Upset Propels Pouille

Lucas Pouille may be young, but the 21-year-old Frenchman played with veteran poise on Thursday at the Brisbane International, upsetting No. 6 seed David Goffin 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the quarter-finals.

Pouille, the youngest of 10 Frenchmen in the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, raced out to a 3-0 lead in the topsy-turvy opening set. But Goffin would level the score at 4-all, save a set point serving at 4-5 and force a tie-break. But Pouille held on to take the stanza.

Goffin wasn’t finished just yet. With Pouille serving to stay in the second set at 4-5, the Belgian Davis Cup hero scored a timely break of his own to even things at a set apiece.

But Pouille took control with a service break in the seventh game of the deciding set, and later added his third break to close it out in just over two hours.

This was their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Pouille, who out-aced his opponent 13-9 and saved nine of 11 break points, now awaits the winner of the Milos Raonic vs. Ivan Dodig match-up.

Doubles Dispatch: Inglot/Lindstedt Into Brisbane Semis

With the last remaining spot in the Brisbane semi-finals on the line, No. 4 seeds Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt downed the all-Aussie duo of Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith 7-6(0), 6-2 in one hour and five minutes.

It was the all-Aussie duo of Reid/Smith that jumped out to a 2-0 first-set lead, but Inglot/Lindstedt stormed back to victory. They will next face No. 2 seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers.