The Latvian Ernests Gulbis and the Argentine Federico Delbonis will be the ones playing the final match of this 5th Open Nice Côte d’Azur, which once again lived up to all its promises on the Nice clay courts. A contrast of styles that should make for a beautiful final with both players fully deserving to lift the trophy awarded to the tournament winner. Patience until around 5 PM to find out who will succeed the Spaniard Albert Montanes, winner in 2013.
Gilles Simon falls in the semifinals
The Nice native Gilles Simon couldn’t reach the final of this 5th edition despite a crowd fully supportive of him. His opponent Federico Delbonis, who had already defeated Gilles in Casablanca, played a perfect match leaving no opportunity for the Frenchman:
“Against an opponent playing so well, I should have played my best tennis, which wasn’t the case today; I had a bit less energy and struggled to counter his very heavy shots…,” explained Gilles Simon after the match.
The young Argentine, already the winner of his first ATP tournament in São Paulo this year, will play the 3rd final of his career tomorrow.
Ernests Gulbis eliminates the defending champion
The other semifinal went largely in favor of the second seed Ernests Gulbis against the defending champion Albert Montanes. The Latvian literally overwhelmed the Spaniard, forcing him far behind his baseline and constantly under the attacks of his very aggressive opponent.
The final of this 5th Open Nice Côte d’Azur, which will feature Ernests Gulbis against Federico Delbonis at 2:30 PM tomorrow, promises to be explosive…
RESULTS – Friday, May 23, 2014
Singles – Semifinals
[2] E Gulbis (LAT) d A Montanes (ESP) 6/0 6/3
[7] F Delbonis (ARG) d [4] G Simon (FRA) 6/2 6/4
Doubles – Semifinals
M Klizan (SVK) / P Oswald (AUT) d K Skupski (GBR) / N Skupski (GBR) 36 63 10-2
DAY PROGRAM – Saturday, May 24, 2014
CENTRAL COURT from 12:20 PM
[1] R Bopanna (IND) / A Qureshi (PAK) vs M Klizan (SVK) / P Oswald (AUT)
Not before 2:30 PM
[7] F Delbonis (ARG) vs [2] E Gulbis (LAT)
