Cam Norrie is set to take on another home favourite in the second round of the French Open but it not been an easy road for his opponent who quit tennis over alcoholism and depression.
Lucas Pouille, a former world number 10, will take on the current British number one on the clay of Paris after Norrie edged past Benoit Paire in five sets on Court Suzanne Lenglen on Monday afternoon. Pouille defeated Austrian Jurij Rodionov in straight sets on Sunday to set up the showdown with the Scot on Wednesday afternoon.
The 29-year-old, who is currently ranked 675th, shocked the tennis world when he hung up his racket last year after revealing he was suffering from alcoholism and depression. An elbow injury which resulted in surgery started his downfall in 2020 and ended with him hitting rock bottom in the lead up to Wimbledon last year. His form dipped so much that he decided to call it a day after reaching the heights of winning the Davis Cup with France and beating Rafael Nadal at the US Open.
Ahead of the Norrie showdown, he told L'Equipe: "For my sanity, I had to stop. I couldn’t do it anymore. I would have ended up in hospital among the madmen.
"I started having a darker side and going into a depression that led me, after Roland Garros, when I was in England, to sleeping an hour a night and drinking alone.
"It was impossible to close my eyes. I stared at the ceiling. I was sinking into something creepy. I was lying to my coach (Felix Mantilla). I shut myself away, I didn't tell anyone. I was in a bad way.
"And I made the decision to say stop. Otherwise, I would have ended up in (Paris psychiatric hospital) Sainte-Anne, among the madmen. For my sanity, it had to stop. The trigger was in the middle of the night, I receive a notification on my mobile and I saw a photo of my daughter. I said to myself: 'This is not possible. Ciao!'"
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