Gilles Simon takes Tata Open Maharashtra
The unseeded Simon won his first ATP 250 World Tour event after having last won in Marseille in 2015.
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Pune: Unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon was crowned the Tata Open Maharashtra champion after he beat second-seed Kevin Anderson in straight sets 7-6, 6-2 in an entertaining final held at the Mhalunge Balewadi Stadium here on Saturday.
The 33-year-old Frenchman produced some amazing tennis throughout the tournament as he beat defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-final and then caused an upset beating top-seed and world no. six Marin Cilic in the semi-final.
In the final, the world No.89 kept his great run going. He started the first set well and went on to break Anderson's serve in the seventh game to take a 5-3 lead.
Anderson struck back to break Simon's serve in the 10th game to take the set into a tie-break. It was Simon who kept his nerve and won the first set 7-6.
Even though Anderson hit a total of 10 aces in the first set, his return let him down as Simon (38 per cent) had a slightly better return percentage than Anderson (30 per cent).
In the second set, it was neck-and-neck until the fourth game (2-2). Frenchman broke Anderson's serve and it seemed like the 33-year-old was up for it as he went on to win the second set 6-2 and the match, not giving the South African any chance of finding a way back into the match.
This was Simon's first victory against Anderson after having lost on three previous occasions to the South African.
The 33-year-old Simon seemed ecstatic with the victory, he said, "I did not have a great season last year but I am very happy and excited to have started the season by winning the title here in India.
"This is my first appearance here in India and I am delighted to have won in front of a great crowd which has always supported me from the first day."
Simon was awarded the prize money of $89,435 and has won 250 ATP ranking points for winning the Singles competition while Anderson was awarded a cheque of $47,105, winning 150 ATP ranking points.
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