Despite his second Grand Slam title in tennis, Alexander Zverev continues to hear about a "discounted title" as long as he hasn't defeated Sinner and/or Alcaraz in a major. This reveals the implicit prestige accorded to a Masters victory (where he triumphed over Federer and Djokovic in 2018, and Djokovic and Medvedev in 2021), and the anecdotal nature of an Olympic gold medal, which Zverev denied Djokovic at the Tokyo Games. Yet exactly twenty years ago, on September 11, 2006, in the same issue of L'Équipe announcing Michael Schumacher's "retirement" from Formula 1, one could read this declaration from Maria Sharapova, freshly crowned at the US Open: "I am a two-time Grand Slam champion and I don't care about your questions on bananas." If raw truth weren't systematically softened by press attachés, this is the kind of blunt language Zverev could use—he whom analysts have already seen detached from the pressure that crushed him at decisive moments (US Open final 2020, Roland Garros final 2024, Australian Open semi-final 2026), just six months ago. But once again, this outburst won't have full legitimacy without victory against the two current references of world tennis. This legitimacy, which intact talent despite an Aston Martin unworthy of his status establishes, Fernando Alonso had earned by prevailing on track against the "Red Baron," seven-time world champion in Formula 1. In the newspaper mentioned above, one recalls that three races from the end of the 2006 season, Alonso had only a two-point lead. One Grand Prix later, in China, Schumacher would secure his 91st and final F1 victory, drawing level with the reigning world champion. But the Renault driver would ultimately claim his second title after a Ferrari engine failure (Japan) also suffered a puncture at the final race (Brazil). One must always "kill the father." It was through "boom-boom," aces and passing shots in tennis that Lendl and Becker would overcome the artist McEnroe, undisputed world number one in 1984 (the season he set the still-unmatched record of 96.47% win ratio, with 82 victories and 3 defeats). L'Équipe Magazine of February 6, 1988 thought it could conclude: "Three Wimbledons, four US Opens, five Davis Cups, three Masters... Nostalgia before the final waltz." It's true that a first-round elimination at the 1986 US Open and another at the same stage of Roland-Garros 1987 announced the "twilight of the god" who would drift away from the courts. Yet despite two sabbaticals (January-August 1986, September 1987-March 1988), he would still win his 68th, 69th, 70th and 71st titles before the final 77th in March 1991. In any case, his touch-based game was definitively surpassed in this new era. What remains is the memory of a "genius" with a unique record: world number one in singles and doubles (9 Grand Slam men's doubles, 1 Grand Slam and a semi-final—the forty-something paired with Steffi Graf at Wimbledon 1999—in mixed doubles) and the absolute record of 186 tournaments won across all competitions. "Memories come to meet me" as Edgar Morin wrote, who passed away in his 105th year last May. In a strange parallel, the L'Équipe-Mag issue (March 18, 1988) that spoke of McEnroe's "silent end" displayed opposite a Sabatini who had just upset Graf; while the front page of L'Équipe, devoted to Schumacher's departure, also headlined a Sharapova challenging Hénin's supremacy. One cycle hides (and announces) another.