Lucas Pouille beats Richard Gasquet to win Open Sud de France; Roberto Carballes Baena captures maiden title at Quito

Lucas Pouille won his fifth ATP title by beating Richard Gasquet 7-6(2), 6-4 in an all-French final at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier on Sunday. The second seed was solid on serve throughout, not facing a single break point as he prevailed on his fourth match point for his first title of the year. [caption id=“attachment_4347445” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Lucas Pouille poses with the Open Sud de France trophy after defeating Richard Gasquet. Image courtesy: Twitter/@OpenSuddeFrance [/caption] It was Gasquet’s sixth consecutive final in Montpellier, but his second defeat in a row after he was beaten by Germany’s Alexander Zverev last year. Gasquet won the title here in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Gasquet saved three break points and forced a tie-break in the first set. Pouille won two points on his opponent’s first serve to win it 7-2 and take the lead. Pouille broke decisively in the seventh game of the second set and did not look back. Spain’s Carballes wins shock Quito title Unheralded Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain captured his maiden ATP title on Sunday, winning the season’s opening claycourt event in Quito by seeing off compatriot Albert Ramos Vinolas, the second seed, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Carballes, the 24-year-old world number 107, is expected to rise by around 30 places in the rankings as a result of his victory. [caption id=“attachment_4347377” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Roberto Carballes Baena poses with the trophy after winning the final at Quito. Image courtesy: Twitter/@EcuadorOpen250[/caption] Caraballes Baena came through qualifying and then upset a trio of seeded players — eighth seed Nicolas Jarry, fourth seed Paolo Lorenzi and second seed Ramos-Vinolas on his way to the title. With the victory in the Ecuador Open final, Carballes Baena earned $89,435 and 250 ATP Rankings points. “I did not expect this when I came to Quito, but every day I have improved and now I have the title with me,” the Spaniard said after his win. “I did very well during the matches this week and they have been very hard matches, decided by small margins. I hope to enter more ATP tournaments to continue raising my level and win more matches,” he added. With inputs from agencies