Feliciano Lopez eked out a hard-earned three-set victory in the semifinals over Mischa Zverev to book a spot in the finals of the Mercedes Cup.
Lopez had his back against the wall early in the match, losing the first set before winning the next two for a 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 win. The Spaniard’s power game was on full display yet again in the semis with Lopez unleashing 15 aces. In the quarterfinals, Lopez smashed in 19 aces against Tomas Berdych.
Spaniards have fared well in this tournament over the past few years with three of the last four Mercedes Cup men’s champion coming from Spain (Rafael Nadal in 2015 and Roberto Bautista Agut in 2014). Lopez has split his two career meetings with Pouille, winning the first one in Vienna in 2016 and losing the second one in Paris later that same year.
Fans are getting used to seeing Pouille play in a finals game. After disposing of Benoit Paire in the semifinals of the Mercedes Cup, the Frenchman has vaulted himself to a third ATP finals appearance this season. His previous two finals matches were held on non-grass surfaces, however, so the upcoming showdown with Lopez comes with an additional challenge.
In his two-set 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 win over Paire , Pouille’s service game was on point, putting in 71 percent (50 of 70) of his first serves and winning 86% (43 of 50) of off those.
Prior to joining this year’s Mercedes Cup, Pouille reached the third round of the French Open. Back in April, he edged Aljaz Bedene in the final of the ATP Hungarian Open.
