The Rebel battles past Pouille to wrap up Day 1 at UTS Oslo

Benoit Paire kept his UTS Oslo hopes alive with a sudden-death victory over fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Friday night. The Rebel trailed two quarters to one but came back to win 20-13, 15-18, 17-19, 23-15, 2-1.

It was expected to be a different all-French showdown featuring The Rebel and Gael “La Monf” Monfils. However, Monfils was disqualified from the event, an announcement which came after his loss to Alex “The Demon” de Minaur during Friday’s afternoon session.

That put Pouille on the court, and for a while The French Flair had the upper hand against his compatriot. However, The Rebel dominated quarter four and came out on top in sudden death two points to one.

Because of his win, Paire still has a chance to advance out of round robin despite losing to Andrey “Rublo” Rublev 20-12, 20-14, 22–16 earlier int he day. The Rebel, Rublo and The Demon all have one win in Group B, but Paire has already played two matches whereas Rublo and The Demon both won their lone match of the day.

Pouille, who was making his first UTS appearance since UTS1 in 2020, cannot qualify for the semi-finals.

Saturday’s Group B schedule in Oslo includes Rublo vs The Demon, The Rebel vs The Demon, and Rublo vs The French Flair.

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