Hopman Cup: David Ferrer edges Lucas Pouille for his last win in Australia
The penultimate day of this year's Hopman Cup has brought the longest singles match, with the Spanish veteran David Ferrer ousting Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 in two hours and 48 minutes to secure the win for Spain over France and came victorious in his last ever singles match in Australia before retiring in May in Madrid. Pouille defeated Ferrer twice in 2016 and he had an early lead in the third set today as well before David bounced back to win five straight games and complete the win in the tie break. Ferrer scored five breaks and he fends off six out of 10 break points on the other side to win the opener and match Lucas' pace in sets two and three before he emerged as a winner.
They traded breaks in games two and three and had more break chances in the middle of the set, missing them all to stay locked up at 4-4. David scored another break in game nine after a poor drop shot from Pouille and the Spaniard sealed the opener with a service winner in the next game after 45 minutes. Lucas sprayed a forehand error to get broken at the start of the second set and Ferrer fends off a couple of break points in game six to open up a 4-2 lead, moving closer to the finish line in his last match down under.
Out of sudden, Pouille broke back in game eight and he saved two break points in the rest of the set to set up a tie break, forcing an error from Ferrer in the 12th point to grab it 75 after more than an hour and send the match into a decider. There, the Frenchman landed a backhand return winner to earn the break in the opening game but he sent a forehand wide in game four to drop serve and keep the veteran in contention. David was on a roll now, breaking once again in game six and holding at 15 in the game that followed to open up a 5-2 lead after five straight games on his tally.
Serving for the win at 5-3, Ferrer netted a volley to give the serve away and they both served well in the remaining three games to go into the deciding tie break that Ferrer won 7-2, forcing an error from his opponent after an amazing defense to seal the deal and secure the overall win for Spain. In the first match of the day, Garbine Muguruza took down Alize Cornet 6-1, 6-3 in an hour and 15 minutes for her third win over Cornet in four matches. Garbine served at just 52% but her first serve worked like a charm, winning 21 out of 25 points and facing just three break points, losing serve once to keep the pressure on the other side of the net.
She dominated on the return as well, winning 55% of the points in Cornet's games and scoring five breaks from seven opportunities to wrap up the win in no time at all. Muguruza kicked off the match with a break in the opening game and she saved two break points in game two to open up the lead. Alize suffered another break in game three after a forehand winner from Garbine and she closed the opener with another break at 5-1 after 34 minutes. The Spaniard held at 15 at the start of the second set and she broke in the next game after a double fault from Alize who finally did something more on the return when she pulled the break back at love in game seven to reduce the deficit and stay in contention.
Still, she netted a forehand a few minutes later to give her serve away once again and Garbine secured the win after four straight points on serve in game nine. Due to injury, Garbine was unable to play the mixed doubles match and she was replaced by the young American Whitney Osuigwe who got a chance to play alongside great David Ferrer.
Spain vs France 2-0
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) vs Alize Cornet (FRA) 6-1 6-3 David Ferrer (ESP) vs Lucas Pouille (FRA) 6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(2)
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2TmvUXE
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