Tennis News

While there wasn’t much of a match played on Sunday, Richard Gasquet successfully lifted his second title in Montpellier after the Polish No. 1 Jerzy Janowicz retired just four games into the match.

The Frechman needed just three games to win the match, as Janowicz was forced to retire from the contest with an illness. Gasquet won the vast majority of the points played and held a 3-0 lead with 14 consecutive points won before Janowicz decided to surrender the match.

“I knew he was sick when we were warming up. I saw very quickly at the beginning of the match that he couldn’t play at all,” said Gasquet. “Anything can happen, so even though I knew he was sick, I stayed focused. I had a great week, with solid matches. It’s good for the rest of the season. I felt that I played well this week. I feel 100 per cent and ready for the season.”

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Janowicz, who was one of the top prospects in discussion back in 2012, is yet to win his maiden title on the ATP World Tour.

“I’m extremely disappointed because I felt pretty OK the whole week,” said Janowicz. “I saved six match points in the first round and after that I played pretty good tennis. Two days ago, I got sick. I haven’t slept in almost two days. I had a fever and the flu and I’m so weak. There was not much that I could do today.”

For the 28-year-old Gasquet, this was his eleventh title on the ATP World Tour and is now 10-12 in finals. It was his best performance of the season to date, following a third round Aussie Open exit and quarter-final loss in Doha. He will look to carry on in his current form following a humdrum 2014 season.

For the first time in five attempts, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez was able to dispatch Andreas Seppi to win the PBZ Zagreb Indoor title on Sunday.

The Spaniard, who has been in top form since the start of 2015, given his run during the Australian Open, defeated his Italian adversary in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-3 to lift his first title of the season.

“You don’t win a tournament every week,” said an emotional Garcia-Lopez following the match. “This is only my fourth title during my whole career so of course it was an emotional moment. I was thinking about those moments when you are working hard, practicing a lot, spending a lot of hours on court. Every title is of course a really good moment for players, so this one is a nice one, for sure.”

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The world No. 33 hit 25 winners and converted two break points to secure the victory in 97 minutes of court time. This marks the fourth title of his career. He also walked away with €80,000 and 250 Emirates ATP Ranking points with the win, while Seppi left with €42,100 and 150 ranking points.

“I was a bit tired mentally and physically by the end of the second set,” Seppi said. “I tried to stay calm but I felt like I had no energy. It is a little bit disappointing. It was the final. I was one step away from winning the tournament but I have to see the positive things. I didn’t play my best tennis but I made it to the final with some good fighting spirit so it is pretty positive.”