Khachanov claims Marseille title to deny Pouille a home double

Lucas Pouille fell agonisingly short of claiming a second title in France in three weeks as Karen Khachanov prevailed in Marseille.

Published : Feb 25, 2018 22:23 IST

Karen Khachanov claimed his second ATP World Tour title on Sunday, denying home favourite Lucas Pouille in the final of the Open 13 Marseille.

Khachanov had won in his only previous final appearance, at the 2016 Chengdu Open, and made it two wins from two title matches by edging out Pouille 7-5 3-6 7-5.

As a result, Frenchman Pouille was denied a second tournament win in his homeland this month, following his success in Montpellier a fortnight ago.

Russia's Khachanov, who sent down 16 aces, will rise from 47th in the rankings, having sprung a shock by beating a player 31 places above him.

Pouille, who turned 24 on Friday, would have fancied his chances after a solitary break enabled him to bounce back from losing the opening set and level the match.

However, Khachanov claimed the crucial break in the 12th game of the decider, converting his second match point when Pouille netted a forehand from the baseline.

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