Tennis News

For the second time in three years, home hopes Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will square off in the Moselle Open final.

Second seed Simon will seek a third Metz crown after holding off Martin Klizan 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday. The Frenchman converted on four of six break chances during the one hour and 37 minute affair, but came under heavy pressure in both sets. Klizan earned a break lead at 4-2 in the first and again for 3-0 in the second, but Simon was too strong, breaking back twice and eventually taking his first match point.

“It’s great to be in the final in Metz,” said Simon. “I have a lot of memories. It’s one of my most successful tournaments. Every time I won it, I had a child in the month before. My wife and my son being here in 2013 and lifting the trophy in front of them was a nice memory.”

Simon has not relinquished a set all week in defeating Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Gilles Muller and Klizan, and is poised to renew his rivalry against countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday. The Nice native notched a straight sets victory in the Moselle Open final in 2013, adding to his title run in 2010 (d. M Zverev). The World No. 10 will be looking to build on a 12-5 record in ATP World Tour finals.

Tsonga, meanwhile, fired 13 aces en route to a convincing 6-3, 6-4 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber. The Frenchman needed just 69 minutes to prevail, rifling 34 total winners to Kohlschreiber’s eight. Tsonga carries a 17-3 win-loss record in Metz into his fourth final in five years. The champion in 2011 (d. Ljubicic) and 2012 (d. Seppi), he is hoping to add a 12th ATP World Tour title in his 21st final.

“I’m very happy to be in the final,” said Tsonga. “I already played in three finals here and won two. In French, we always say ‘never two without three’ so I hope I will do it.” 

Both players are also seeking to improve their standing in the Emirates ATP Race To London, with Simon currently sitting in 14th position with 1,815 points entering the week and Tsonga one spot behind with 1,650 points. Six weeks remain in the quest to punch tickets to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Tsonga owns a 6-3 edge in the FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Simon, having most recently prevailed at the 2014 Australian Open. Victory would move him into a tie for second place among Frenchmen on the Open Era titles list, joining Simon and Richard Gasquet. Only Yannick Noah owns more trophies (23).

Second seed Milos Raonic will face seventh seed Joao Sousa in the St. Petersburg Open final after defeating Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 7-6(2) in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Raonic is chasing his seventh ATP World Tour trophy and takes a 2-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head lead over Sousa into Sunday’s title match, beating the Portuguese most recently in Monte-Carlo earlier this year.

In his second meeting with Bautista Agut, Raonic fired 19 aces and broke serve twice as he claimed victory in 88 minutes.

The Canadian will contest his first ATP World Tour final since finishing runner-up to Roger Federer in Brisbane at the start of the year. He has a 6-8 record in ATP World Tour finals.

The 24-year-old Raonic is still in with an outside chance of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, having started the week 1,175 points behind eighth-placed David Ferrer in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

Seventh seed Sousa found the winning formula against Dominic Thiem as he beat the Austrian for the first time in four attempts to reach the final with a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory.

Sousa, who most recently lost to Thiem in the Umag final in July, made a fast start to the semi-final, racing into a 4-0 lead. Thiem recouped one of the breaks and had the chance to level as Sousa served for the first set at 5-4, but the Portuguese held on to take the opener.

Thiem earned a 4-2 lead in the second set as he nailed a backhand drive down the line, but his break advantage was immediately cancelled out as Sousa hit back. The 26-year-old Sousa then prevailed in the subsequent tie-break after one hour and 39 minutes.

“It’s good to be in another final,” said Sousa. “That’s what we work for, and for victories like this against a good player. I’ve played him three times before and lost all of them. So this was a good win for me and I’m really happy to be in another final.

“It definitely was a good match mentally and I’m really happy with that. I changed my tactics a bit against him. We learned a lot from my other matches against him. Today it was good.”

Sousa will contest his third ATP World Tour final of the year. In addition to finishing runner-up to Thiem in Umag, Sousa was also a finalist in Geneva, losing to Thomaz Bellucci. His lone ATP World Tour title came two years ago in Kuala Lumpur (d. Benneteau).

Second seed and two-time former champion Gilles Simon reached the Moselle Open semi-finals on Friday in Metz as he defeated Gilles Muller 6-4, 6-4.

The Frenchman, who has an 11-4 tournament record in Metz, withstood 12 aces to break Muller twice in the 88-minute match. Simon is looking for a Metz hat-trick, having lifted the trophy in 2010 (d. M. Zverev) and 2013 (d. Tsonga).

“It was a good match especially against a player like Gilles Muller,” said Simon. “I feel good, I’m moving well and I’m happy with the way I’m playing from the baseline.”

The 30-year-old Simon has a 36-19 record in 2015 and is through to his fourth ATP World Tour semi-final. The right-hander captured his 12^th ATP World Tour crown earlier this year on home soil in Marseille (d. Monfils).

Sixth seed Martin Klizan reached his third ATP World Tour semi-final of the season as he rallied from a set down to beat fourth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). The Slovakian captured his third ATP World Tour title earlier in the season on clay in Casablanca (d. Gimeno-Traver) and will play for a place in his fourth final when he faces Simon on Saturday.

Fifth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber was granted a semi-final berth when top seed Stan Wawrinka was forced to withdraw from the tournament. The Swiss had twisted his right ankle at the end of the first set of his second-round contest with Dustin Brown on Thursday evening.

“Unfortunately, I have to pull out because yesterday I twisted my ankle at 5-4 in the first set,” said Wawrinka. “It was painful in the match, but still OK with tape on it. But after a lot of treatment last night and some tests this morning, it’s dangerous for me to play because the pain is still there. So I will have to see a doctor to see if I will be OK in the next few weeks.”

Kohlschreiber is looking to reach the final of this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard court tournament for the second time after finishing runner-up to Gael Monfils in the 2009 title match. He will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals.

Tsonga survived fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 25 minutes. The third seed held a set point in the first set tie-break, but saw his opponent win three points in a row from 5/6. The World No. 17 righted the ship in the first game of the second set, breaking Mahut for the first time of the match. Tsonga, who struck 12 aces to Mahut’s four, clinched the win by converting on his 14^th break point (4-for-14) at 6-5 in the deciding set.

“It was a good fight,” said Tsonga. “It’s always good to have a match like this against a good friend. I took a lot of pleasure from this match. I like this kind of atmosphere.”

Roger-Vasselin And Kubot Into Doubles Semi-finals

Second seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Lukasz Kubot prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 against Pablo Carreno-Busta and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez to advance to the semi-finals. They will face third seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram.

Second seed Milos Raonic made short work of fifth seed Tommy Robredo as he powered into the St. Petersburg Open semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-2 victory on Friday.

Raonic, who is making his debut at this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard court tournament, is looking to mount a late charge for one of the four remaining spots at the year-end Barclays ATP World Tour Finals after his season was hampered by a foot injury.

The Canadian surged into the semi-finals in St. Petersburg in just 53 minutes, firing 11 aces and converting all four of his break points. “It was a difficult match,” said Raonic. “I’m really happy with how I played. I played better than yesterday, obviously, and that’s all I can ask from myself.”

As he looks to reach his second ATP World Tour final of the season, Raonic will face Roberto Bautista Agut, whom he beat in their one previous meeting in Paris-Bercy last year.

“Bautista Agut will present problems tomorrow,” said Raonic. “The question is, can I deal with those problems? Hopefully I can find the solutions in my match tomorrow and I can play as well as I did today and continue to improve.”

Fourth seed Bautista Agut dismissed Lucas Pouille 6-2, 6-3 in 70 minutes. The Spaniard won the pair’s first meeting as he broke serve three times and saved the four break points he faced.

The 27-year-old Bautista Agut, who saved three match points to beat Teymuraz Gabashvili in the first round, improved to a 32-23 match record on the season. The right-hander has a 0-4 record in ATP World Tour semi-finals this year.

Third seed Dominic Thiem reached his fifth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season as he defeated Denis Istomin 6-2, 7-5.

“I played a very, very good first set,” said Thiem, who claimed his 33rd win of the season. “The second set was very close. I’m happy that I didn’t have to play a tie-break because it would have been tough against Denis. But I made a good break of his serve at 5-5 and I’m pretty happy with my game.”

The 22-year-old Austrian is looking to win his fourth title of the year, adding to the trophies he lifted in Nice (d. Mayer), Umag (d. Sousa) and Gstaad (d. Goffin). He goes on to face seventh seed Joao Sousa, who edged Tomas Berdych’s conqueror, Simone Bolelli, 7-6(7), 7-6(1).

“I think it was a close match today,” said Sousa, who prevailed in one hour and 44 minutes. “Simone was hitting the ball very hard and he beat a great player in Tomas yesterday. I think I played very good in both tie-breaks and I was also a little bit lucky.”

Sousa lost to Thiem in the Umag final in July and trails the Austrian 0-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. “You learn from other matches,” said Sousa. “For sure, he’s a very good player. It’s going to be a tough fight tomorrow. I’ll give it my best to try to win.”

Istomin Into Doubles Semi-Finals

Denis Istomin, who had been eliminated from singles earlier in the day, tasted victory in his second match on Friday. He and partner Alexander Bury overcame the loss of the first set to edge Philipp Oswald and Adil Shamasdin in a match tie-break, 3-6, 6-3, 13-11.

St. Petersburg Open (St. Petersburg, Russia) 

Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic participated in the Russian tradition of planting a tree as part of a green initiative on behalf of the tournament. 

All the players attended the gala dinner, held at the Monferran Halla of the Four Seasons Hotel. Model Natalia Vodianova was in attendance as the players enjoyed electric violin duo Vibration, a haircut show by Dmitri Vinokurov and learned a Russian song, “Kalika”.

The players were treated to another swanky event, the player party, a Great Gatsby-themed black tie soiree held at the Olympia Palace. Entertainment included singer Johnny Kelvin and a live band.

Marcos Baghdatis took a canal boat through a series of St. Petersburg’s scenic waterways as he was interviewed for Tennis Channel’s “Tour Guide” show.

Mariusz Frystenberg, Santiago Gonzalez, Marcel Granollers and Mikhail Youzhny hosted 30 youngsters in the Masterclass Kids’ Clinic, packed with drills and tennis tips.                                   

Dominic Thiem, Ernests Gulbis and Roberto Bautista-Agut met with fans for autographs and photos.

Moselle Open (Metz, France)

Second seed Gilles Simon visited the nearby Zoo d’Amneville. Read More 

“It was a great experience. I enjoyed it,” Simon said about his visit with sea lions, eagles, gorillas, lions and more. “The thing I liked the most was meeting Watson [the sea lion]. I thought he was a great animal, very soft and gentle, but at the same time very strong and powerful. The most impressive were the eagles. Having one on your arms didn’t make me feel very secure.”

Steve Darcis, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Adrian Mannarino, Paolo Lorenzi and Edouard Roger-Vasselin participated in autograph sessions around the grounds.

Playing on French soil for the first time since defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the Roland Garros title, Stan Wawrinka needed three sets to outlast upset-minded Dustin Brown at the Moselle Open in Metz, where he advanced to the quarter-finals via a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win.

“Dustin is a tough player,” said Wawrinka, who improved to 43-13 on the year. “He’s really aggressive. Especially in the first round, it’s never easy. But I was happy with my game.”

Serving at 4-4 in the telltale third-set tiebreak, Brown approached the net with a down-the-line forehand, but the German didn’t put the ball deep enough. The top-seeded Wawrinka responded with a crosscourt backhand winner to clinch a pivotal mini break and went on to close out the match in one hour, 57 minutes.

Brown saved 10 of 11 break-point opportunities in all, winning 68 percent (72 of 105) of his service points. Wawrinka finished with eight aces.

Elsewhere, fourth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez rallied from a set down to beat wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

The Spaniard notched his 26th win of the season in one hour and 35 minutes, withstanding 13 aces and converting three of his six break points. Garcia-Lopez is a two-time champion on the ATP World Tour this season, lifting the trophies in Zagreb (d. Seppi) and Bucharest (d.Vesely).

Garcia-Lopez advances to a quarter-final clash with sixth seed Martin Klizan, who defeated Wimbledon quarter-finalist Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 7-6(7) in one hour and 52 minutes.

“It was a tough match against Vasek, because he is a great player,” said Klizan. “He has one of the best serves in the world. I tried to focus on the return and in the tie-break I was a bit lucky.”

Also advancing to the quarter-finals was 33-year-old Nicolas Mahut, who registered 24 aces in upsetting seventh seed Adrian Mannarino in three sets 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3. He will next face another fellow Frenchman in No. 3 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber improved to 3-0 against Paolo Lorenzi with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the unseeded Italian in one hour and seven minutes. 

On his St. Petersburg Open debut, second seed Milos Raonic cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy on Thursday. But top seed Tomas Berdych wasn’t so lucky, losing his opener to Italian Simone Bolelli.

The Canadian was playing his first match since a third-round exit at the US Open and is looking for a big showing in the final part of the season as he makes a last push for one of the four remaining spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, where he played for the first time last year.

“It’s great for a first match since the US Open. I served well, which is always very important for me,” said Raonic, who in his first meeting with the No. 117-ranked Donskoy fired 13 aces and won 82 percent of his service points. “I created chances. I wasn’t as efficient as I would like to have been, but all I can do is create those chances and give myself the opportunities to do better. The goal is to get better and better bit by bit, and hopefully I can get better tomorrow.  I know I will need to but if I serve well I’ll always have a chance.”

The right-hander goes on to face fifth seed Tommy Robredo, who trailed 3-5 in the first set before fighting back to claim a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory over Marcos Baghdatis in the second round. 

“After I broke back I think I played much more aggressively and in the second set I played pretty good,” said Robredo. “Hopefully tomorrow I can adjust and play both the first and second sets well. I’m happy the way I’m playing at the way I’m hitting the ball.”

The Spaniard, runner-up in Bastad (l. to Paire) earlier in the year, is through to his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final and will look to overturn a 0-4 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Raonic. 

Robredo Takes Over ATP Instagram

Fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut saved three match points as he battled into the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory over home hope Teymuraz Gabashvili. Gabashvili served for victory at 5-3 in the third set, but failed to convert three match points as Bautista Agut finished the match by winning four games in a row.

“I had the match under control, leading 6-3, 4-2, but he’s a really good player,” said Bautista Agut. “When he was down in the score, he was playing better. I played a bad game at 4-2 and he started to play better and better. The third set was very close.

“I saw on the first match point that he was a bit tight and I tried to make him play and put all the balls in. I could feel that he was under pressure.”

The Spaniard is through to his sixth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season and improved to a 31-23 match record. He will face Lucas Pouille, who withstood 15 aces and saved seven of eight break points to edge Jerzy Janowicz 7-6(8), 7-6(1). The 21-year-old Pouille is looking to reach his third ATP World Tour semi-final of the season.

The upset of the day went to unseeded Simone Bolelli, who defeated top seed Tomas Berdych 7-6(5), 6-4. The 29-year-old Italian continues to put together his most productive season since 2008, when he won a personal-best 29 matches and finished inside the Top 50. His win on Thursday marked his second Top-10 win of 2015.

“I was feeling good today, even though I was down a break in the first set,” said Bolelli, who improved to 26-21 on the year. “But I had a good feeling on the court. Point by point, I started to feel better.”

Though Berdych is on pace to post the best win percentage and year-end ranking of his career, the Czech is still seeking his first title of the year. He remains in contention for one of four remaining spots at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Bolelli’s next opponent will be No. 7 seed Joao Sousa, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Marcel Granollers. Also moving on to the elite eight was Denis Istomin, who rallied from a one-set deficit to dispatch Benjamin Becker 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.