Lucas Pouille edged out Roberto Bautista Agut 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4 2-6 6-4 to give France a 2-0 lead over Spain in their Davis Cup semi-final in Lille.
The two players entered the match knowing that this was a very crucial rubber given Benoit Paire’s earlier victory over an injured Pablo Carreno Busta. It was the Spanish team who had the momentum at the beginning of the match as Bautista Agut raced into an early 3-0 lead using his solid groundstrokes.
Despite Pouille slowly gaining confidence as well as earning some chances, the Spaniard remained firm as he became more aggressive and moved the Frenchman around the fast indoor hard court. The Spaniard wrapped up the opening set in 45 minutes.
The next two sets saw the Frenchman work extremely hard and finally get his rewards for his big serving and forehands. The world number 19 mentally recovered from being broke back to take a nerve-wracking tiebreak 7-5 as he levelled the match up. The 24 year old looked energetic unlike his Spanish opponent who looked fatigued and was making some major tactical errors.
The home crowd were thoroughly behind Pouille as the Frenchman reeled off five games in a row to secure a 5-3 lead. The Spaniard wasn’t able to fight back in the set as Pouille sealed a 2 set to 1 lead on his fifth set point. The Spaniard took a much needed toilet break and came back to play some sublime tennis especially on return. A quick set of tennis saw Bautista Agut reel of two breaks as he ensured that this match would go to a deciding set.
The fifth set was dramatic and enthralling as both men played some really good tennis especially the world number 26, who was looking to give Spain some hope of winning this tie. The Spanish contingent knew this was a very important tie as they tried to encourage with every passing ball.
Eventually though it was the home crowd who would go home happy as some clever play from Pouille forced the important break and he sealed the win on a hawk-eye challenge to earn a spectacular five set win. The French camp looked ecstatic while the Spanish corner had a look of despair as Pouille brought France on the edge of victory.
https://twitter.com/DavisCup/status/1040659206486024192
Earlier in the day an emotional Benoit Paire won on his Davis Cup debut as he defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5 6-1 6-0 as the Spaniard continued his injury woes. It will now be the turn of Nicolas Mahut and Julien Benneteau to seal their place in the final when they take on Feliciano Lopez and Marcel Granollers in the doubles.
