Beautiful day for Lucas Pouille. Late Wednesday afternoon, the Northerner was at the Accor Arena to witness Gilles Simon’s victory over Taylor Fritz. And in the morning, the former world No. 10 hit the ball again at the CNE (national training center), near Roland-Garros, with Pierre-Hugues Herbert. A first for five months!
The 2017 Davis Cup winner has indeed completely disappeared from radar screens since the Challenger tournament in Ikley, Great Britain, in early June. At 28, he is now ranked 385th in the world. “I was bothered by small health problems in June which have not allowed me to train since, he summarizes. I will not set foot in Australia no matter what, I hope to resume in the next few months, it will take as long as it takes…”
“I have a year and a half left to get back into the Top 50”
The horizon seemed so distant that rumors of retirement have been buzzing in recent weeks. The 2019 Australian Open semi-finalist agrees the summer has been tough mentally. For three years, the Loonois has accumulated disappointments, in particular because of a recalcitrant right elbow, which he had to operate in 2020.
“There were ups and downs, a lot of downs, moments of demoralization, he smiles. In my head, in June, July, it was completely cut off, there was an indefinite stoppage… “It was ultimately a goal almost beyond tennis that convinced this sports fan to give himself a chance. to find the courts.
“I always had the goal of participating in the Paris 2024 Games,” he says. I have a year and a half left to get back into the Top 50 and be pretty sure of qualifying. This is what tipped the slider towards a recovery. »
Pouille never had the opportunity to defend the tricolor colors at the Games. In 2021, he was unable to claim a selection. And in 2016, in Rio, the place had been blown to him in extremis by Benoît Paire, who had stood out for his escapades in Brazil. The two men had also remained estranged for a long time. “There are some who spit on the jersey of the France team, I will not give names, had dropped Pouille. I venerate him.”
