Brisbane International 2012 men’s second seed Gilles Simon has passed the test of a spirited display from Santiago Giraldo to book his place in the semifinals.
Simon, 27, was forced to toil hard against the Colombian throughout the match which he claimed 7-6(2) 6-4.
The Frenchman said Thursday’s win was a great result for him as he moved towards the Australian Open in Melbourne later this month.
“I’ve already played three good matches so it’s a good preparation for Melbourne,” Simon said.
“I’m feeling good, I’m moving better and better everyday.”
Having started the game sluggishly, the Frenchman had his serve broken as Giraldo pushed his lead out to 3-1.
With games staying on serve, Simon’s chance came in the tiebreak, which he won 7-2.
“I think we played at a very high level,” he said.
“It’s always important to win the tiebreak when [you’ve played for] more than one hour.”
The second set was an equally tight affair until the seventh game when Simon broke Giraldo’s serve.
Just as it looked as if the momentum had swung, Giraldo responded with a break of his own to level the score at 4-4.
With Giraldo back on serve Simon’s strong will to win earned him three break points, the third of which he took, before he triumphantly served out the match.
Simon, who lost to Giraldo at the 2011 Brisbane International, was happy to gain redemption albeit a year later and credited his fitness for getting him home.
“He surprised me a lot [last year] so this time I was aware he was able to play this kind of tennis,” he said.
“I think I was stronger than him physically.”
Simon will play the winner of Thursday night’s quarterfinal clash between Alexandr Dolgopolov and Radek Stepanek at Pat Rafter Arena.
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