In a battle of Frenchmen, Lucas Pouille again got the better of Julien Benneteau, coming back from two-sets-to-one down to win 7-6(6), 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in three hours and 21 minutes on Sunday at Roland Garros. “I knew he was going to put a lot of pressure on me. I knew he was going to try and play short balls because he didn't want to play a long match of long balls, because physically he was not ready for that. I knew it was going to be a tough match,” Pouille said. The 23-year-old Pouille had also beaten his compatriot last year to start their home Grand Slam tournament, but, during their match on Sunday, the 35-year-old Benneteau converted...
Lucas Pouille didn’t put a foot wrong on Sunday at the Gazprom Hungarian Open in Budapest, storming through the final with a 6-3, 6-1 win over qualifier Aljaz Bedene. The victory gives Pouille his second ATP World Tour title, with the Frenchman’s maiden trophy coming last year on home soil in Metz. Pouille improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Bedene to 2-0, including a victory this February in Marseille en route to the final (l. Tsonga). He has been in fine form on this clay this season and also reached the semi-finals last week at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. "I feel very happy with the way I started the clay season. To win here gives me a lot of confidence...
Top seed Lucas Pouille booked his spot in the semi-finals of the Gazprom Hungarian Open on Friday as he defeated Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-3 in Budapest. The Frenchman saved two match points to edge Jiri Vesely in his opening second-round match on Thursday, but had an easier time against Klizan, claiming victory in 84 minutes as he saved five of seven break points. "I think it was a great match," said Pouille. "It was much better than yesterday. My level is increasing and that's good because tomorrow I know it's going to be a tough one. I'm very happy with my performance today." The 23-year-old Pouille is coming off his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final showing at last...