Female coach paying off for Pouille
Lucas Pouille had lost every Australian Open match he played until he hired Amelie Mauresmo as coach – a couple of months later, he’s into a grand slam semifinal for the first time.
The 24-year-old Frenchman will today play Novak Djokovic, who is aiming for a men’s record seventh Australian title.
Djokovic was leading 6-1, 4-1 and his quarterfinal match was less than an hour old on Wednesday night when eighthseeded Kei Nishikori retired with an injured right leg, finally succumbing after three of his four previous rounds went to five sets. It gave Djokovic a spot in the semifinals at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2016, when he won his second straight title and his fifth in six years.
‘‘Feels great. This has been my most successful grand slam throughout my career,’’ Djokovic said. ‘‘Past two years have been a bit tough with the elbow injury and everything.
‘‘Over the past 10 years, I’ve had plenty of success here. Everyone tries to get their hands on one of the four biggest titles in sport, but Australia has been really kind to me.’’ Pouille isn’t even sure how far he’s capable of going. But after losing in the first round on his five previous visits, he knows the trajectory is OK.
‘‘I didn’t win a match in Melbourne before,’’ Pouille said. ‘‘Now I’m in the semifinals. So just very, very happy.’’
Pouille fended off a strong comeback from 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic for a 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4 win, his first in three tries in a major quarterfinal and is first against the bigserving Canadian.
Mauresmo, who won two major titles as a player, including the 2006 Australian women’s title, had previously worked as Andy Murray’s coach. Pouille said Mauresmo had quickly worked out how to improve his game, giving him confidence.