Simon edges thriller

Frenchman battles past Ginepri to make quarter-finals

By Elliot Ball   Last updated: 16th October 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Simon edges thriller

Simon: In Madrid quarters

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Gilles Simon edged into the Madrid last eight after defeating Robby Ginepri 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) on Thursday.

World No.16 Simon, winner of three titles this season, advanced into the quarter-finals in just over two-and-a-half hours against the American.

And with his latest win, the Frenchman passed Fernando Gonzalez into provisional 11th in the race to the eight-man Masters Cup in Shanghai.

With a fortnight remaining in the regular tour and four spots at the season-ending finale in China still open, Simon has eyes on a ticket to the Masters.

Drama

The victory was long on drama as Simon had to rally throughout, earning a break for 4-3 in the final set.

But Ginepri, a one-time Madrid semi-finalist, was far from done, saving a match point in the tenth game and breaking Simon as the Swiss-based 23-year-old ploughed a backhand long for 5-5.

The tight contest went to a tiebreaker, with Simon then saving two match-points thanks to a service winner and a forehand error from the world No.63.

Simon then earned his second match point and put away the victory with a stinging backhand down the line.

Simon fired a dozen aces, and 36 winners, converting on four of 14 break chances. Ginepri's effort was riddled with 63 unforced errors.