In the biggest upset of the 2016 US Open, Lucas Pouille battled back from a break down in the fifth set to oust two-time Open champion Rafael Nadal in five riveting sets.
Here are five things to know about the 22-year-old rising French star:
- Pouille was born in Grande-Synthe, France, and currently lives in Dubai. His name is pronounced "Luca Pwee."
- He started playing tennis at age 8 and was a bit of a late bloomer. He peaked at No. 23 in the world junior rankings, his best junior Grand Slam result coming at the 2011 Australian Open, where he reached the quarterfinals. He never competed in the US Open Junior Championships.
- He won his first pro title at a Futures event in Mexico in 2012, adding another Futures title in Mexico that year and Futures wins in Vietnam and Estonia in 2013. He has yet to win an ATP Tour crown.
- After a steady rise up the rankings, he first broke into the Top 100 in April 2015. His big move up the rankings came in May of this year, when he went from No. 52 to No. 31 after qualifying and reaching the semifinals at the Masters 1000 event in Rome.
- His breakthrough on the international stage came earlier this summer at Wimbledon, where he defeated Juan Martin del Potro and Bernard Tomic en route to the quarterfinals. He had never before advanced past the second round of a major in nine previous attempts, including a first-round loss at the 2015 US Open.
