Gael Monfils dodges defeat to oust Gilles Simon in the semi-final battle – Open Sud de France 2012
Crowd at the Arena Montpellier, France, was in to watch an enthralling encounter between two of the top ranked local heroes, world number 12 Gilles Simon and the 13th ranked Gael Monfils on Saturday night. Everyone was stunned to see the amazing turnaround posed by the third seed Monfils, who saved one match point to turn the tables on the second seed Simon, marching into the final of the tournament in style.
Monfils battled out for two hours and 25 minutes before he finally took down the hard-hitting fellow compatriot. The final scores were 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, in favour of the third seed Frenchman, with the hot favourite Simon leaving the arena in a dismal fashion. Both men were applauded by their home crowd for the efforts they put in the contest.
It was one of the most breath-taking encounters of the entire tournament so far, with both French contestants throwing out their best at each other to clinch victory. Simon was the dominant figure in the early parts of the match but the third seed steadily built up his pace in the following set to force his way right back in the game. The second seed hot favourite earned a match point in the 12th game of the second set and was merely a stroke away from victory but couldn’t convert the all-important opportunity. He had to pay the price later on, as Monfils came out firing at him in the second set, driving him out of the competition to register his hard-fought victory in the end.
The third seed coughed 11 double faults in the match but secured 52 out of 69 first serve points en route to victory. Both men traded four serve breaks apiece in the contest and evenly distributed the total point being played between them in the matchup. It appeared just a matter of time that Simon failed to cash in the crucial opportunities in the game to let Monfils through to the final of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
Monfils will play the title round match against the world number seven, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, on Sunday evening. The top seed Czech has been absolutely belligerent throughout the tournament, penning down three straight sets victories to earn a spot in the final round. He overwhelmed the seventh seed German opponent, Philipp Kohlschreiber, in the semis, ousting him at 6-3, 6-4, to book a date with Monfils in the title match of the Open Sud de France. Although Berdych will be anticipated as the hot favourite in the match, the local crowd will cheer every stroke of Monfils in the match to encourage him to take down the superior-ranked Czech competitor.
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