MAUTHAUSEN/STARNBERG, May 12, 2024
Lucas Pouille has returned to the winners’ circle by clinching the title of the 2024 Danube Upper Austria Open powered by SKE in Mauthausen, Austria. The 30-year-old Frenchman beat No. 6 seed Jozef Kovalik of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3 in Sunday’s singles final.
In the pair’s second meeting, Pouille converted four of his seven break-point chances and won 55 per cent of the total points played to succeed in one hour and 16 minutes.
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The World No. 229 claimed his second ATP Challenger Tour career title, his first since his triumph on home soil in Bordeaux 2019. Between 2016 and 2018 Pouille also lifted five trophies on the ATP Tour. The former top 10 player earned €16,550 in prize money as well as 100 ATP Ranking points.
“It’s my first title in five years. A lot has happened during this time. I’m extremely happy with how things are going right now. I had a great week and I’m really satisfied. But as you could see, it’s never easy to finish a match. It’s been a long time since I last won, so I was very nervous – although there was no need for that. Jozef had nothing to lose and played freely,” explained Pouille, who has his sights set on the French Open.
“After the win, I hope for a wildcard, otherwise, I’ll go through the qualifying rounds. I aim to return to the top 100 by the US Open and secure a spot in the main draw. That’s the next goal, then we’ll see.”
The final word belongs to tournament director Florian Leitgeb: “We are very happy. We saw a great winner who is on his way back to the top. I am convinced that we will hear many positive things from him in the future. It’s to be hoped that he can build on his past successes. We wanted to offer top-class tennis to the audience again, and we succeeded once again this year.”
