Gilles Muller
(June 18, 2017) Gilles Muller and Lucas Pouille won titles on the ATP World tour this week.
With his children in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch crowd, Muller celebrated Father’s Day with a win over another father, Ivo Karlovic 7-6(5), 7-6 (4) for the Ricoh Open title. This was Mulller’s second title on the ATP World Tour.
The final between 38-year-old Karlovic and 34-year-old Muller was the oldest ATP World Tour final since Hong Kong in 1977, when 42-year-old Ken Rosewall defeated 30-year-old Ilie Nastase
Muller said: “I think we should make a suggestion to the ATP that we just start with the tie-break next time! It’s always tough to play Ivo and I’m glad I could beat him. I had many friends and a lot of family coming, so it’s been a great week here.”
All seven sets they have played against each other have all been tiebreak sets.
“It’s been an excellent week,” Karlovic said. “I’m really happy. Gilles had an unbelievable week and it’s nice he could win on Father’s Day!”
Lucas Pouille
In Stuttgart, Lucas Pouille won his ATP third title, beating Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 for the Mercedes Cup title.
Pouille survived a match point in his opening round.
“It was a very tough match, Pouille said. “The second-set tie-break was very important and the key to winning the match. I took my opportunities a little bit more than him, so that made the difference. Obviously If you win the first tournament of the grass season, you’re very confident. Every tournament is different, so I’ll need to focus again and get ready for my first match in Halle.”
“It was a very good week for me overall,” Lopez said. It’s tough for me to be happy after such a close match, but he deserved the win today. I’ve been very loyal to this tournament. I grew up watching all my friends win this tournament, but everyone here has made it even better than it was in the past.”
This was 23-year-old Pouille’s third final of the year.