By beating the Austrian Jurij Rodionov, Lucas Pouille won his ticket for the second round of Roland-Garros on Sunday May 28. He got rid of the 134th in the world after three victorious sets 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. His qualification is a performance that he had not accomplished for almost four years in a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2019 US Open. At 29, he is trying to regain his best level after dark years (injuries and depression) which saw him plunge into the depths of the classification (675th currently when he was N.10).
Lucas Pouille got rid of Rodionov for the second time in three days. After facing and beating him in the third and final round of qualifying on Thursday, he beat him again on Sunday in the first round of the main draw as the Austrian was drafted. Pouille will therefore try to climb to the third round, a stage he has not reached in a Major since Wimbledon 2019, the year he played the semi-final in Australia. For this, he will face Wednesday his compatriot Benoît Paire (149th and beneficiary of an invitation) or the Briton Cameron Norrie (13th).
As for the other French, Ugo Humbert (40th) and Corentin Moutet (61st) emerged victorious from their 100% tricolor duels, at the expense of Adrian Mannarino and Arthur Cazaux respectively. Humbert dismissed Mannarino (47th), decidedly allergic to clay, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, to afford the first victory of his career at Porte d’Auteuil, at 24, after four defeats at the first round since 2019. Moutet scrapped for nearly three and a half hours with Cazaux, 190th and beneficiary of an invitation, before winning 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
In the women’s draw, Leolia Jeanjean qualified by beating Australian Kimberly Birrell (6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3), while Jessika Ponchet was taken out by Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska (6-0, 6-2), and Alizé Cornet by Italian Camila Giorgi (6-3, 6-4).
