There’s a video on Jules Marie’s YouTube taken at Roland Garros 2021 that shows the Frenchman, then a hitting partner, coach and vlogger, warming up Novak Djokovic at the latter stages of the tournament, which the Serbian star would go on to win.
It’s one of some 640 videos that the now 32-year-old has posted to his account, which counts more than 109,000 followers at present tally.
On Tuesday (9 January), Marie got one step closer to making his main draw debut at a major – and not just as a hitting partner. He won his first qualifying match in Grand Slam play, beating former world No.18 Benoit Paire on Court 3 at the Australian Open.
QUALIFYING: Men's draw and results
The cameras were there to document the win, too.
“The only pressure was to play here for me,” Marie told another camera crew – this one from the Australian Open – about his expectations this week. “I made it. [Today] is a good win for me... now it’s only bonus.”
Having played just a handful of tournaments between 2015 and 2021 after feeling disenchanted by the tennis grind, Marie started a YouTube channel “to help people improve their games” from home, he told ATPTour.com a few weeks ago.
The channel morphed as Marie’s life shifted: He went from local prize money events in France (common at the club-level across Europe) back to the ITF tour and ATP Challengers, climbing inside the top 500 by the start of 2023.
He begins this season at a career-high world No.224, and with it his first outright berth into a major qualifying event.
“I’m going to enjoy every hour of being here; it’s amazing to be here. It’s only bonus,” he said of his stay in Melbourne.
His guaranteed AUD$44,410 payday for making the second round of qualifying buoys the USD$156,475 he’s made in his career – but he’s also made a fair shake off of his YouTube, affording him a team of producers and editors to help with his content.
On Court 3 on Tuesday, it was a buoyant crowd for Marie’s clash with compatriot Paire, who is currently ranked world No.117. There were French flags strewn about the seats and shouts of “Allez!” – though not directed at one player or the other.
Marie stole the first set in a tiebreak and then avoided hitting the panic button in set two, going down 1-4 only to reel off five straight games. He posed for selfies and signed autographs after, a crowd of several dozen fans waiting for him outside the players’ entrance.
It’s the first step in what he has set out as his updated goal: to play in all four of the sport’s Grand Slams. Though qualifying can count too, can’t it?
“When I was a child, my goal was to be No.1 in the world,” he told the ATP. “And then my goal was to be Top 100. And now... I would like to be Top 100. But I will be really, really happy to play all four Grand Slams.”
He next meets Switzerland’s Alex Ritschard, world No.198.
The two met midway through last year, which – of course – Marie documented on his YouTube channel, calling the Swiss “physically stronger than me” after a 6-3 6-2 loss at the Lyon Challenger, on clay.
But for Marie, who has given fans a unique look inside the toils of life as a lower-ranked journeyman, the AO experience wins the day – even if he wants to continue to win tennis matches here, too.
“I’m trying to enjoy tonight,” he said. “And tomorrow we will go forward.”