The name Jules Marie is not popular with many tennis fans, but it is a brand name on the video-sharing platform YouTube.
Marie, who is 32 and in the second coming of his tennis career after admittedly retiring from the sport in 2015, has generated a wave of interest in the 2024 Australian Open qualifying rounds.
His story has only just started going viral. With an impressive set of over 100,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, which he says caters to all his prohibitive tennis expenses, Marie crafted a massive shock in the first round of qualifying for the year's first Grand Slam.
Sitting at a career-high ranking of No. 224 ahead of the 2024 Australian Open, he only met the cut-off mark for a spot in the qualifying draw. Like many aspiring tennis players, his dream is to play in a Grand Slam main draw.
But at 32, he knows time is running out; if anything, it must happen now. He took an encouraging first step after beating countryman Benoit Paire - seeded a high of No. 12 in the qualifying field - 7-6, 6-4, to progress into the second round where he will Alexander Ritschard of Switzerland.
Paire is a former World No. 18 who has won three career titles on the ATP tour. But he is a shadow of his former self, and his capriciousness made him a perfect opponent that Marie would have handpicked to face before the draw.
As expected, Paire's brilliance was only intermittent, and Marie, who stayed consistent and kept his composure and competitive groove in check, prevailed. He landed 81% of first serves and won an impressive 73% of points behind it.
Marie also saved a set point in the first set tiebreak, and Paire's serve malfunctioned in vital moments, most notably when he gifted his compatriot the first set a few points later with a costly double fault.
The draw for the 2024 Australian Open will take place on Thursday, January 11th, and Marie will be hoping to punch his ticket there after scoring his first-ever Grand Slam win on Tuesday.
He still has two more rounds to navigate before a possible meeting against 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, whom he practiced with and filmed an episode for his channel during an edition of Roland Garros two years ago.
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