Goffin Opens Metz Quest; Copil Beats Pouille

David Goffin opened his quest for his second Moselle Open title on Thursday. The second-seeded Belgian, who captured the 2014 trophy (d. Sousa), knocked out Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 for a place in the quarter-finals against Benoit Paire, who recorded the 150th match win of his career. Earlier in the day, Paire had cruised past Marcel Granollers of Spain 6-1, 6-2 in 55 minutes.

Goffin’s hopes of winning a third ATP World Tour title, and boost his chances of a rising up the Emirates ATP Race To London (currently No. 13) for one of the six remaining places at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London, were helped when Romania’s Marius Copil knocked out third seed and defending champion Lucas Pouille. Goffin, incidentally, lost to Pouille in last year’s Metz semi-finals.

Copil kept his nerve mid-afternoon at the ATP World Tour 250 tournament to record his biggest match win in almost five years. The World No. 86 knocked out Pouille, currently No. 22 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, 7-6(4), 7-5 in one hour and 40 minutes to avenge his loss to the Frenchman at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February.

Copil saved two set points at 4-5 in the first set, then took a 3-0 lead in the second set before Pouille recovered and went on to save three match points from 0/40 at 4-5. Pouille held one set point at 5/6, but Copil regrouped to complete his best victory since January 2013 when he defeated then No. 19-ranked Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-3 at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. Copil will now challenge German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk, who had beaten eighth-seeded Frenchman and 2010, 2013 titlist Gilles Simon on Wednesday night.

Elsewhere, Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili knocked out fourth seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-4, 6-4 for a last-eight clash against Uzbekistani Denis Istomin, a 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(0) victor over German lucky loser Yannick Maden in two hours and 29 minutes.

Fifth-seeded German Mischa Zverev advanced to his fourth quarter-final of 2017 after he beat Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland 6-4, 6-4 in one hour. He now plays lucky loser Kenny De Schepper, who overcame fellow Frenchman and wild card Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-5.

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French Hopes Reach Doubles SFs

Frenchmen Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who have a 2-3 record in tour-level doubles finals – including the 2014 Roland Garros title  – edged past Andre Begemann and Jonathan Eysseric 5-7, 6-2, 10-6 for a place in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Max Mirnyi, hoping to capture his 50 tour-level doubles crown, moved to 749 match wins when he partnered Philipp Oswald to a 6-4, 6-4 quarter-final win over Treat Huey and Fabrice Martin.