Frenchman Gael Monfils won his fifth career ATP Tour title on Sunday after powering past compatriot Richard Gasquet in the final of the Open Sud de France in Montpellier with a 6-4, 6-4 scoreline. Monfils has now won this title for the second time (first won back in 2010).
“This is unbelievable for me,” said Monfils. “I had some back problems at the beginning of the week and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play, so to now be with the trophy is pretty crazy. I have been elevating my game match after match and I am extremely proud in the way I played today. I really enjoy playing here in Montpellier. I love the atmosphere there is in this arena.”
The fifth-seeded star goes home with €77,315 in prize money and 250 ranking points, enough to propel his ranking to world number 23. Monfils has a great start in 2014 season, having reached the final of the Qatar Open back in January. His ranking will continue to rise in the next few months as he only have a few points to defend during this stretch.
“It was great to be in final here once again,” said Gasquet about the loss. “I am extremely disappointed to have lost in the final, but that’s tennis. I need to congratulate Gael because he’s played unbelievable all week. I wasn’t able to read his serve, he was serving bullets all match. My only way out was to try to push him to a tie-break and wait for him to start making mistakes. But it didn’t happen.”
Gasquet takes the €40,720 runner-up check and 150 ranking points. The defending champion remains in 9th place in the world rankings.
