At Roland Garros, the rebirth of Lucas Pouille after his descent into hell

It is still a little early to talk about resurrection, but this victory certainly tastes like heaven after going to hell. Lucas Puy, to 670^e place in the world, won a ticket to the big picture at Roland Garros after winning on Thursday, May 25 at 3 p.m.^e Qualifying stage at the expense of Yuri Rodionov (1-6, 7-5, 6-0). The 29-year-old Frenchman shot 134 on Court 14, a half-buried hall behind Suzanne-Lenglen, where he lived after the first of his three qualifying matches.^e In an atmosphere worthy of the best Davis Cup hours in the world.

The former top 10 fell into oblivion in the world rankings after injuries, doubts and depression.^e The world almost stopped playing tennis in the fall of 2022. “I started to take a darker side and fell into depression, which took me after Roland sleep an hour a night and drink alone He poured himself inside for a long time team in March. (…) I was sinking into something terrible. I stood up wide eyed. (…) I was in a bad phase. And I made the decision to say stop. For my sanity it had to stop. »

In Bercy, in early November, he comes to cheer on his friend Gilles Simon, who is playing his last tournament before retirement. Journalists hand him the microphone, reminding him of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which he has never experienced. “It works for me. And when I left Bercy, I said to my wife: “I’m going back to tennis.” »

” It’s been so long since I experienced this…”

Invited by Roland Garros organizers to qualify, the northerner paid tribute to his precious Sesame. Young Taiwanese Tseng Chun-hsin, 21, on Wednesday after knocking out Czech Tomas Machac, No. 127, on Monday (7-5, 6-3).^e5-7, 6-3, 6-0), he overcame the final hurdle with a gutsy victory over Belarusian-born Austrian Yuri Rodionov.

Hot and accurate in the first set and powerless against aggressive forehands, Pouille was on loan in his places, too greedy for power, regularly committing errors. “Come on, we’re waking up Luke.” exclaimed a bold onlooker. “Come on, there’s room” adds another. A proud Frenchman insulted the public with a clenched fist that didn’t need to be asked to strengthen “lu-cas”. A resurgent northerner started on his own. He took Rodionov’s serve at 6-5 and came back a set all the way. With only one player on the field from there, the Frenchman made it 6-0 to finish off the Austrian.