By Chris Oddo | Sunday, February 22, 2015
Gilles Simon captured his 12th career title with a three-set victory over Gael Monfils in the Marseille final.
Photo Source: Sky Sports
Gilles Simon outlasted Gael Monfils in a chess-like battle that ebbed and flowed, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), to claim his second Open 13 title and 12th of his career.
Simon, who doesn’t typically gain mention in discussions of France’s all-time greatest players, has plowed ahead steadily in his career, and now stands second among his compatriots on the Open Era title list. On Sunday he passed a trio of French legends, each more heralded and hyped than Simon ever was:
For years, Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga have been lauded for their creativity and explosiveness, while Simon has been labeled a pusher and a backboard. But any true tennis fan knows that labels don’t make the player, heart does, and when it comes to heart, Simon has displayed as much or more than any of his compatriots, including Sunday’s victim, the abundantly talented Gael Monfils.
Simon improved to 5-1 against Monfils, to become the winner in the fifth all-French final in the history of the Open 13. The Nice, France native also improved his career record in finals to an impressive 12-5 with the win.
"It was a great week, but a tough one physically,” Simon said. “I'm happy I won here since I won my first tournament in Marseille. I hope it won't be the last one."
After taking the final two games of the first set to take the early lead, Monfils rallied in the second, breaking three times on four opportunities and not facing a break point.
But Simon quickly redoubled his efforts to gain the first break of the third set before Monfils rallied to force the deciding set breaker.
Monfils drops to 5-17 lifetime in finals with the loss.
Marin Draganja and Henri Kontinen extended their unbeaten run to eight matches on Sunday to take the doubles title, 6-4, 3-6, 10-8, over Colin Fleming and Jonathan Marray.