Two-time former champion and eighth seed Gilles Simon defeated Italian Andreas Seppi, the 2012 runner-up, 6-3, 6-0 on Monday at the Moselle Open. Former World No. 6 Simon, the 2010 and 2013 titlist, was broken in the fifth game of the first set, but immediately regrouped and went on to extend his perfect 6-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Seppi. The Frenchman now faces Slovak Norbert Gombos or German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in the second round. In one other main draw match, Romania’s Marius Copil lost just three of his first service points and hit 12 aces to beat Alessandro Giannessi 6-3, 6-2 in 66 minutes for a meeting against third seed and defending champion Lucas Pouille. Gojowczyk, Stefanos Tsitsipas,...
The ATP World Tour is back in action this week at the St. Petersburg Open, where Roberto Bautista Agut is the top seed, and the Moselle Open in Metz, where Pablo Carreno Busta leads the charge and Lucas Pouille returns to defend his title. View Draws: St. Petersburg | Metz 10 THINGS TO WATCH IN ST. PETERSBURG (1) Into the Indoors: As the season changes from summer to fall, the ATP World Tour transitions from outdoor to indoor hard courts with the St. Petersburg Open and Moselle Open. One million dollars is on the line in St. Petersburg, the third-largest purse of the 40 ATP World Tour 250 events behind the season-opener in Doha ($1,237,190) and next week’s tournament in...
How does it feel to win your first ATP World Tour title in Metz? I’m very happy. It’s a big honour to win my first ATP World Tour title in France, in front of family and friends. It’s even more special to win when they are here, since I can share the happiness with all of them. Winning a title is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid watching tennis on television. I’ve played to win since I was young so this one means a lot. What did you do differently this time, compared to your first final in Bucharest? This time I knew what time the match was starting, since in Bucharest it was raining quite a...
Lucas Pouille has thrived under pressure all year and the Frenchman's steely focus and determination paid dividends in Sunday's Moselle Open final. Pouille rallied from 0-4 down in the first set tie-break and cruised in the second to defeat top seed Dominic Thiem 7-6(5), 6-2 for his maiden ATP World Tour title in Metz. The 22 year old notched his fifth victory over a Top 10 opponent this year and a milestone 30th match win overall in 2016. Pouille continues the recent trend of French champions in Metz, becoming the seventh homegrown winner in the past eight years. Gael Monfils won in 2009, followed by Gilles Simon in 2010 and '13 and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2011-12 and '15. Learn More:...
