By Chris Oddo | Saturday September 26, 2015
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon both crossed the finish line in straight sets on Saturday at the Moselle Open to set up an all-French final and a rematch of the 2013 final.
Tsonga improved to 8-1 over German Philipp Kohlschreiber with a 6-3, 6-4 win, while Simon battled past Slovakia’s Martin Klizan in two very tight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Last year David Goffin ended a run of five consecutive titles for Frenchmen in Metz when he defeated Joao Sousa in the final.
Tsonga (2011 and 2012) and Simon (2013 and 2010) have now combined to win five of the last six titles at this event. Frenchman have now won seven titles in the tournament’s 13-year existence.
Tsonga owns a 6-3 lifetime edge over Simon but they have split their last four meetings.
Simon overcame a 4-2 first-set deficit to take the opener from Klizan, 6-4, then rallied from 3-0 down in the second set to clinch his victory in one hour and 36 minutes.
Tsonga hammered 13 aces, didn’t face a break point and tallied one break per set to ease past Kohlschreiber and improve to 24-12 on the season.