France’s Gael Monfils serves to Austria’s Dominic Thiem during their fourth round singles match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
MONTPELLIER, France — Gaël Monfils beat Vasek Pospisil 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Open Sud de France title for a third time, equaling French countryman Richard Gasquet’s tournament record.
The ninth-ranked Monfils saved all four break points he faced in winning his first title of the season and ninth of his career.
“Hopefully I can have some more success,” said Monfils, who has won three of his four finals in the southern French city of Montpellier. “I am very pleased about my performance today. I think I played very solid again and I was very happy with the way I handled the key moments.”
Monfils improved to 6-0 in career matches against Pospisil, ranked No. 132 and still searching for his first career title. He has lost both finals in his career.
The 29-year-old Canadian, blighted by injuries since he reached a career-high ranking of 25th in 2014, is hopeful that his best form is coming back.
“It was an incredible week. I had great wins and I feel like I am definitely improving week by week,” Pospisil said. “I will try to rest now, take a couple of days easy and get ready for the next event.”