Philipp Kohlschreiber barged into the quarterfinals of the 2017 Mercedes Cup with a thrilling 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(8) win over Steve Johnson on Wednesday. It was a fantastic performance by Kohlschreiber who needed two hours and 39 minutes to record the marathon victory. With the win, Kohlschreiber advanced past the second round here in Stuttgart for the third consecutive year.
Waiting in the quarters for Kohlschreiber is the talented Lucas Pouille. This will be the first meeting between Kohlschreiber and Pouille on grass. Kohlschreiber will fancy his chances in this matchup as he has fared extremely well in his home country. Kohlschreiber, who lost to Dominic Thiem in last year’s final, has won five of his seven career titles here in Germany. The 33-year-old has won 65.5 percent of his matches here in Germany (110-58). Compare that to Kohlschreiber’s record outside his native land where he’s just 295-257 (.534).
Lucas Pouille will live to fight another day. The No. 4 seed survived a major scare on Wednesday, beating Jan-Lennard Struff in three tough sets to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2017 Mercedes Cup. Pouille battled back from a set down to record the gritty 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) win and in the process set up a mouth-watering clash with Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Pouille is 0-1 in his career against Kohlschreiber with their lone meeting coming on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam earlier this year. Pouille will look to make amends on grass where his career record is 8-12. Pouille has already shown that he can cut it on this fast surface, reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year. He will need to be at his best, though, against Kohlschreiber who’s hell-bent on capturing yet another tournament title here in Germany.
Writer’s Prediction
Kohlschreiber (-155) edges past Pouille in three sets.
