Fourth seed Lucas Pouille advanced to the Open 13 Provence final with a 7-5, 6-3 win over sixth seed Richard Gasquet. The win propels Pouille into his second career championship match where he will face countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Pouille breaks late to take first set
There was a break chance for Gasquet straightaway, but Pouillle did well to save it. He would then have two break opportunities on the Gasquet serve, but the sixth seed was up to the task and held. Gasquet would waste two more break chances in the fifth game and two more in the ninth game, his wastefulness eventually coming back to haunt him.
Pouille would have a rash of opportunities towards the end of the set, including one at 5-4, but a prefect serve-and-volley play got Gasquet of trouble momentarily. At 6-5, Pouille would make the breakthrough, a Gasquet backhand missing the mark, the opening set to the fourth seed.
Pouille wins second set after jumping out to huge lead
The second set saw Pouille extend his run of games to seven, taking a quickfire 5-0 lead. He broke in the second game, a ripping forehand winner giving him a 2-0 lead and again in the fourth game, Pouille's aggressiveness paying off, a forehand volley winner extending his lead to 4-0. Finally, Gasquet would hold to get on the board.
The sixth seed would get one break back, but it was too little, too late as Pouille sealed the win with another forehand volley winner to reach his second career final, having won in Metz last fall, also played on indoor hard courts.
Pouille will face another Frenchman in the final, with Tsonga the second seed in Marseille and hoping to win his 14th career title on the south coast of his homeland.