HEAD Pros Clinch Titles at Recent Tournaments

HEAD players enjoyed success last week at various tournaments around the world.

HEAD player Gilles Simon of France captured his third career title with a victory over No. 5 seed and fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 7-5, 6-2 at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco. The MicroGel Prestige MP is Simon's weapon of choice.

"It wasn't an easy match." said Simon. "I'm happy because today I was pretty solid in the important moments."

Fellow HEAD Player Agustin Calleri of Argentina also reached the semifinal round due to a walkover as his scheduled opponent, Younes El Aynaoui, conceded prior to the match with left calf problem.

Robin Soderling, who plays with the HEAD MicroGel Radical MP, helped to clinch the fourth championship title for Sweden at the World Team Cup in Düsseldorf, Germany, by defeating fellow HEAD player Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-1.

"It’s a great week to peak," said Soderling. "It gives me a lot of confidence for next week in Paris. Hopefully I can continue to play well and hopefully I can win a couple of matches in Paris."

Soderling is the third player in the 31-year tournament history to win all four singles and four doubles matches during the same week.

No. 3 seeded HEAD player Ivan Ljubicic reached the semifinal round of the Hypo Group Tennis International in Poertschach, Austria. Ljubicic, who plays with the MicroGel Extreme Pro, lost against No. 2 seed Juan Monaco after three sets 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(4).

HEAD player Anabel Medina Garrigues won her eighth career title in Strasbourg with a victory over No. 6 seed Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-0. On her way to the final Garrigues, who plays with the MicroGel Extreme, defeated Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland in the semifinal round 6-3, 6-3.

Bulgarian HEAD Player Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria defeated No. 4 seed Olga Govortsova 7-6(4), 7-6(2) to reach the semifinal round at the Istanbul Cup in Turkey. Pironkova faced No. 2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals and took the lead after four games, but ultimately lost 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-1.