WATCH: Lucas Pouille WHOLESOMELY carries his daughter as he receives a local ‘guard of honor’ after qualifying for French Open main draw
Lucas Pouille is back at the French Open after winning his third qualifying match against Jurij Rodionov in a thriller.
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Lucas Pouille and his daughter (Credits: Tennis Now and Italy 24 Press News)
Lucas Pouille defeated the Austrian player, Jurij Rodionov, to qualify for the French Open main draw. Since 2021, it is the first time that the French player achieved three consecutive wins at any tournament. After winning the thriller, Pouille received a local ‘guard of honor’ as he exited the arena along with his daughter.
The 29-year-old has had a tragic fall after reaching the Top 10 rankings in the tennis world. In 2016, the Frenchman peaked his career high as he claimed the quarter-finals spot at the Wimbledon and US Open championships. He achieved his breakthrough win after reaching the semi-finals at the 2019 Australian Open.
Pouille was named the rising star of struggling French tennis and was expected to achieve great wins in his career. However, things didn’t go well for the French, as he faced a host of injuries following his 2020 elbow operation. After being absent from the tennis court, Pouille made his awaited comeback in 2022 as a last attempt to revive his lost glory.
The World No.670 started his clay campaign by qualifying for the main draw of the Roland Garros. He defeated Tomas Machac and Tseng Chun-hsin in the first and second qualifying rounds, respectively. At the third round, the Frenchman thrilled his home crowd after he claimed a three-set victory over Jurij Rodionov (1-6, 7-5, 6-0). While leaving the tennis arena with his daughter, Pouille received a heart-warming ‘guard of honor’ for his incredible win.
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Lucas Pouille back on court to compete at the French Open
Lucas Pouille had an outstanding start to his career. At the age of 22, the young star achieved a breakthrough in tennis after he reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2016. Following his incredible success, Pouille booked his US Open quarter-finals seat in the same year. At the 2019 Australian Open, the Frenchman reached the semi-finals and attained a Top 10 spot in the world rankings. In spite of huge success, Pouille had a tragic fall in his career. In 2020, the former Top 10 player suffered numerous injuries following his elbow operation.
During his conversation with L’Equipe, the French player talked about his future prospects and aim to play at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He opened about his struggles with depression and alcoholism after his unexpected fall. Pouille also stated how having a family changed his perspective on life.
“When you’re young and you make money, you take advantage of it, you see priorities where they aren’t in reality. I have more maturity now. I have my daughter. That is more important than buying nice clothes or a nice car. That was not my case before. Today, I am happy with simple things. But inevitably, your lifestyle changes. From Grand Slam semis to Challenger first rounds, there are a few zeros less,” he said.
Pouille faced a first-round exit at the last year’s French Open.
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Tanushree Verma
(52 Articles Published)