Gilles Simon's giant-killing spree culminated in a stupendous title win as he humbled second seed Kevin Anderson in straight sets to lift the inaugural Tata Open Maharashtra trophy.
The unseeded French player, ranked 89, tamed big-serving Anderson, ranked 14 in the world, 7-6(4) 62 in the summit clash, watched by a packed house at Balewadi Sports Complex.
Simon, who was ranked six in the world at one stage in his career, had knocked out defending champion and third seed Roberto Bautista Agut before shocking top seed and world number six Marin Cilic en route the final.
It is Simon's first title since his win at Marseille in February 2015 and 13th overall.
The remarkable ease with which Simon positioned himself to receive serves and returns, made a sight to watch. His effortless court coverage meant that Anderson was locked in long rallies more often, something which worked in favour of the French player.
Anderson, the 2017 US Open finalist, struggled to execute his big serve consistently. His poor returns even on a humble service, sometimes even below 150km speed from Simon, made his job tough as unforced errors continued to flow from his racquet in the one-hour 36-minute match.
"It was a great match, I don't know how I did it. To beat Anderson in the final is a great achievement for me. I managed to stay clam and play my game," said 33-year-old Simon, who had lost to Anderson in three previous meetings.
"My ranking is pretty low, I will work on that. I really had a good connection with fans. Already in the first round, they were happy for me. They loved the way I played. It helps to play your best tennis," he said.
Anderson, who has now lost 11 finals on the Tour, said what worked in Simon's favour was his staying patient.
"He incorporated the style, the tactics of match against Cilic. His defence was very well. I found it difficult to attack him. His first serve was coming at just 160, it just threw me off," said the South African.
"It was a disappointing for me. Partly he played very smart and partly I didn't execute my game. He was very patient today. In previous matches I was aggressive at time, today I could not do it," said Anderson, adding that he would like to improve his record in finals and making the season-end finale was his "big goal" for 2018.
Simon was awarded the prize money of $89,435 and has won 250 ATP ranking points for winning the singles competition while Anderson was awarded a cheque of $47,105, winning 150 ATP ranking points.
—PTI
