Lucas Pouille, ex-top 10 dropped back down beyond 150th place in the world after his right elbow operation, offered his best victory in almost three years at the expense of Karen Khachanov (26th), dominated 6-3, 6 -4 in the first round of the Masters 1000 in Madrid on Monday evening.

Pouille, 28, entered the court at almost 11:15 p.m. and very solid throughout the game, took advantage of the invitation received from the organizers of the Madrid tournament, and won shortly before 1 a.m.

How long had it been since he had had the feeling of succeeding in such a match?

" Long time.

It may be the first since my recovery last year, ”assesses Pouille.

“I'm very, very happy with the game today.

From start to finish it was good, I stayed positive at all times, even when I had break points to save.

I was aggressive and solid at the same time”, he appreciates, after experiencing a new brake in mid-March due to a fractured rib.

Pouille wants to be optimistic

The 2019 Australian Open semi-finalist is chasing his best since undergoing right elbow surgery in July 2020 and his current ranking no longer allows him to enter directly into many ATP tournament main draws .

Since the operation, “I had a lot of problems, I never managed to play three months in a row without injury.

There, physically, I feel really good, sharp, I move well, ”he explains.

“I'm sure if I have three, four, five, six months like this, being able to play every week in good health, I will come back quickly.

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And now, place for Tsitsipas

This success is only his third of the season on the main circuit, after two firsts obtained in Marseille in February.

In Challengers, the second division of world tennis, the French player has had four wins for five losses since the start of the season.

Pouille now has a date with world number 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round on Wednesday.

“Today, it is (among) the best in the world of tennis on clay, he summarizes.

He won Monte Carlo, he had a very tight match against Alcaraz in Barcelona.

I'm going to have to play an even better match than today to hope to win, but it's only positive to play against these players, to play intense matches with these guys.

It can only make me move faster to come back.

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  • Tennis

  • Lucas Pouille

  • Masters 1000

  • Madrid

  • Sport