Pouille To Face Krajinovic In Dubai Semi-finals

Dubai second seed Lucas Pouille continues his bid for a second title of 2017 after dismissing No. 8 seed Yuichi Sugita 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday.

Listen: Pouille Post-Match Interview (mp3) | Browse the DDF Tennis Audio Archive

Pouille needed one hour and 53 minutes to secure the victory, and will play Filip Krajinovic of Serbia for a place in Saturday’s final. Krajinovic beat Evgeny Donskoy 6-1 6-2.

The Frenchman’s strong performance in the desert comes on the heels of a great showing in Marseille, where he finished runner-up to Karen Khachanov. He earned his fifth career title earlier this month, in Montpellier (d. Gasquet)

“I knew it would be a tough one,” said Pouille. “[Sugita] won plenty of matches in the past six, seven months. He’s a very good player. I knew I had to play some good tennis to win. I think after I lost the first set, I started to be a bit more aggressive, especially in the return. I was very close from the baseline, even sometimes inside the court to return the second serve. That put him under pressure. I think that made the difference.”

Krajinovic made a swift start against Donskoy and swept the first four games, and although Donskoy then made more of a challenge he was unable to turn the match in his favour.

The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which continues until 3rd March, is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free and held under the patronage of H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Tickets are on sale online and from the Box Office, which is open 9am -9pm daily. For ticket sales go to http://www.dubaidutyfreetennischampionships.com/en/tickets. For further information about the tournament visit www.dubaidutyfreentennischampionships.com.