YouTube star with 100k subscribers beats former tennis world No18 in Australian Open qualifying

YOUTUBER Jules Marie picked up a shock victory over former world No18 Benoit Paire during the Australian Open qualifiers.

Marie defeated Paire 7-6(6) 6-4 in the first round to seal one of tennis‘ biggest ever upsets.

Jules Marie’s YouTube show has attracted over 100,000 subscribersGetty

Marie defeated former world No18 Benoit Paire in the Australian OpenGetty

The Frenchman’s big win over his experienced compatriot has moved him up the ranks to No224.

The 32-year-old is now just two more victories away from making it to the Australian Open, which kicks off on Monday.

But it won’t be easy as the social media star is now set to lock horns with Alexander Ritschard in the next round.

If Marie manages to beat Ritschard then he could face a seeded qualifier in No26 Giulio Zeppieri.

Or he could meet Damir Dzumhur, who has reached the third round of the Australian Open on two occasions.

The YouTuber built his channel during the coronavirus pandemic when he rediscovered his passion for tennis and amassed over 110,000 subscribers.

Marie initially quit in 2015 following a series of heartbreaks but regained his spark when he and his twin brother, Arthur, made videos showing people how to work on their game during lockdown.

That led to him becoming Novak Djokovic‘s hitting partner at the French Open in 2021.

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And it was that year when he decided to give it one more crack by returning to the top level.

Marie previously told the ATP website: “Thanks to the YouTube channel, I can pay everything, like the cameraman, the six other people who help me on this project.

“I can pay the flights, the food, the hotels for everyone. It’s thanks to the YouTube channel, the sponsors.

“In 2014, and ‘15, it was my parents, it was me, so it was more difficult.

“My first goal is to play all four Grand Slams. When I was a child, my goal was to be No1 in the world, of course. And then my goal was to be top 100.

“And now of course, I would like to be top 100. But I will be really, really happy to play all four Grand Slams.”