Simon beats Gasquet to make Moselle Open semifinals

Gilles Simon beat his fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet at the ninth attempt with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory at the Moselle Open on Friday.

Gasquet had won all eight of their encounters before this meeting, and with Simon arriving in Metz out of form it was expected to be win number nine. Simon however, who only had a first round win at the US Open to his name since reaching the last 16 at Wimbledon in July, produced a surprise win.

The two-time Metz winner was stronger in the opening set and broke to lead 4-2, but was unable to do the same when serving for the set at 5-4.

Then in the tiebreak Gasquet took the first two points but Simon came back to clinch the set in just under one hour.

From then on it was a clear path for Simon without experiencing too many problems.

Next up will be 107th ranked Moldovan Radu Albot, who beat Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis.