Tennis News

History would not repeat itself on Sunday at the Moselle Open, as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Gilles Simon for his 12th ATP World Tour title and third in Metz.

In a rematch of the 2013 final, which Simon won in straight sets, Tsonga prevailed 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-2. Appearing in the Metz title match for the fourth time in five years, the 30 year old added to crowns earned in 2011 (d. Ljubicic) and 2012 (d. Seppi), boosting his bid to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in scoring 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points. Tsonga keeps pace with Simon and Milos Raonic, who also won on Sunday in St. Petersburg, remaining in the 15th spot in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

“I’m really happy to win again here in Metz,” said Tsonga. “I like the welcome I get here and to win this year is great. It’s my first of the year and I hope it will continue. It’s a good achievement for me.

“Gilles is very difficult to play against. You need energy with each ball you play against him. He’s a good defender and is always ready to play passing shots. When I play against him it’s always tough.” 

Tsonga was forced to dig in his heels in the early stages, surviving three straight deuce games on serve to open proceedings. Simon’s consistency rattled his countryman and Tsonga’s unforced error count began to rise. But the former World No. 5 was clutch in the big moments, denying a total six break points with four service winners, including three aces. The first set would come down to a tie-break and Tsonga would rally once again, storming back from 5-2 down to reel off five straight points and take the opener in 65 minutes.

Tsonga saved Simon’s seventh break opportunity with another ace in the second game of the second set, but Simon would capitalise on No. 8, securing the first break of the match with a rifled backhand pass. Tsonga was poised to break back immediately with a 0/40 lead in the next game, but the steady Simon would hold and force a third set.

In the decider, Tsonga rediscovered his first set form and two let cord forehands that dribbled over would aide him in breaking for 3-1 and eventually sealed Simon’s fate. He converted on his second match point four games later to prevail after two hours and 16 minutes.

Tsonga improved to 7-3 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry and pulled level with Simon and Richard Gasquet for second on the list of French titlists in the Open Era. The trio trails only Yannick Noah (23). In addition, Tsonga extended the run of home grown dominance in Metz, becoming the sixth Frenchman to triumph in the past seven years.

Simon, who was bidding for his third Metz crown (2010, ‘13), falls to 12-6 in ATP World Tour finals. He takes home €42,100 and 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points.

It has been a turbulent season for Milos Raonic, but with a cry of triumph, the Canadian ended a 14-month title drought on Sunday in St. Petersburg as he defeated Joao Sousa 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to capture his seventh ATP World Tour title.

“It’s such a great feeling to come to St. Petersburg and to be able to win this event,” said Raonic. “It was a great experience overall with the event, the city and the people. This tournament is only going to get better. Word is going to spread about how much the players enjoyed it.”

Raonic still has an outside chance of clinching one of the four remaining berths at the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Winning the St. Petersburg Open title brings the Canadian an additional 250 points in the Emirates ATP Race To London, which will see him pass Marin Cilic into 12^th position.

“It would be special [to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals again], especially with the health issues I’ve had,” said Raonic. “It is something that will require a lot of winning the rest of this year, but I believe I can do it.”

The 24-year-old Raonic made his debut at the Final Showdown in London last year, but has a lot of ground to make up if he is to return to The O2 from 15-22 November. The Toronto native’s season was derailed in May when he was forced to miss Roland Garros to undergo surgery on his right foot. It was a slow return to form and fitness for the right-hander, who would lose in the third round at both Wimbledon (l. to Kyrgios) and the US Open (l. to Lopez).

Victory over Sousa brings Raonic his first ATP World Tour title since he defeated countryman Vasek Pospisil in the Citi Open final in Washington in early August 2014. The right-hander finished runner-up to Roger Federer in the Brisbane final at the start of the 2015 season.

Raonic’s resolve was tested against the in-form Sousa, who became the only man this week to break the Canadian’s famed serve to clinch the second set. Having lost the first set to a service break in the fourth game, Sousa fended off four break points in the early stages of the second set before immediately breaking Raonic for a 3-1 lead and holding on to level the match.

The second-seeded Raonic benefitted from a Sousa double fault to grab a break in the second game of the deciding set before saving four break points in a crucial third game. Raonic would go on to clinch victory in two hours and seven minutes, having struck 22 aces and saved nine of 10 break points.

“I think I played my best,” said Sousa. “Of course I feel sad that I couldn’t have the title here. I was really confident that I could beat him today, but he played and served very well in the important moments. I just have to congratulate him for the match.” 

Seventh seed Sousa lost in an ATP World Tour final for the third time this season, having finished runner-up to Thomaz Bellucci in Geneva and Dominic Thiem in Umag. The 26 year old from Portugal dropped to a 1-18 record against Top 10 players. His lone win was over No. 4 David Ferrer in the 2013 Kuala Lumpur quarter-finals en route to his maiden ATP World Tour title (d. Benneteau).

“This year has been a tough one,” said Sousa. “It has been my best year, but a tough one as I lost three finals. It’s really, really tough to accept it. But I think I can improve. I’m going to work for it and hopefully I can win the next one.”