Qualifier Matthias Bachinger lost the final against the Frenchman Gilles Simon at the ATP tournament in Metz, France.
After a balanced first set, the second set was clear for Simon, who turned his first match point into a 7:6 (7:2), 6:1 after 1:19 hours.
The German looked exhausted against the local heroes and could not replay the strong performance from the semi-final. Simon acted with the local fans in his back and played out his experience on the international stage.
After a short first set, Bachinger’s will to fight was broken and Simon took advantage of his chances ice-cold. Especially the early loss of serve in set two should bring the preliminary decision to Metz.
The 31-year-old from Munich could not recover from the local hero’s solid baseline game and had to recognize early on that Simon was too strong on Final Sunday. Especially the smooth forehand of the old master kept setting needle marks and gave Simon free points.
Bachinger had reached the first ATP final of his career with a three-set victory over US Open semi-finalist Kei Nishiori. Previously, the 31-year-old, who has been a tennis pro since 2005, had only reached an ATP semi-final twice: in 2012 in Bucharest and in 2014 in Stockholm.