Dustin Brown upset No. 3 seed Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the Open Sud de France on Thursday afternoon. Brown punched a ticket into his ninth career ATP quarterfinal after just one hour and four minutes of play. The German is 0-8 lifetime in quarterfinal matches and will hope to end that skid against Ruben Bemelmans on Friday.
One break in each set was enough for Brown because he was untouchable on serve. The world No. 133 fired 10 aces without double-faulting a single time. He put in 65 percent of his first deliveries and won 83 percent of those points. Simon got a look at two break points but could not convert on either occasion.
“Gilles is a great player; I’ve played against him twice before and lost,” Brown commented. “Watching his last matches and knowing how he plays, I wanted to be aggressive with my serve and my return. I tried not to let him play his strengths. I didn’t give him a lot of time.”
“It was a tough match,” Simon admitted. “Dustin played fantastic. He was really confident and he was very successful in everything he was trying. He was really aggressive on serve, with a high percentage, and even on second serve. He put on the pressure from the first point to the last.”
Highlights:
Brown is not the only German enjoying success this week–far from it. Angelique Kerber’s unexpected triumph at the Australian Open appears to have inspired her German counterparts on the ATP World Tour. Three of the four Germans in the Montpellier draw are through to the quarterfinals, as Alexander Zverev and Michael Berrer are also in the last eight. Zverev upset No. 2 seed Marin Cilic on Wednesday, while Berrer has gotten past Borna Coric and Kenny De Schepper in straight sets.
Those two countrymen will go head-to-head on Friday. Additionally, the Zverev brothers–Alexander and Mischa–are already into the doubles semis.
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huge stuff from Dreds
Meal tickets are everywhere.
Which is a good thing. Dreddy is skin and bones.
#FrenchCuisine
Simon is out? I did not see this one coming.
Paire out
Dang. So many upsets in Montpellier.
`I meant to watch the match and got distracted by one thing or another.
Cmon Dreddy!!
It’s no fun watching Brown play. It’s hit or miss all the time.
you kidding me? One of the most exciting players on tour.
Exactly.
Hey, I like how this is looking for Sascha…maybe.
Hesitate to say because anyone I pick in Montpellier loses.
rc,
LOL! Your comment was just too funny! You seem to be slightly cursed with this tournament!
I think it’s been kind of funky with some unexpected results. I don’t know that anyone could have seen it coming.
Nny, I don’t usually do picks for 250’s. However, Ricky does these picks and previews and I love it, even though I suck! lol…
What is happening in Montpellier? Lots of seeds falling, should make for interesting match ups.
#February
Yay Dreddy! His first semifinal!
He could win this. If it wasn’t for Gasquet :/
Yessss!!!! Dreddy sets up a semi with gasquet!! Allez no letdown baby!!!!! Cmon Dustin!