Mercedes Cup 2017: Feliciano Lopez, Lucas Pouille Advance to Final

Feliciano Lopez and Lucas Pouille will meet in the final of the 2017 Mercedes Cup after winning their semi-final matches in Stuttgart, Germany, on Saturday.

Lopez sent sixth seed Mischa Zverev packing, despite being taken to three sets, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 7-5. Meanwhile, Pouille beat fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 7-5.

The final will be played on Sunday, June 18, per Protennislive.com.

Recap

The key to Lopez's win was a powerful service game that consistently proved too much for Zverev, per ATP Media Info:

Yet, despite his powerful serving, Lopez still had to endure a pair of tiebreaks to get through the opening two sets.

As ESPN's Brad Gilbert noted, two big hitters were loving unleashing their serve-and-volley games on grass:

Finally, Lopez was able to break serve at a crucial time as he took control in the third set.

The Spaniard simply had too much strength and savvy for fellow left-hander Zverev. Now Lopez will play to continue his nation's fine run of success at this tournament:

Winning will demand Lopez overcomes an impressive Pouille, who showed the full range of his shots to beat Paire in two tight sets. Pouille saved a pair of break points to eventually win the opener but only after a tiebreak.

He needed to win seven games again to finally overcome Paire in the second. Again, a key break of serve helped see the eventual winner through.

Getting to a final has been common for Pouille this season, but the surface in Stuttgart will represent a first for him:

It's a clear disadvantage against a serve-and-volley specialist like Lopez, who is clearly loving his time playing on grass. The Spaniard has to be the favourite for Sunday's final.

All scoring information and match statistics, per the ATP World Tour official website.