Final Set

Thomas wants to prove it to everyone again: at almost 37 years of age, his career as a professional tennis player is drawing to a close, but the ambitious Frenchman is not ready to give up just like that. Once celebrated as a great future hope, his career, which was marked by injuries, never made it to the very top. Against the advice of his wife Eve and his mother Judith, who suggest retirement, Thomas prepares instead for the tradition-steeped Roland Garros clay court tournament in Paris, perhaps for the last time. At the start of his career is 17-year-old Damien, the tennis scene’s latest prodigy – additional incentive for Thomas, who suffered a traumatic defeat here as a young player. But the final set is still to come. Director Quentin Reynaud’s breathless sports drama Final Set takes a look into the abysses of professional sport and the merciless media circus that surrounds it. Kristin Scott Thomas shines in a supporting role. (Zurich Film Festival)