Pouille Reflects On Winning Stuttgart Title 2017
Pouille Reflects On Winning Stuttgart Title 2017
Jun182017
Luxembourg native defeats Karlovic in final
Fourth seed Gilles Muller won his second ATP World Tour title on Sunday at the Ricoh Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, prevailing over third seed Ivo Karlovic in a battle of big serves 7-6(5), 7-6(4).
“I think we should make a suggestion to the ATP that we just start with the tie-break next time!” said Muller. “It’s always tough to play Ivo and I’m glad I could beat him. I had many friends and a lot of family coming, so it’s been a great week here.”
The match between the 38-year-old Karlovic and 34-year-old Muller was the oldest singles final on the ATP World Tour since Hong Kong in 1977, when 42-year-old Ken Rosewall defeated 30-year-old Ilie Nastase. Muller (34 years, one month) is the second-oldest winner in the tournament’s history, right behind 2016 winner Nicolas Mahut (34 years, five months).
Muller is the second player to reach an ATP World Tour final on all three surfaces this year, joining Stuttgart winner Lucas Pouille. After losing his first six finals, Muller won his first title in Sydney in January (d. Evans). He followed that up with his first clay-court final last month in Estoril (l. Carreno Busta). Muller’s outstanding season led to a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 26 on 8 May.
The Luxembourg native takes the lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Karlovic 2-1. Muller also prevailed in two tie-breaks in last year’s semi-finals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, but Karlovic got revenge by saving three match points to win the final in Newport.
Muller continues to excel in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, having reached the final last year (l. Mahut) and semi-finals in 2015 (l. Goffin). He picks up 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and a cheque for €105,045.
Despite the loss, Karlovic extended his all-time aces record by hitting 64 this week, putting him at 12,003. The Croatian reached his first ATP World Tour final since winning Los Cabos last August, but drops to 8-10 in championship matches. Karlovic leaves with 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points and a cheque for €55,325.
“It was an excellent week. I’m really happy,” said Karlovic. “Gilles had an unbelievable week and it’s nice he could win on Father’s Day!”
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There were no break points in today’s final, with Muller surprisingly out-acing Karlovic (22 to 19). The fourth seed grabbed an early mini-break and the first-set tie-break and rode it to an early advantage. Karlovic led 4/3 in the second-set tie-break, but Muller won the final four points to prevail in one hour and 32 minutes.
Croatia’s Donna Vekic shocked British number one Johanna Konta to win the Nottingham Open final.
The world number 70 came recovered from a disappointing first set to win 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 in temperatures of 30C.
Konta, 26, looked on course for her first grass title on home soil, but struggled with Vekic’s baseline hitting to lose the second set tie-break.
Vekic, 20, edged a tense decider to win her second WTA title, ahead of the start of Wimbledon on 3 July.
“All credit to Donna, she was continuously able to raise her level all throughout that match,” said Konta, who has never gone past the second round of Wimbledon.
Speaking to Eurosport, she added: “I was not able to stay with her. Full credit to her for playing incredibly well.
“But I’m very happy that I got to play five great matches on the grass. For Donna and I, heading into Wimbledon, we just want to play on the surface as much as possible.”
The Croatian struggled with her nerves in the first set and she double faulted twice in the first game to hand the early initiative to Konta, the world number eight.
Konta broke again at 5-2 and served to take the set in 38 minutes.
The second set saw a rejuvenated Vekic find consistency with her serve and she began to trouble Konta with her deep returns.
Vekic broke early in the set but another double fault, she served eight in the match, saw Konta break back immediately.
As the set wore on, Konta became frustrated with the umpire’s line calls and blamed the state of the chalk on the lines, for what she felt were incorrect decisions.
Konta’s over reliance on the drop shot saw her struggle in the tie-break as Vekic forced a decider by taking the set in just over and hour.
The Croatian broke early again in the final set, but Konta regained her focus to level at 3-3.
Vekic’s confidence fluctuated, but she held impressively to apply scoreboard pressure and then broke with some more strong hitting at 5-6, before serving for the title.
“It’s pretty amazing. It’s my first grass-court title and my second overall. I’m really happy,” said Vekic. “Jo played amazing, she’s having an amazing year, but I was just trying to focus on myself and serve as good as I can and be aggressive.”
Frenchman Lucas Pouille hit 29 aces to win his second title of the season on Sunday, coming back to beat Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart. Pouille has now won three titles and improves to 3-2 in ATP World Tour finals.
The 23-year-old right-hander also won the inaugural Gazprom Hungarian Open on clay in April. Last September, Pouille won his maiden title at the Moselle Open in Metz.
“I think I took a little bit more of the opportunities than him. He had some break points and didn’t make them, and I had only one or two and I made them. So I think that made the difference,” Pouille said.
The MercedesCup final was his first grass-court title match but Pouille was ready for the occasion. Lopez broke him in the first set to take the opener but Pouille responded, saving all four break points in the second set and eking out the tie-break to even the final.
At 2-2 in the third set, after one hour and 43 minutes, Pouille saw his first break point and converted when Lopez netted a forehand. Serving for the match, the Frenchman struck his 29th ace to win his first grass-court title.
Pouille, who accepted a late wild card into the event, was nearly out of the tournament in his opening match. He had to save a match point against German Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round.
Perhaps that – saving a match point early in the tournament – is key to Pouille winning titles this season. In Budapest, he saved two match points in his opener against Czech Jiri Vesely. Pouille will receive 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €112,460 in prize money.
“Of course if you win the first tournament of the grass season you’re very confident, but I know that every week is different and every player is tough to beat. I will need to focus again for next week and be ready to play my first round in Halle,” Pouille said.
The 35-year-old Lopez was trying to win his third grass-court title. The Spaniard falls to 5-11 in title matches and 2-2 in grass-court finals. Lopez’s previous grass-court crowns came in 2013-14 Eastbourne.
“It was a very good week for me overall. It’s tough for me to be happy after such a close match, but he deserved the win today,” Lopez said. “I’ve been very loyal to this tournament. I grew up watching all my friends win this tournament, but everyone here has made it even better than it was in the past.”
The left-hander was going for his first title since last July in Gstaad. He will receive 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €59,230.
Read More: Murray Faces Tough Path For More London History
Second seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares completed a perfect beginning to their grass-court seasons on Sunday, beating fourth seeds Mate Pavic and Oliver Marach 6-7(4), 7-5, 10-5 to win the MercedesCup doubles title in Stuttgart.
Murray/Soares dropped only four points on their first serve (44/48) and saved both break points. Neither team broke in the first set but Marach/Pavic won the final three points of the tie-break to claim the opener.
In the second set, Murray/Soares broke at 5-5 then served out the set to even the final. The duo ran away with the match tie-break, sprinting to a 6/1 lead before clinching their second crown of the season.
“Very tough win. The court is playing fast, so not easy. Everyone is serving well so not many chances,” Soares said. “We stayed strong, kept serving well and played a great game at 5-5 to break and played a great ‘breaker.”
Murray/Soares also won the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title in Acapulco in March. In January, they fell in the Apia International Sydney final (l. to Koolhof/Middelkoop). They have won five titles since coming together at the start of last season.
“We had a few close losses this year and it was nice to see it through and get it over the line and get another trophy,” Murray said.
Murray has now won 18 tour-level doubles titles; Soares, 25. They will receive 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split €34,160 in prize money.
“That’s amazing,” Soares said of winning his 25th tour-level doubles title. “To be honest, never thought I’d reach these numbers. Twenty-five is amazing. Hopefully I can make it to 50.”
Marach/Pavic were playing in their first ATP World Tour doubles final as a team. They started playing together in March at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Miami.
Marach falls to 15-19 in ATP World Tour doubles finals; Pavic, 6-11. The finalists will receive 150 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and €17,960.
Jamie Murray and partner Bruno Soares have won the Mercedes Cup doubles title in Stuttgart, beating Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic in the final.
The Scottish-Brazilian partnership, seeded second, prevailed 6-7 7-5 10-5 against the number four seeds.
It is the pair’s second title this year after February’s success in Acapulco, Mexico, and a 25th tour-level championship victory for Soares.
“Twenty-five is amazing; hopefully I can make it to 50,” said Soares.
Murray, 31, now has 18 titles to his name.
“We had a few close losses this year and it was nice to see it through and get it over the line and get another trophy,” the Scot told the ATP website.
Murray and Soares won the Australian Open and US Open last year, finishing the season at the top of the world rankings.
Casper Ruud is soaring both on and off the court these days. The #NextGenATP star, who is projected to rise to a career-high World No. 108 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday, enjoyed a break from the action at the Open Sopra Steria de Lyon to take flight in an indoor skydiving simulator.
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#NextGenATP @CasperRuud98 enjoys some time away from the court at the #ATPChallenger in Lyon, taking part in an indoor skydiving simulator. pic.twitter.com/R4Y7wKpR65
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) June 17, 2017
“It was so much fun,” said Ruud. “More than I expected actually. I had a day off and the tournament helped us set it up so it was very cool.”
Ruud and his coach Pedro Rico visited the iFly facility in Lyon on Thursday, taking part in the free fall activity. Following a 30-minute video training session, they practised with a supervisor who instructed them on the falling position and some sign language to use in the wind tunnel. They each had two one-minute jumps to get the basic floating position and then one to move up and down with the supervisor.
Ruud boasted another strong result on the ATP Challenger Tour this week as he continues his push towards the Top 100. The Norwegian teen advanced to his fifth quarter-final of the year, before succumbing to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in three tight sets.
Andy Murray will go for more history at the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club. The ATP World Tour 500 tournament in London starts on Sunday. But the Scot could have to beat three Top 15 players, including World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, if he wants to win an unprecedented sixth Queen’s Club crown.
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Last year, Murray became the first player to win five titles at the tournament, which was established in 1890.
Aegon Championships Title Leaders
| Andy Murray | 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016 |
| Andy Roddick | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 |
| Lleyton Hewitt | 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006 |
| Boris Becker | 1985, 1987, 1988, 1996 |
| John McEnroe | 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984 |
| Roy Emerson | 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 |
| Anthony Wilding | 1907, 1910, 1911, 1912 |
| Major J.G. Ritchie | 1902, 1904, 1906, 1909 |
The Brit is once again the top seed at his home tournament and will face a compatriot in the first round, Aljaz Bedene, who reached his second ATP World Tour final earlier this year in Budapest. Murray could next face the big-serving American Sam Querrey, who famously upset Novak Djokovic in the third round at Wimbledon last year.
Prevail in those two matches and Murray’s path gets only harder. The 30 year old could meet fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who’s already won three titles this season and pushed Murray to five sets in last year’s Wimbledon quarter-final. In the semi-finals, the dangerous Nick Kyrgios or fourth seed Marin Cilic could await.
The second-seeded Wawrinka opens against a grass-court veteran in 35-year-old Feliciano Lopez, who has served and volleyed his way to the MercedesCup final in Stuttgart. Lopez faces Frenchman Lucas Pouille for the title on Sunday.
Seventh seed and 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych could lurk in the quarter-finals, with sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov or third seed and 2016 finalist Milos Raonic possible semi-final opponents for Wawrinka.
The 32-year-old Swiss No. 1 is coming off his second Roland Garros final and is making his fifth appearance at the historic London club. He is 4-4 overall at the tournament and reached the semi-finals in 2014 (l. to Dimitrov).
Raonic, whose only two grass-court losses last season came against Murray in title matches, will look to get his season rolling on the quick surface. The 6’5” Canadian has yet to win a title this season and recently split with coach Richard Kraijcek after less than six months together.
The 26-year-old right-hander opens against wild card and #NextGenATP Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis. Raonic could meet Frenchman Nicolas Mahut or #NextGenATP Russian Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
Fans of booming serves and quick points will want to watch Cilic’s opening match. The Croatian faces 6’10” John Isner of the U.S. Cilic could battle another American in Steve Johnson in the second round.
Read More: Federer Looks To Rebound With Ninth Halle Crown
Top seeds defeat Klaasen/Ram on Saturday
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo continued their outstanding season by taking the doubles title at the Ricoh Open on Saturday, living up to their top seed status in ‘s-Hertogenbosch by defeating second seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-4.
“We’ve had a really good year. It’s another title for us, so we’re very happy with the way we’re playing,” said Kubot. “It’s a little bit more pressure as the top seeds, but as you could see at Roland Garros, the top two seeds lost in the first round. Everybody is playing good now.”
This is the third title of 2017 for Kubot/Melo. They have excelled in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events this year, winning in Madrid (d. Mahut/Roger-Vasselin) and Miami (d. Monroe/Sock), in addition to finishing runner-up in Indian Wells (l. Klaasen/Ram). They pick up 250 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split a cheque for €31,910.
Klaasen/Ram drop to 2-1 in ATP World Tour doubles finals this season. They prevailed in February in Delray Beach (d. Huey/Mirnyi), then took out Kubot/Melo for their first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells. Klaasen was also a finalist last year in ‘s-Hertogenbosch with Dominic Inglot (l. Pavic/Venus). He and Ram earn 150 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points and split €16,780.
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A single break of serve in each set was all Kubot/Melo needed to take the title in 65 minutes. They saved all three break points faced and were particularly efficient in their service games, landing 80 per cent of their first serves and winning 78 per cent of first-serve points.