Gasquet breaks title drought over fellow HEAD player Simon

Richard Gasquet snapped a title drought stretching back two and a half years as he beat HEAD fellow and country man Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-1 in the final at the Thailand Open in Bangkok. Gasquet, a former top 10 player like his compatriot, last lifted a trophy in Nice in May, 2010.

The second seed, playing with his new YouTek IG Extreme Pro, needed 68 minutes to to conquer his seventh career title The 2009 champion nursing a knee injury which struck him just before the match as he took to the court with his YouTek IG Prestige MP. Gasquet beat the 19th-ranked Simon for the sixth time without a loss to claim the win on his debut week in the Thai capital; Gasquet was playing in the 17th ATP final of his career and third of this year after Estoril and the Toronto Masters in August. Gasquet, now stand 37-18 on the season.

Simon on top form until just before the final, was unable to repeat his 2009 title at the Impact arena after his right knee began bothering him just before the match. "The pain came just before the start, after the warm-up, there was not much I could do," said the player who had lost five previous matches to Gasquet. "I was playing some of my best tennis in the semi-finals - in the final it ends like this.” Simon, 27, took treatment on his the knee in the second set as he trailed 4-1.

Gasquet lost the opening game of the match but was never troubled after that as he took control. "I'm glad to win a title, but it's tough to do it like this against another French player, a friend of mine. I have to be pleased to win but it was a little bit strange. I’ve had some tough matches this week, so this seventh title is a big one for me. It was a good win for me here, a big comeback week."