Defending Moselle Open champion Lucas Pouille has failed to defend his title. World No. 86 Marius Copil beat home-favorite Pouille 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (8-6) in the final 16 stage in Metz on Thursday. Copil defeated Pouille for the first time in his career, having lost two times to the Frenchman previously.
Pouille lost the first set after being unable to convert either of his two set points on Copil's serve in the 10th game of the opener. Pouille then saved three consecutive set points on his serve in the 10th game of the second set to stay alive. Pouille managed to clinch a set point at 6-5 in the second set tie-break but then lost three points in a row -- and eventually, the match.
Copil fired 15 aced and won 84 percent of his first serve points against Pouille. France's Pouille hit 11 aces but paid the price for realizing just one of his six break point tries on Thursday. The match came to an end after an hour and 45 minutes of play.
An unexpected matchup
Next up for Copil is set to be world No. 95 Peter Gojowczyk. Germany's Gojowczyk stunned local No. 8 seed Gilles Simon to reach the Metz quarter-finals. The projected quarter-final meeting between Frenchmen Pouille and Simon won't be the case. Gojowczyk beat Copil in Wimbledon round one this past July.
Goffin escapes a surprise
Belgian tennis player David Goffin survived a tricky clash against veteran Nicolas Almagro. Belgian national Goffin handed a 3-6 6-3 6-3 loss to Almagro to reach the Moselle Open quarter-finals.
Goffin, who also beat Almagro earlier this year at the Monte Carlo Masters, now trails 3-2 to the Spaniard in their head-to-head record.
Goffin managed to successfully bounce back after losing the first set. Goffin broke Almagro early on in the next two sets on his way to creating a comeback. The No. 2 seed converted his first match point on the Spaniard's serve to close out the match.
Goffin fired 13 aces and saved 4-of-6 of the break point chances he faced against Almagro. Goffin took the most out of his break point tries, breaking Almagro four times in five attempts. It took just over an hour and a half for the No. 2 seed to get the job done in Metz.
Paire awaits Goffin
Goffin is now set to meet home-favorite Benoit Paire in the Metz quarter-finals.
France's Paire took down Marcel Granollers in straight sets on Thursday to prolong his campaign in Metz. Goffin and Paire will be clashing off for the fourth time in their respective careers on Friday. Paire enters the match with a 2-1 record over Goffin. However, Goffin beat Paire in their last match, which came at the Shanghai Masters in 2016.