ATP Marseille: Gilles Simon destroys Daniil Medvedev to set Auger-Aliassime clash

Two-time Marseille champion Gilles Simon is through to his first-semi final at this event since 2015, dispatching the top seed Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-0 in swift 67 minutes! It was the 34th top-10 victory for the Frenchman who grabbed 11 of the last 12 games to march towards the finish line and beat the Russian who is yet to find the form following that semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic at the ATP Cup. Daniil claimed miserable seven points on the return, four in the first game of the match when he broke Gilles for an early lead, losing ground on both serve and return after that to suffer a bagel and finish his journey in the quarter-final. Simon claimed 55% of the return points, turning them into five breaks and having the upper hand from the second part of the first set to reach the semis. Medvedev clinched a break in the first game following a backhand error from Simon, forging a 3-1 advantage with a service winner before fading from the court completely.

Gilles broke back in game six when Daniil's drop shot failed to pass the net, delivering two easy holds in the upcoming games and taking the opener with a break in game ten following a loose forehand from the Russian. The Frenchman held at 15 with an ace at the beginning of the second set, stealing Medvedev's serve at 15 and moving 3-0 up with another comfortable hold. Medvedev sprayed a backhand error to suffer a break in the fourth game and it was all over when Gilles landed a perfect forehand crosscourt winner at 5-0 to deliver a bagel and reach the semis in style. Simon will now face the 7th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime who took down Egor Gerasimov 7-5, 6-2 in an hour and 38 minutes for the third semi-final of the season. Felix struggled on the second serve but that wasn't an obstacle today, facing only one break point in the entire match and producing four breaks that kept him safe once he came back from 5-3 down in the opening set.

The Canadian sent a forehand long in the first game to give serve away instantly, wasting his chances on the return in games four and six before using the last one at 4-5 that kept him in contention. With the momentum on his side, Felix grabbed a break at love in game 12 to clinch the opener and gain a massive boost ahead of set number two where he delivered four comfortable holds to mount the pressure on the other side of the net. The youngster seized the fourth break chance in the second game and sealed the deal with another successful return game at 5-2 that carried him over the finish line. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Pf1h6F