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  • Indianapolis Final: Dmitry Tursunov vs. Gilles Simon

    7/20/08 7:57 AM | Ricky Dimon
    - They call it the U.S. Open Series, but none of the many Americans entered in the Indianapolis draw made it to the final. Instead it will be Dmitry Tursunov and Gilles Simon going for the title on Sunday.

    Other than a Grand Slam or Masters Series event, the stakes could not be higher for the first-ever head-to-head meeting between Dmitry Tursunov and Gilles Simon. They will battle for the title of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships on Sunday afternoon. A win would give Tursunov his second-straight Indy trophy, while Simon is bidding for his second triumph of the year after emerging victorious on the clay of Casablanca.

    Tursunov has set himself up nicely for a repeat thanks to an easier road to the final than Simon, even though he has been extended to three sets in his last two matches. The No. 3 seed's title defense began with a 6-3, 7-5 win over fellow Russian and doubles partner Igor Kunitsyn followed by a walkover against Wayne Odesdink, who was plagued by a back injury. Tursunov dropped the first set of his quarterfinal match with Paul Capdeville, but stormed back to prevail 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. He also lost the opening set to James Blake in the semis, only to roar from behind for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. It's been a welcomed return to the hard courts for Tursunov, whose best results this season (title in Sydney, fourth round of the Masters Series Miami) came during the first hard-court swing.

    Simon has went the distance in all four of his matches this week. First he took out fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, followed that up with 6-0 third-set trouncing of Benjamin Becker, and then defeated No. 5 seed Tommy Haas. None of that, however, compared to the No. 2 seed's grueling 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 semifinal win over Sam Querrey that lasted two hours and five minutes and left both players exhausted amidst sweltering heat. Regardless of what happens on Sunday, it's been another strong tournament for the second-seeded Simon, who has been consistently solid in 2008 and is up to a career-high ranking of No. 25 in the world.

    Judging from the way Simon looked at the end of the Querrey clash, this is Tursunov's match for the taking. Tursunov simply has to play a smart match, something that is easier said than done for him. If he can exhaust Simon by setting up points and going for winners at the right time, he could run away with this in straight sets. But if Tursunov starts for going for huge forehands at inopportune times, he could let Simon hang around too long. The pick here is that Tursunov will do the former and win his second Indianapolis title in-a-row.

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