By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Lucas Pouille used his touch and timely drives to subdue Italian wild card Andreas Seppi, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3), in his Rome opener.
Photo credit: Davis Cup Facebook
When Lucas Pouille and Andreas Seppi square off, dirt duels ensue.
Pouille relied on touch and timely strikes subduing Seppi, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3), in his Rome opener.
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The 2016 semifinalist will play Australian Open semifinalist Kyle Edmund for a place in the round of 16.
The 19th-ranked Briton beat qualifier Malek Jaziri, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, yesterday. Pouille has won two of three career matches with Edmund.
In a rematch of the Davis Cup quarterfinals where Pouille defeated Seppi in five sets leading France into the semifinals, the 16th-seeded Frenchman was firing from the start.
Pouille scalded a forehand down the line converting his fouth break point to open. Streaming through a 62-second hold, Pouille backed up the break for 2-0.
Beating Seppi up in baseline rallies, Pouille mixed in some angled drop shots with flat strikes down the line causing a rash of errors from the 34-year-old Italian.
When Seppi scattered a forehand, Pouille broke again for a 4-1 lead at 17 minutes. Slashing an ace, Pouille stretched the lead to 5-1 and closed the opening set in 28 minutes.
Pouille not only silenced Seppi, he muted the Rome crowd in the process.
An hour into the match, Seppi earned his first break points of the day. A drone hovering above an adjacent court caught Pouille's eye when Seppi served for the second set. After a brief interruption, Seppi smacked a forehand crosscourt for 30-15 then snapped a smash for set point.
On his second set point, Seppi closed when Pouille planted a forehand into net sending the match into a final set after 67 minutes of play.
Both mean earned early break chances in the decider. Seppi saved a set point in the second game, Pouille erased break point holding for 2-1.
In the fifth game, Seppi broke through. Attacking a second serve, he moved into net breaking for 3-2 when Pouille netted a pass.
The Italian wild card couldn't make the break stand. Pouille began swinging more freely on his forehand and worked through a seven-minute game to break back in the sixth game.
A tremendous Seppi full-stretch flick volley helped him hold at 15 to force the tie break.
Tension tightened Seppi's right arm as he double faulted to gift the mini-break and a 2-0 lead. Pouille pounced on that mistake and stretched his lead to 4-1 with a pair of stinging wide serves.
Crunching a forehand down the line, Pouille snared triple match point and sealed his second win over Seppi in two hours, four minutes.