PUNE: It was a mixed day at the office for singles world no. 89 Gilles Simon as he was crowned as the Tata Open Maharashtra singles champion but lost the doubles final with his partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert to the Dutch pairing of Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop in straight sets 6-7, 6-7 in an entertaining final held at the Mhalunge Balewadi Stadium here on Saturday.
In the doubles final, it was a France vs Netherlands encounter as Simon was again in action, teaming up with his countryman Pierre-Hugues Herbert to take on the second-seed Dutch pairing of Haase and Middelkoop. Both the pairs had lost their first set of the competition but had won the next six sets to make it to the final.
Earlier, the unseeded Simon beat Kevin Anderson in the final match of the Tata Open Maharashtra in straight sets 7-6, 6-2 to claim his first ATP 250 World Tour after his 2015 title in Marseille.
The 33-year-old Frenchman produced some amazing tennis throughout the tournament as he beat defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarterfinal and then caused an upset beating top-seed and world no. six Marin Cilic in the semifinal.
This was Simon's first victory against Anderson after having lost on three previous occasions to the South African.
The 33-year-old was ecstatic at the victory, stating, "I did not have a great season last year but I am very happy and excited to have started the season by winning the title here in India. This is my first appearance here in India and I am delighted to have won in front of a great crowd which has always supported me from the first day."
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