Gael Monfils won his third ATP title in Montpellier, following on from victories in 2014 and 2010.
Tuesday 11 February 2020 12:32, UK
Top seed Gael Monfils captured his third title at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier on Sunday with a clinical 7-5, 6-3 win over Canada's Vasek Pospisil in the final.
The 33-year-old, who also lifted the trophy in 2010 and 2014, saved all four break points he faced and converted two out of four to secure the win and match compatriot Richard Gasquet's haul of three titles.
He also improved his head-to-head record against Pospisil to 6-0 en route to the ninth title of his career, although his task became easier after the world number 132 took a tumble and appeared be hampered by a leg injury.
Monfils became the eighth French champion in 10 editions of the ATP 250 event and the world No 9 will head to Rotterdam to defend his title next week full of confidence.
It was a disappointing day for 29-year-old Pospisil, who was looking to capture a first ATP title in his second final, having returned to form following back surgery in January 2019.
Britain's Dominic Inglot and Pakistani doubles partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi suffered a 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 10-4 defeat to the Serbian-Croatian duo of Nikola Cacic and Mate Pavic.
Cacic and Pavic lost just one set on their way to the title in Montpellier, wrapping up the final in 89 minutes after rescuing four break points and winning 44 of 51 first serve points.
Cristian Garin beat Diego Schwartzman 2-6 6-4 6-0 to clinch the Cordoba Open and move inside the top 30 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career.
The 23-year-old had to come from a set down for the third successive match, while Schwartzman slipped to 3-5 in ATP Tour finals.
Marcelo Demoliner and Matwe Middelkoop meanwhile beat Leonardo Mayer and Andres Molteni 6-3, 7-6(4) in Argentina to seal their ATP Tour doubles title.
Jiri Vesely fended off Egor Gerasimov 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-3 to win the Tata Open Maharashtra and his second ATP Tour title.
He moved back into the top 100 of ATP rankings for the first time since May 2019 as a result and now finds himself No 72.
Andre Goransson and Christopher Rungkat claimed their first ATP Tour doubles title as they beat Jonathan Erlich and Andrei Vasilevski 6-2 3-6 10-8 in Pune.
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