Lucas Pouille soared to his biggest career crown at the Erste Bank Open 500, dominating countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday. The Frenchman notched his first ATP World Tour 500-level trophy, earning a fourth title in his young career. With the victory, he became the first player in 2017 to win on all surfaces, adding a hard-court crown in Vienna to triumphs on the clay of Budapest and grass of Stuttgart. Despite the loss, Tsonga stays in the hunt for one of the two remaining berths in the Emirates ATP Race To London. Bidding to make his fourth appearance at the season finale, he is just 295 points behind Pablo Carreno Busta for the eighth and final spot. All...
In one of the more thrilling doubles finals of the season, Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas emerged with the trophy at the Erste Bank Open 500 on Sunday. The Indian-Uruguayan duo saved a pair of match points for a tight 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 11/9 victory over Marcelo Demoliner and Sam Querrey. The match, which lasted one hour and 45 minutes, saw Bopanna deny the first championship point at 9/7 with a volley winner, followed by a Querrey forehand unforced error as the second came and went. "Absolutely brilliant," Bopanna exclaimed. "It’s one of the first years for me that I won a 250, 500 and a 1000. I’d made a final of a 250, 500 and a 1000 also but it’s...
Pace, precision and poise. Roger Federer was at his ruthless best on Saturday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, turning in a vintage performance to reach the final once again on home soil. The Swiss exhibited a display of stunning aggression against third seed David Goffin, barely putting a wrong foot throughout their 60-minute semi-final encounter. He would blitz the Belgian 6-1, 6-2, firing 20 winners in total, including 12 on his forehand wing and will face Juan Martin del Potro in the final. "I'm ready for a difficult match and a fully fit del Potro," said Federer. "He played a great match against me in Shanghai and went on to win Stockholm and won that. Now he's here in the...
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has gone from the fringe of the Emirates ATP Race To London to the thick of the battle in less than two weeks, as he continues his push to qualify for a third Nitto ATP Finals. The Frenchman helped his cause by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6(4), 7-5 in the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open 500 on Saturday in Vienna to advance to his third final at the event and his fifth final this season. "I'm playing well. I'm playing good tennis," Tsonga said. "Truly happy with my level this week...tomorrow it's the final and only the winner [of the final] counts so I will give my best to be the winner." Tsonga, who was 22nd in the...
Lucas Pouille is doing his best to enter the 2018 season with a surge of momentum at his back. A first ATP World Tour 500 final appearance will go a long way. Pouille rallied past Kyle Edmund 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 in Saturday's first semi-final at the Erste Bank Open 500 in Vienna. The World No. 25 reached his sixth ATP World Tour final and fourth of the year. He will look to add a hard-court crown to victories on the clay of Budapest and grass of Stuttgart, when he faces either Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Philipp Kohlschreiber on Sunday. It marks the second straight year a Frenchman will appear in the Vienna final, following Tsonga's runner-up finish to Andy Murray in...
