Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: 19:06 pm, May 25, 2023

Lucas Pouille scared himself. The Frenchman managed to topple Austria's Jurij Rodionov after losing the first set 6-1. Dropped to 670th place in the world in the ATP rankings, Pouille has clinched his place for the main draw that will begin Sunday on the clay of the Porte d'Auteuil.

After seasons of physical and psychological hardship, Lucas Pouille, dropped to 670th in the world, extricated himself from qualifying to make a place in the main draw of Roland-Garros by overthrowing Austrian Jurij Rodionov (134th) 1-6, 7-5, 6-0 in the third round on Thursday. The emotion was so strong at the end of the match that Pouille was caught up in tears in his chair, like his wife Clémence in the stands of Court 14.

At the beginning of the match, and despite the still unconditional support of the Parisian public, Pouille was overwhelmed: he did not win his stake once in the first set. In the second, he balanced the debates and even managed the break to lead 5 games to 3. He then served to tie at a set all over, but could not stop Rodionov from breaking. The Austrian nevertheless gave up the set on a last service game completely missed with three consecutive double faults to the key, including one on the set ball. Pouille then went it alone in the decisive set to win in two hours sharp. A victory synonymous with place in the main draw, whose draw was made in the early afternoon.

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Getting out of the dark years

At 29, the Frenchman, ex-top 10, is trying to find his best level after dark years (injuries and depression) that saw him plunge into the depths of the ranking. He received an invitation to participate in the Roland-Garros qualifiers. A 2019 Australian Open semifinalist, Pouille has not made it past the first round of a Grand Slam tournament since losing in the second round of the 2019 US Open.

He has not won a match on the ATP Tour since losing in the second round of the Madrid Masters 1000 in May 2022 and this year he had previously played only on the Challenger Tour where he won only three matches for four losses.