Mercedes Cup Tennis Results from Stuttgart

The final three rounds of Mercedes Cup tennis, as the ATP Men’s Singles competition in the annual Stuttgart Open is now known, produced some hard-fought tennis along with excellent online betting action for Australian sports fans. In the quarter-finals, French fourth seed Lucas Pouille and unseeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez both hit a wobble.

For Pouille, it was in the second set of his QF against Germany’s Phillip Kohlschreiber. After winning the first set 6-4, Pouille allowed the German back into the match with a 2-6 loss in the next. Luckily for the Frenchman’s fans, he regained his concentration to win the final set 6-3.

Lopez went down 6-7 in the first set to Tomas Berdych, the tournament third seed, when the Czech won the tie-break 7-4. It’s a much more intimidating deficit in a three-set format, but Lopez held his nerve and won the next two sets 6-3 and 6-4.

Lopez Survived Gruelling Semi-Final

In Saturday’s semi-finals, 23-year-old Pouille had to work hard to defeat Benoit Paire: his 28-year-old countryman took him to a tie-break in the first set. Pouille won the tie-break 7-5, to take the set 7-6, but Paire wasn’t rolling over. Pouille proved the stronger, though, and eventually took the second set 7-5.

Lopez had a much harder time in his semi, up against German sixth seed Mischa Zverev. The World No. 29 took the first set 7-6, imperiously winning the tie-break 7-2. But the Spaniard hit back doggedly, forcing another tie-break in the second set, which he won 7-4. Zverev still made him work for it, but Lopez took a vital break to win the final set 7-5.

Seesaw Battle in Final

In Sunday’s Mercedes Cup final, it looked at first as if Lopez was going to overpower Pouille in short order. He took the first set 6-4 and was well on his way to taking the second, when the Frenchman found his rhythm and saved four break points in succession. The set went to a tie-break, which Pouille won 7-5.

In the final set, Pouille stepped on the gas and began serving like a champion, to win 6-4 and finish the match the winner by 4-6, 7-6, 6-4. He delivered a total of 29 aces throughout the game, and the Mercedes Cup is his second title of the season: he also won the Hungarian Open in April.