as good of condition or mentally prepared to play. I was mentally prepared. But yea, I played a lot of tournaments over the summer, so I was ready to compete going into it.
THB: You are a very emotional/vocal player on the court. Why? How does that motivate you to play hard/compete hard?
BC: Yea, people are very shocked when they watch me play. Off the court, I'm calm and quiet, but on the court, I'm not. It really shocks people. But on the court, I give it all I've got. I play freely on the court, so I just let it out. I don't hold back and so, yea, I'm a very emotional player. I'm trying to do better on showing my emotions though because I release both positive and negative emotions. Coach has been telling me to try and control that and I think I'm doing a much better job of it than I have been.
It's one of the main things that motivates me. It keeps me going. Also, seeing my teammates cheering me on and watching me play, knowing I'm doing this for the team, which really keeps me going in a match.
THB: Can you describe your clinching win over Virginia last year that you listed as your favorite sports moment?
BC: The Virginia match is my favorite moment and probably will always be my best memory. I love it, I love being in those situations. I love those moments when the team is cheering you on and it all comes down to you. I'm a fighter in those situations. When the match is three-all, I enjoy it. I don't get nervous. A lot of people would get nervous in that situation knowing it all comes down to them, but I don't. I have no reason to get nervous. I know what I'm supposed to do and I just have to do it. Virginia is a big rival for us; so clinching that match was huge for me.
THB: Did you have a tough transition moving to the one position in singles? What has been the hardest part of the transition for you?
BC: I had a hard transition, especially in the beginning of the year. I had to play bigger, better opponents. I think I was moved to number one because I am a solid player. Tripp [Phillips] and Sam [Paul] said to me to stay focused on my fundamental and work on those. I think I'm doing a much better job of that now than before. I knew coming into it that I wouldn't win as many matches as last year because you're playing much tough competitors. But it's a learning curve really. And I think I'm doing a much better job now.
(What is the main difference playing the number one spot?) Well for one thing, there are a lot more people looking at you, watching your match. You are also always going to be playing the best player on the team versus the number four or five spot where I knew I had a good chance of winning the match almost every time. At the one position, you have to bring you're A-game in every single match. He's going to fight for every point. You can't just expect the guy to give you the match. It's the best guy, so he's going to fight every single point. I think that's the main difference.
THB: How do Coach Paul and Coach Phillips keep practice competitive?
BC: The thing is we have a huge team, 15 guys, which regular teams have like eight or nine players, so it's tough to run practice. But I think they are doing an amazing job of that. Practice will be separated into two things. Maybe one side is doing drills, especially shots, and the other part of the team is playing matches, points and games sometimes. I don't think you can say it's fun, but we definitely enjoy working hard and practicing hard. That's why I came to the program. Every single guy on this team came here knowing they had to work and practice five to six hours a day. It's like a deal with the coaches we have, we don't expect it to be fun, but to be hard and keep improving.
THB: When you are playing a higher ranked opponent, does that motivate you? How do you prepare yourself?
BC: I'm trying not to focus much on the ranking. Especially playing number one for the first time, that's what I actually did. In the beginning of the season, I as looking at the match I'm going to play and said, "okay, I'm going to play this guy. He's going to be ranked top ten or he's going to be top fifteen." That's not a good way to see it. You have to take it match after match and be ready to give the best you have on the court every single day. You can't expect to campaign this guy like, "okay, I've heard he has a big serve so be prepared to return well." You can't focus on the guy in front of you, you have to focus on your own game.
I think I've been doing a better job lately of preparing myself first and then thinking about the guy on the opposite side. I think in the beginning of the year, I looked at the schedule and there would be tough matches every day. I tried to put a lot of pressure on myself and that's why I didn't do that well in the first half of the season. I think I'm playing better tennis now, I'm focused and I prepare myself a little differently now.
THB: How did you start playing tennis?
BC: My dad actually played tennis when he was younger and my sister also, she started when she was like five or six, she was three years older than me, and she was very good. I started to watch her play in some tournaments and my dad bought me a racket for my sixth or seventh birthday I think, and I really liked it from the beginning. He never pushed me, but I always asked him to go play in tournaments when I was old enough. When I was eight or nine I decided to practice more seriously, get into a club and play some tournaments. So basically, I started to play more seriously when I was eight or nine because of my dad and sister.
THB: Can you describe your recruitment to the United States from France? And then how you came to Chapel Hill?
BC: In France, after high school, you have to make a decision between going pro or continuing your studies. We don't have college sports over there. I didn't want to go pro; I wanted to get a good education. So my sister went to college here, at Ole Miss, so that was my goal for my last two years of high school, to come here, I always wanted to do that. So I went to Ole Miss because I knew she was there and I knew I would be with her for like one semester. I had a great experience there; it was my first time in the US. I couldn't speak a word of English when I got there. That was tough. For my first two months, I was just listening and trying to learn the language. I knew how to write it because I learned it in high school, but I could not speak any English at all. Yea, I had some rough times. It took me about five or six months to actually be able to have a normal conversation.
At the end of my semester at Ole Miss, Coach Paul called my coach at Ole Miss asking for players. My coach there asked me if I wanted to take a visit here. I said, why not, it's free, it's just two days and it would give me a chance to see another school. I didn't really think about transferring at first. But then I came here and stayed two days and I really loved it. I loved the campus, loved the coaches. At the time DJ [Don Johnson] was here and Coach Paul. I knew their reputation and I knew they were professional. I made my decision in like two days. I called my dad and told him I wanted to transfer and come here.
THB: What do you bring to the team outside of tennis skills?
BC: I guess the French touch. You can describe it as, like you said, I'm an emotional guy. I have a lot of up and downs. Even outside the court sometimes, the guys like playing around with me a little bit. The thing is, we have a lot of international players on the team, so every single one of us brings different things from Europe, Argentina with Sebas [Sebastian Guejman], South Africa with Lenny [Lenny Gullan], different accents, different cultures and different views. I think that's one of the main reasons why we get along with each other so well because we are pretty much all different and we complete each other basically.
THB: What is your favorite place in Paris?
BC: I'm going to say one specific restaurant right next to big river going through Paris, called the Seine, it's like right next to there and right under the Eiffel Tower. It's a very small restaurant, no one knows about it unless you live there. So, it's always pretty much empty. I really enjoy going there with my family and friends. I really have a good time; it's a really nice restaurant. Great French food.
THB: What do you miss most about France, other than your family?
BC: I'm going to have to go with food. I really can't stand you guys' food. I'm still not used to it. I think that's the thing I miss the most.
THB: With your older sister having played in the States before you, how did she help your transition here? Could she speak English when she arrived?
BC: She could speak better than me, yes. I think it took her almost a semester to be fluent though. But when I got to Ole Miss, she was completely fluent, so she really helped me. Going through the homework and class, obviously I had a hard time. She really told me how big college sports were here and she knew I would love it. I always enjoyed playing for my club back in France for team matches, so she knew that the environment here, everything about the team, that I would really like it. She told me a lot of good stuff here about life, college life.
THB: So if you were going to have a party with A-List celebrities, whom would you invite?
BC: Robin Williams. Favorite actor. I think he is hilarious and I think he would make fun of French people too. I know he does that a lot, so I want to hear his jokes.
THB: You listed on your personality profile that if you had three hours in a day to do whatever you wanted, you would like to walk on the moon. Is that a big desire of yours?
BC: Yea. I've always been fascinated by space life. I would like to experience it once I know. I have a 99% chance of never doing it, but I'd like to.
THB: Where do you see yourself in ten years?
BC: That's a good question. I still don't know what I'm doing after I graduate, if I stay here or go back to France; I'm debating right now. But in ten years, if I decide to go pro, I'd still be playing on the tour. We'll I'd be 32, so that would be a good age to retire. If I don't decided to go pro, working for a big marketing company, that's what I'd like to do.
Players Mentioned
