Monfils captures Open Sud de France title

Paris: Gael Monfils showed his form less than six weeks before the Davis Cup final by beating Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 to win the Open Sud de France title.

Frenchman Monfils, the third seed, survived a lapse in concentration in the second set to seal victory in one hour and 52 minutes and claim his third ATP title. The local favourite, gunning for a place in the French team for the Davis Cup final in Belgrade against Serbia, raced through the opening set. Monfils proved more solid on his serve to dominate the fourth-seeded Ljubicic.He broke early in the second but Ljubicic hit back and took Monfils`s serve in the 11th game to level the match but the Frenchman rallied and snatched five games in a row before sealing victory with his 11th ace. Bureau Report