2011 Medibank International Sydney: Viktor Troicki ousts Florian Mayer to face Gilles Simon in title battle
Serbian Viktor Troicki triumphed in his semifinal match of the 2011 Medibank International Sydney on Friday. The right hander knocked out Florian Mayer of Germany in two sets on his way to the title battle. The final match score
was 6-4, 7-6(4).
Seeded 4th for the tournament, Viktor blasted a total of thirteen aces and converted four of his eight break point chances to confirm his berth in the finals, where the Serbian will take on Gilles Simon of France. Meanwhile,
the Frenchman made his way into the finals after posting a straight set victory earlier in the day against Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. He won 7-6(1), 6-0 in a match which just lasted one hour and thirteen minutes.
Viktor, who made his debut on the ATP tour back in 2006, is currently ranked number 30 in the South African Airways ATP list. He is recently coming off his performance in the Davis Cup finals where Serbia emerged victorious against
France for the first time on the tour. He won the deciding rubber versus Michael Llodra in three sets to seal his country’s first Davis Cup crown.
While commenting on his side’s Davis Cup loss and whether there was a rivalry between the two nations, Simon said, “The Davis Cup is finished now. It's a good memory for them and bad for us. That is it. Even if I win 6-0, 6-0 tomorrow,
it won't change anything.”
Viktor, who last year got the better of Florent Serra 7-6(5), 6-4 in his opening round match, before losing to Marcos Baghdatis in the next, will take part in his fourth ATP World Tour title battle on Saturday.
The Frenchman currently leads the pair's head to head series by 4-0. Interestingly, Simon has triumphed in all four of their career clashes without even dropping a single set on tour. Therefore, Simon definitely heads into the
title battle in Sydney as the hot favourite to win the crown.
However, considering Viktor’s form and the way he played in today’s match against Mayer, the Serbian will be high on confidence and will surely prove a big hurdle in Simon’s way to victory.
Tags: