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, adding a fourth title of 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 will be on the line at the final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year next week in Paris.
Pouille beats Tsonga 6-1 6-4 to become the first player to win 3 ATP titles on 3 different surfaces in 2017. http://pic.twitter.com/SDEfduil4Q
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 29, 2017
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Pouille was off to the races from the first ball at the Wiener Stadthalle. After denying a break point in his second service game, the younger Frenchman was indefatigable from the baseline and consistently forced his compatriot into uncomfortable positions.
Tsonga looked to have escaped danger with two break points saved at 1-2 15/40, but a double fault would eventually hand Pouille the early advantage. After inducing the quick break of serve, the 23-year-old did not put a wrong foot and refused to allow a rattled Tsonga to find his rhythm.
Tsonga struggled behind his serve throughout the encounter, claiming just 33 per cent of points on his second delivery in the first set. A netted backhand would give Pouille the decisive break for 3-2 in the second set and a backhand return error would seal the victory on his first match point.
More to come...
from Tennis - ATP World Tour http://ift.tt/2iJmbgW
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