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Pouille’s renaissance the toast of Roland Garros

  • Matt Trollope

On a warm, sunny Sunday in Paris, with fans pouring into the grounds for the opening day of Roland Garros 2023, few players electrified the venue quite like Lucas Pouille.

The Frenchman, a former top-10 star and Australian Open 2019 semifinalist, won his first Grand Slam main-draw match in almost four years, beating lucky loser Juri Rodionov in straight sets on an atmospheric Court 14.

Unusually, it was a repeat of their final-round qualifying encounter just days earlier, which Pouille also won.

The packed crowd responded to his win with a rendition of the French national anthem, while Pouille remained on court for another half hour after the match to sign autographs and take pictures with the fans who had supported him so robustly.

There was not a seat left in the house to watch Lucas Pouille compete on Court 14 in the first round of Roland Garros. (Getty Images)

“I can't remember when I played four matches in a row. I think it was in Cassis four years ago,” said Pouille, who has recently dropped outside the world’s top 650 – his lowest ranking in almost 11 years.

“Of course there are a lot of emotions. There's the physical fatigue and also the mental fatigue, so tomorrow is going to feel good. I'm going to be able to watch some matches. I'm going to be able to stay with my family and enjoy being with them.

“The energy was just incredible. It was so many good emotions.”

The 29-year-old next faces either Cameron Norrie or Benoit Paire. But first, let’s examine Cassis, and those understandable emotions. 

Pouille reached the final of the ATP Cassis Challenger in September 2021, during a time in his career blighted by injuries.

Two years earlier he was soaring, appearing in his first major semifinal in Australia less than a year after peaking at world No.10. 

But by late 2019, an elbow injury began affecting him. It required surgery in 2020 and restricted him to just one match that year. He returned in 2021, lost more matches than he won – despite that bright spot in Cassis – and fell outside the top 150.

Season 2022 was the nadir. Pouille won just seven matches and shut down his season in June as mental health struggles took their toll.

In a candid interview with French publication L’Equipe, Pouille revealed he was suffering from depression and alcoholism, and was barely sleeping. He realised he needed to stop competing to prevent himself spiralling further, and another motivating factor was his young daughter; Pouille did not want her to see him in this state. 

Returning to tennis in early 2023 ranked 380th, Pouille has until Roland Garros competed entirely on the ATP Challenger circuit.

More on Roland Garros

It was in that same L’Equipe interview that the Frenchman – who admitted he is now almost entirely sponsor-less – explained how he struggled finding the necessary “humility” required to compete at the lower levels of professional tennis.  

This made sense, given Pouille had experienced some of the highest highs you can in the sport.

He stunned Rafael Nadal in five sets at Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach the quarterfinals of the 2016 US Open, two months after reaching the same stage at Wimbledon. In 2017, he won the decisive rubber in front of more than 25,000 fans in Lille to clinch France’s first Davis Cup title since 2001.

And then came his semifinal run in Australia, confirmation of his supreme talent.

It appears he has finally turned a corner, back towards those more positive times and emotions. 

After qualifying, Pouille carried his two-year-old daughter, Rose, through a guard of honour in the tunnels beneath the courts at Roland Garros.

His 1-6 7-5 6-0 win over Rodionov was the first time all season he had won three consecutive matches.

Repeating the feat on Sunday against Rodionov marked his first win in a Grand Slam main draw since he beat Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round of the 2019 US Open.

Pouille is projected to rise more than 280 places with this result; he has returned to the world’s top 400 in the ATP live rankings.

“I think that in terms of game, I think it was probably the best match I've produced so far here. You get tense every now and then. But when you look at the score, it didn't feel like it. But everything I've managed to produce today was probably the most accomplished match,” he said.

“When I know my next opponent, then I have to focus again and get prepared and try to go to reach the third round.”