Gilles Simon gets past fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in straight sets on Saturday in Metz. Simon is joined in the final by compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who overcame Florian Mayer in three.
(2) Gilles Simon d. Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 7-6(2)
Simon continued his flawless trek through the Moselle Open draw by defeating Mahut in one hour and 31 minutes during semifinal action on Saturday afternoon. The 16th-ranked Frenchman, who has not dropped a set this week, got off to a dominant start. He broke Mahut twice in the opening set, including at 5-3 to wrap it up in style.
Holding comfortably the entire time, Simon lost only six service points each set–despite going through six service games in the second. Mahut saved two break points to force a tiebreaker in set two, but Simon always had the upper hand and raced trough it seven points to two. Mahut, a two-time winner on the ATP Tour this season, finished with nine aces and two double-faults.
(1) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. (8) Florian Mayer 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Tsonga recovered from a slow start to beat Mayer in one hour and 47 minutes in Metz’s second semifinal. The eighth-ranked Frenchman is competing in his first tournament since Wimbledon, and signs of rust were evident early in this one. Mayer lost only seven points in five first-set service games and he took advantage of 44 percent serving by his opponent to break once before closing out the opener on his racket at 5-4.
The rest of the way, however, it was almost all Tsonga. He won the last four games of the middle frame, breaking at 3-2 and 5-2 to force a third in decisive fashion. One break was enough for Tsonga in the decider because he lost just six points in four service games. Mayer survived a deuce game at 2-5, but Tsonga finished off the proceedings with a love hold. The No. 1 seed struck nine aces and three double-faults, while the eighth-seeded German recorded six aces and one double.
[polldaddy poll=7414768]
Leave a Reply