METZ, France — Gilles Simon will face fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday's Open de Moselle final, with both men looking for a historic third victory in Metz.
Both won in straight sets on Saturday, with Simon beating Martin Klizan of Slovakia 6-4, 6-4 and Tsonga easing past Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4 to set up a replay of the 2013 final which Simon won.
Simon's semifinal victory was not as straightforward as the scoreline suggests.
Klizan, seeded sixth, broke first with a delightful return from the baseline but Simon reacted immediately with two successive breaks, much to the delight of the home crowd.