From Brink Of Qualifying Exit, Pouille Powers Into R2 In Winston-Salem

Lucas Pouille faced match point in his second-round qualifying match at the Winston-Salem Open on Sunday against Noah Rubin. But after rallying past the American, the Frenchman found his form and on Monday dismissed Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-4 to reach the second round of the  main draw.

The former World No. 10 saved all four break points he faced and won 83 per cent of his first-serve points to earn his first tour-level win since April at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he reached the third round. Pouille now has won five consecutive matches against Lopez and leads their ATP Head2Head series 5-1.

Next up for the 27-year-old qualifier will be third seed Daniel Evans, a wild card who received a bye in the first round. The Briton won the pair's only previous clash in four sets at the 2019 US Open.

[FOLLOW ACTION]

Argentine Federico Coria clawed past #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 after two hours and 44 minutes in the North Carolina heat, and he will play French lucky loser Pierre-Hugues Herbert for a place in the third round.

In other action, Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori beat American qualifier Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-4 and Australian Jordan Thompson eliminated Argentine lefty Guido Pella 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.

Did You Know?
Pouille won three of his five ATP Tour titles after saving match point: 2017 Budapest (2 MPs vs. Vesely in R2), 2017 Stuttgart (1 MP vs. Struff in R2) and 2018 Montpellier (2 MPs vs. Tsonga in SF).