Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, UAE

Men’s Final: [15] Lucas Pouille (FRA) vs. [23] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)

Perhaps the outcome was inevitable; however, sometimes a head-to-head record becomes irrelevant when a player is riding a wave of confidence. Pouille has gotten off to great start to his 2018 season; he made it to two finals and won one title already. Although Bautista Agut also won one title earlier in the season, he followed that with two consecutive early round losses.

Perhaps that was the inspiration for the Spaniard this tournament; and perhaps Pouille was exhausted. Pouille had opportunities to potentially extend the match in set two; however, despite breaking the Spaniard, he could not hold on to the lead. Too many errors were flying off the racquet of the French player, an indication perhaps of fatigue. While he may have been physically depleted, it was probably the mental fatigue that did him in. He was not as sharp as he needed to be against an opponent like the Spaniard, who can be doggedly persistent. Bautista Agut won 6-3, 6-4 to claim his first ATP 500 title and the eighth singles title of his career.

Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco

Men’s Final: [8] Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs. [9] Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)

The Argentine had only lost two sets to Anderson in their previous encounters and had won their most recent encounter last year without dropping a set; thus, the odds were in Del Potro’s favor. It is very tough to get past the mental barrier of never beating an opponent and it was made even more difficult by the additional obstacle of the crowd.

After struggling for years with his wrist injuries and various other niggling injuries, this victory will validate for the Argentine that he is getting back to that level where he can once again be a consistent threat to the top players. He defeated Anderson without facing a break point against his serve; completely keeping the pressure on his opponent to hold his own serve. In the end it was Anderson’s second serve that let him down and he was broken once in each set to lose the match 4-6, 4-6.

SOURCE OF IMAGE: Zimbio.com (HECTOR VIVAS/Getty Images South America: Juan Martin Del Potro)