Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos improved to 3-0 in ATP World Tour doubles finals this year, taking the title at the Moselle Open on Sunday. The Chilean-Argentine duo fired seven aces and saved all five break points faced to down third seeds Mate Pavic and Michael Venus 6-3, 7-6(4) in the Metz final. A rematch of the final on the clay of Gstaad in July, Peralta and Zeballos defeated their third straight seeded team to prevail. They had stormed back from a set down to upset both fourth seeds Robert Lindstedt and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and second seeds Oliver Marach and Fabrice Martin earlier in the week. "We really felt great with our game today," said Zeballos. "It was a tough...
Lucas Pouille is a man on a mission in 2016 and the 22-year-old will look to add a first ATP World Tour title on Sunday at the Moselle Open. Pouille is set to face top seed Dominic Thiem in the Metz final after dispatching 2014 champion David Goffin 7-6(6), 6-1 on Saturday. He punctuated the one-hour and 21-minute victory with an emphatic forehand pass at the net on his first match point. The third seed, who fired 32 winners, crashed the net often in claiming 12 of 14 points when coming forward. Pouille enters his second ATP World Tour final in fine form following a quarter-final run at the US Open. Runner-up in Bucharest (l. to Verdasco) earlier this year,...
With the top four seeds in the semi-finals of an ATP World Tour event for the first time in 2016, a pair of enticing match-ups were on tap on Saturday at the Moselle Open. Top seed Dominic Thiem kicked off proceedings in Metz with a dramatic rally to overcome two-time champion Gilles Simon 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. The Austrian found himself with his back against the wall with Simon serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but he would not be denied his spot in the final. Thiem broke back with a massive down-the-line forehand and secured another break at 6-5 to force a decider with a cross-court backhand winner. Thiem continued to apply pressure on Simon's serve...
Second seed David Goffin continued his bid for a second title at the Moselle Open after beating Nicolas Mahut on Friday. The Belgian World No. 14 needed just over two hours to top the home hope 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4 and reach the semi-finals, where he will face another Frenchman, Lucas Pouille. Goffin, the 2014 champion at this ATP World Tour 250 tournament, fired 10 aces and capitalised on four of his seven break point chances in his victory as he improved his record in Metz to 7-0. "Nicolas really went for it from beginning to end, so it was not an easy match," said Goffin. "I only played one bad game in the match but it really cost me. I...
Dominic Thiem remained on course in the Emirates ATP Race To London as he defeated Gilles Muller on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Moselle Open. The top-seeded Austrian withstood 16 aces to beat the 33-year-old Luxembourg native 6-4, 7-6(5). “I’m very happy about the match because the return is one of my biggest weaknesses and it’s always tough against a good server like Gilles,” said Thiem. “The first set I returned really well… I broke him and I also had chances to break a second time.” Thiem currently sits in the seventh position in the Emirates ATP Race To London, behind Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori and Gael Monfils, who are also in close contention for the remaining five...