AFP
Rome, Italy
Lucky loser Lucas Pouille set up a possible semi-final clash with British second seed Andy Murray at the Rome Masters after Juan Monaco of Argentina pulled out of their scheduled quarter-final with injury on Friday.
It is the second time in the tournament the 22-year-old Frenchman has advanced without hitting a ball in anger. After falling in the final round of qualifying, Pouille was granted a main draw berth when countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew.
He capitalised to defeat Ernests Gulbis of Latvia in the second round and reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final on Thursday with an epic performance that saw him oust Spanish ninth seed David Ferrer 6-4, 6-1.
The Frenchman was set to meet Monaco on the red clay of the Foro Italico early on Friday but Monaco announced his retirement before the match started after reportedly complaining of soreness in his hip. Pouille is now set for a Centre Court showdown on Saturday with either Murray or Belgian David Goffin, who stunned Czech Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-0 on Thursday.
Murray and Goffin face off later Friday, when the highlight will be a quarter-final clash between seven-time champion Rafael Nadal and world number one Novak Djokovic. From 48 previous meetings, Djokovic holds the edge with 25 wins, and has won their last six meetings. Nadal's last win over the Serbian came in the final of Roland Garros two years ago. In the other men's quarter-final, Austria's Dominic Thiem faces Kei Nishikori of Japan.
