- Title: Tennis stars Sharapova, Keys and Pouille at Paris photocall
- Date: 23rd May 2017
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH TENNIS PLAYER, LUCAS POUILLE, SAYING: "When I play, I don't think about it (whether he feels safe); it's not in my mind. But after that, when an event (Manchester attack) like that happens, you think about it, you tell yourself that Roland is going to be a bit tense, and the atmosphere - it's not going to be unpleasant, but it's not going to be like usual. I hope security will do its job well and be well-organised so we have nothing to worry about." POUILLE TALKING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH TENNIS PLAYER, LUCAS POUILLE, SAYING: "There is pressure, the wait, but you have to be positive. This pressure always follows sportsmen and women; you always feel this pressure. We have to make the most of the public who will be behind us, who will push us. We have to try to play the best games we can, and make the most of this enthusiasm we have when we play in France."
- Embargoed: 6th June 2017 21:21
- Keywords: tennis Roland Garros French Open Lucas Pouille Madison Keys Maria Sharapova
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Sport,Tennis
- Reuters ID: LVA0046I2AIWV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Tennis stars Maria Sharapova, Madison Keys and Lucas Pouille were in Paris on Tuesday (May 23) for a photocall, just days before the French Open begins.
Russian Sharapova was snubbed by organisers of the tournament who refused to give her a wild card. She was nonetheless in the French capital as part of a marketing event for Evian mineral water along with 22-year-old U.S. star Keys and 23-year-old Frenchman Pouille.
Keys, who is ranked 13th in the world, told Reuters she was excited about playing her first grand slam of the season after missing the Australian Open due to wrist surgery.
France said it was heightening security at sports and cultural events on Tuesday, including at the Roland Garros tennis stadium, in light of an attack at a British concert hall which left 22 people dead.
Pouille, who is the third-ranked French male player after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Montils, said he expected the atmosphere at the French Open to be "tense" in light of the attack.
The 2016 singles quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and the U.S. open said he had recovered from a foot injury which affected him in the Australian Open. He told Reuters he felt pressure playing in a French tournament which has not been won by a French man for over three decades.
Organisers of the Evian event declined Reuters' request to interview Sharapova, who won the French Open in 2012 and 2014 but was hit with a 15-month doping ban last year. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
