Gael Monfils outplayed Jarkko Nieminen to claim the title – If Stockholm Open 2011
World number 10, Gael Monfils of France bagged his first ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) championship of the year, after defeating the 62nd ranked Finn competitor, Jarkko Nieminen, in the final of the If Stockholm Open on Sunday evening.
Being played on the indoor hard courts of Stockholm, Sweden, the local crowd witnessed an enthralling contest between the two finalists. Top seed Monfils took one hour and fifty two minutes of play to settle the final scores at 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, to claim the ATP World Tour 250 title in style.
It was Monfils' second straight victory against Nieminen, who also suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Frenchman in Bangkok, Thailand, earlier this season. The Frenchman recorded his 36th victory of the running year to bag his fourth career title in Stockholm.
Monfils got hold of the contest early by pocketing the opener after a stiff fight with his opponent but frittered away his momentum in the following set. Nieminen cashed in some vital chances in the second set to make his way back in the game but the world number 10 proved too good for him in the final set and disposed him of to seal the championship victory.
"My concentration was the key for me today," said Monfils. "I just believed I could win this match. Jarkko was playing good when he was in front. Some spots in the match were high level tennis and he was moving well. At the end I think he got a bit fatigued. I played him three weeks ago [in Bangkok], but I was more impressed with him today."
The contest appeared evenly posed throughout, with the two contestants battling extremely hard to clinch the title. Monfils' 72 per cent serve included 13 cracking aces and he reeled off 38 out of 54 first serve points in the matchup to come out as the winner. The top seed French crafted a total of 17 break opportunities in the competition and converted six of them to root out Nieminen.
"Even though the first set was really tight, I felt I had to be more aggressive as it was working well this week," Nieminen said.
The unseeded Finn competitor played aggressive tennis in the opening two sets but lost all of his steam in the final set to lose he battle. He suffered two straight serve breaks from the French opponent and missed out to vital points to submit the final set to Monfils.
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