Impossible, watching Lucas Pouille shed a few tears under his towel, to remain insensitive to the emotion of the French player. After seasons of physical and psychological hardship, the Northerner, ex-top 10 who fell to 670th in the world, is in the process of offering himself a rebirth of which he no longer even dared to dream. So when he beat the Austrian Jurij Rodionov (134th) in the third qualifying round of Roland-Garros, Thursday evening, to get a place in the main draw, everything dropped. His wife Clémence and his brother did not lead wide either in the stands of a short 14 in fusion.
“Winning in front of my family, my friends and all these people in this state at the end of the match is a release. Emotions let go a little. I don’t even know what to say they were so strong, said Pouille a few moments later, his eyes still shining. It’s been so long since I’ve experienced this that it was above all. »
As in the two previous rounds, he was able to count on everyone’s support for this last step towards the big picture. A welcome help to overturn a match started upside down, but finished in boss (1-6, 7-5, 6-0). A year after his last Grand Slam appearance and a nasty defeat in the first round on clay in Paris against the Czech Zdenek Kolar, here is Puglia again among those who have the right to play the most beautiful tournaments.
The light that turns on
“It means everything to me. Everything for which I took up the racket at the end of the year. It also comforts me in the idea that I still have a lot to give in this sport, he confided. Qualifying for a Grand Slam has a good meaning in terms of the level of play. I am extremely proud of myself and happy. For me, for all the people who have been helping me for months trying to come back. »
At 29, the Frenchman rediscovers feelings buried very deep by dark years, marked by repeated injuries and depression, last year, which he had opened up to in an interview at The Team. The nights of not being able to sleep, drinking alone in his corner, and then suddenly the light came back on. A visit to Bercy in November for Gilles Simon’s last, a few balls hit with Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the desire that comes back with the prospect of the 2024 Olympics. And above all the acceptance of no longer being – for the moment? – the great player he was.
“Enjoy the moment and enjoy”
“The ego plays a lot. The impatience to return to the highest level. I had the chance to experience great emotions, to play in the biggest tournaments in the world, to make a Grand Slam semi-final, two quarters, to win the Davis Cup, titles… Going from that to being hooked by the 300th in the world in the first round of a Challenger, well, if we are not in tune with that, we cannot win. I did not have the necessary humility, he had explained to The Team in March. I mourned that period. »
Head now to the future. The rise in the ranking promises to be a long fight, but it is not yet what he wants to think about. “I try not to think about the consequences, what this tournament will bring me in terms of points, in terms of money, of all that. Just enjoying the moment and enjoying it is important, ”he said Thursday evening, waiting to find out who he will face in the first round. It could be Alcaraz or Medvedev, who will be opposed to a player out of qualifying like him. Pouille would prefer a player of a lower caliber, to give himself a real chance and above all to be able to play on court 14. And still taste the sensations that he had missed so much.