Pouille, a happy winner: "A 5-set victory, it's great!"

Lucas Pouille is a happy man. Already the author of an impressive qualifying campaign, the Frenchman booked his place in the second round on Wednesday.

Against Laslo Djere, the 30-year-old didn't always play well, but he raised his game when he needed to, to regain control of the match and win (3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1).

Interviewed in the press conference, Pouille made no secret of his delight: "This victory has a special flavour. I'm very happy, because it reflects the level I've been at for months now. My level is really good and it's getting better every week. In the qualifying rounds, it was extremely good.

Winning in five sets is great. I got off to a very bad start and got tense pretty quickly. After that, I managed to turn the match around by attacking him. I stayed calm, because I'm familiar with five-set matches. From the moment I started racing ahead, he cracked, which is what I was hoping for."