It is fair to say that many matches on the ATP World Tour are like wild rides with many momentum shifts and plenty of ups and downs. But before the action got started this week at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, some of the tournament’s stars got to enjoy a new kind of wild ride. Radu Albot, Pablo Andujar, Kyle Edmund, Robin Haase, Matwe Middelkoop and Gilles Simon ventured just outside of the city Sunday afternoon into the Palmeraie district, where they rode quad bikes. “It’s nice to go out of the city and drive around the Palmeraie. It was good fun,” said Edmund, the second seed in Morocco. “When I go to South Africa we do similar...
A decade ago, Gilles Simon won the title in Casablanca to begin the best year of his career, eventually finishing the season at No. 7 in the ATP Rankings and advancing to the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals, where he beat Roger Federer in round-robin play. Now, the Casablanca tournament is in Marrakech. And Simon got off to a good start there on Monday, saving a match point before upsetting French compatriot Benoit Paire, the sixth seed, 6-2, 6-7(1), 7-6(5) at the Grand Prix Hassan II. The 33-year-old, who won the Tata Open Maharashtra to open the season, saved match point while serving at 4-5 in the decider and then overcame a 5/1 deficit in the final-set tie-break to...
Two-time champion Gilles Simon safely navigated his way through two tie-break sets to beat rising German star Maximilian Marterer 7-6(3), 7-6(4) in the first round of the Open 13 Provence on Tuesday. The Frenchman, who most recently won the event in 2015 (d. Monfils), won 73 per cent of points on his first serve, but was made to save two set points at 4-5 in the second set before securing the victory. Simon moves into a second-round meeting with Rolex Paris Masters runner-up Filip Krajinovic. Krajinovic marked his return to France with a hard-fought 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Joao Sousa. The one-hour, 57-minute match featured six breaks of serve with the Serbian converting on all three of his opportunities....
Russian Karen Khachanov came back from a set down against one of the toughest competitors on the ATP World Tour to advance on Tuesday at the Open Sud de France. The 21-year-old Khachanov beat Spain's David Ferrer 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4, avoiding a single break point in the decider to reach the second round in Montpellier. Both players were coming off of good runs in Auckland, before the Australian Open. Khachanov reached the quarter-finals at the ASB Classic, Ferrer the semi-finals. They both lost to Juan Martin del Potro. In fact, Khachanov's two losses this season have come against Del Potro (also second round Australian Open). [ALSO LIKE] Khachanov will next face Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis, who battled past 36-year-old Frenchman Julien Benneteau. Berankis,...
No. 57 Gilles Simon, +32 The 33-year-old Frenchman got off to a strong start in 2018 with his first ATP World Tour title for almost three years (2015 Open 13 Marseille) after he defeated Kevin Anderson 7-6(4), 6-2 at he Tata Open Maharashtra. Simon, who started the week at No. 89 in the ATP Rankings, finished last year outside of the Top 50 for the first time since 2005. His 32-place rise to No. 57 was the biggest jump in the Top 100. Anderson, up three spots to No. 11, is back at his highest position since 19 October 2015 (No. 11). More & Watch Highlights No. 17 Nick Kyrgios, +4 The 22-year-old Australian returned to his highest position in...
