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Shapovalov stunned by qualifier Gunneswaran; Raonic advances
Lucas Pouille improved to 5-1 at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart on Wednesday as the Frenchman advanced past #NextGenATP German Rudolf Molleker 6-3, 6-4. The second seed hit 10 aces and dropped only five points on his first serve (31/36) in the 49-minute victory.

Pouille became the fifth active Frenchman to crack the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings on 19 March, but the 24-year-old hadn't reached a quarter-final since the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where Pouille reached the final on 3 March. He won the 2017 Stuttgart title, beating Spaniard Feliciano Lopez for his first grass-court crown. In the Stuttgart quarter-finals, Pouille will face Ubzekistan's Denis Istomin. Molleker, 17, celebrated his first tour-level win on Monday.

Read & Watch: Molleker, 17, Celebrates Maiden Tour-Level Win

Germany's Maximilian Marterer continued his strong run of form, coming from a set down to beat lucky loser Viktor Galovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Marterer saved five of six break points as he notched his 15th tour-level victory of the season after one hour and 34 minutes. The German is competing at a career high No. 50 in the ATP Rankings after reaching the Round of 16 at Roland Garros (l. to Nadal).

The 22-year-old will meet Nick Kyrgios for a quarter-final spot. The Australian has not played a singles match on the ATP World Tour since his quarter-final loss to Ivo Karlovic at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in April.


Prajnesh Gunneswaran, competing in just his fourth tour-level match, produced a big upset to defeat #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-3. Gunneswaran, ranked No. 169, twice recovered from a break down to take a one-set lead before securing victory, on his fifth match point, after one hour and 49 minutes. The Indian qualifier will face Argentina's Guido Pella for a spot in the quarter-finals.

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Seventh seed Milos Raonic saved two set points in the first set before safely progressing to the second round, beating fellow Stuttgart debutant Mirza Basic 7-6(8), 6-2.

The Canadian fired 15 aces and only lost one point behind his first serve to move past the Diema Xtra Sofia Open champion in 83 minutes. Raonic will meet Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open titlist Marton Fucsovics in the second round.

Watch Highlights: Home Favourite Marterer Comes Back


Benoit Paire also progressed to the second round, beating #NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2. The Frenchman hit 15 aces and converted five of eight break point chances.

Did You Know?
Lucas Pouille is looking to become just the second man in MercedesCup history to successfully defend his title. The only man to ever retain his title in Stuttgart is Austria's Thomas Muster (1995-1996).

More Stories Like This In: Stuttgart 2018 Match Report Lucas Pouille

Frenchman will look to overcome FedEx ATP Head2Head deficit against Raonic

Second seed and defending champion Lucas Pouille struck 20 aces in a battling 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 victory over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan in two hours and four minutes on Friday at the MercedesCup.

"It was a tough one. Denis is a great player. He's a great grass-court player," Pouille said. "I knew it would be a difficult match."


Frenchman Pouille, who reached the final at three of his first five tournaments this season, triumphing in Montpellier, won just five of 11 matches before arriving in Stuttgart. But he has bounced back this week, advancing to a semi-final for the first time since the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (l. in final to Bautista Agut).

The 24-year-old won 86 per cent of his first-service points, saving all four break points he faced. Istomin needed three set point chances to win the second set, first failing to convert a point on Pouille’s serve at 4-5, 30/40. Pouille won four of the first five games in the decider.


Next, the Frenchman will face 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, who found his best tennis under the most pressure to beat Tomas Berdych 7-6(2), 7-6(1), winning seven of eight points on the third seed's serve in the tie-breaks.

"Today was a difficult match. I didn't have any chances to break serve, so I had to be very good in my own game. I got a few good returns there in the tie-breaks and I was a little bit lucky, but I'm happy with the way I competed," Raonic said. "It's never easy playing tie-breaks. It could go either way very quickly. So you've got to be very disciplined with yourself and I was fortunate to get through today."


Raonic takes a 2-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead against Pouille into the semi-finals, having won all five of the pair's sets by a margin of 6-4 or greater. It will be their first meeting on grass.

"The return is going to be very important," Pouille said. "I'm going to try to keep my serve as good as I can to put pressure on [his] serve."

The Canadian will attempt to reach his first final since the 2017 TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open. The 27-year-old has not lifted an ATP World Tour title since the 2016 Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.


Did You Know?
Milos Raonic faced his first two break points of the tournament against Tomas Berdych, but saved them both, He has now won all 31 of his service games on the Stuttgart grass.

Frenchman will face Mayer or Mmoh in the second round
It looked like former World No. 1 Andy Murray would take a 5-0 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Lucas Pouille on Monday when he stormed through the second set of their first-round match at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

But No. 16 seed Pouille bounced back to earn his first victory against the Scot, triumphing 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 after one hour, 53 minutes. It will be a confidence-boosting win for the Frenchman, who arrived in Ohio having won just five of his past seven tour-level matches. He will face the winner of Argentine Leonardo Mayer and #NextGenATP American Michael Mmoh for a spot in the third round.


It is Pouille's first victory in Cincinnati, having lost in his only previous appearance two years ago against Aussie Nick Kyrgios. Perhaps beating Murray will be the spark that helps the 24-year-old return to the form that helped him lift the trophy in Montpellier earlier this year, while also reaching the final in Dubai and Marseille.

Pouille became the fifth active Frenchman to crack the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings on 19 March, joining Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He is the French No. 1 at World No. 17.

The Dubai resident was especially impressive on return, breaking Murray four times, and winning 42 per cent of return points in the match. He put plenty of pressure on the 45-time tour-level champion, going after his shots from the baseline to keep Murray from controlling the pace of play. Often it was Pouille moving forward to finish off the ground or at net into the open court, with Murray scrambling deep behind the baseline.

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It appeared after the second set, when Murray lost just four service points, that he was back in command against a player to whom he had never lost a set. In fact, their closest set had been 7-5, with the rest finishing at a margin of 6-3 or greater. But Pouille capitalised on a Murray double fault to earn an immediate break in the third set, and he did not look back from there. Murray double-faulted on three of Pouille's break-point opportunities.

Murray was competing in just his fourth tournament in 13 months as he continues his comeback from hip surgery, which he underwent in January. The 31-year-old had reached the quarter-finals at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. in his most recent event. He triumphed in Cincinnati in 2008 and 2011.

Did You Know?
Pouille has reached the semi-finals of two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, both on clay. He made the last four at last year's Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and the 2016 Internazionali BNL D'Italia.

Coric, Cilic give Croatia 2-0 lead against the United States

FRANCE 2, SPAIN 0
Venue: Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille, FRA (hard - indoor)

The defending champion, France, did not have it easy on Friday. But nevertheless, the country took a commanding 2-0 lead in its semi-final tie against five-time winner Spain in Lille.

French captain Yannick Noah’s decision to blood Benoit Paire paid off when the 29-year-old debutant overcame Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 in one hour and 54 minutes. Paire struck 37 winners, including 16 aces, to give his country the early

And while there was not much between French No. 1 Lucas Pouille and Roberto Bautista Agut in the second rubber, it was Pouille who outlasted the Spaniard 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Earlier this year in Dubai, Bautista Agut claimed the biggest title of his career by defeating Pouille in the final.

But the Frenchman, despite winning three fewer points in the match, struck 19 aces and 52 total winners en route to his three-hour, 41-minute triumph.

CROATIA 2, UNITED STATES 0
Sportski Centar Visnjik, Zadar – Clay (Outdoors)

Croatia got off to the perfect start on Friday by taking a 2-0 lead over 32-time champion United States in the Davis Cup semi-finals. World No. 6 Marin Cilic and Borna Coric put the 2005 titlist in a strong position for a return to the final for a second consecutive year.

Coric

World No. 6 Marin Cilic capitalised on early nerves from #NextGenATP Frances Tiafoe, who is making his debut as the 141st player to represent the United States, to win 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(5) in two hours and 14 minutes. Cilic now has a 37-16 record in the competition, breaking a tie with Ivan Ljubicic (37-19) for most rubbers won for Croatia.

Borna Coric defeated American Steve Johnson 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-3 in two hours and 24 minutes in the first singles rubber in Zadar. The 21-year-old recorded his 30th match win of the season, hitting 23 winners and winning 81 per cent of his first-service points. He lifted his second ATP World Tour title at the Gerry Weber Open (d. Federer) in June.