Gilles Simon had never beaten South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in three meetings on the ATP tour, though he had taken him to three sets on two of those occasions. However, the 33-year-old from France used the big stage of an ATP 250 Series final to record his first win against Anderson on Saturday. Simon negated Anderson’s booming service with superb returns for a 7-6(4), 6-2 win in the final of the Tata Open Maharashtra to clinch his maiden title in India. This was his 13th ATP tour singles title and earned him 250 ranking points and a cheque of $89,435 while Anderson got 150 points and a cheque of $47,105 for his efforts. Simon, who won his last ATP tour title at Marseille in 2015, was once ranked among top 10 and has slipped to 89 in rankings. But on Saturday, the 6’0” Frenchman seemed to have launched his bid to climb back into the top echelons with a dominating performance against a player ranked 14th in the world.

Source: Hindustantimes