NICE, France — Albert Montanes of Spain clinched his sixth title by defeating French wild-card entry Gael Monfils 6-0, 7-6 (3) in the final of the Open de Nice on Saturday.
The match was interrupted by rain at 4-0 in the first set, but that didn’t seem to bother Montanes, who broke for a 3-1 lead in the second and looked set to cruise toward victory. But Monfils, a former top-10 player whose 2012 season was hampered by a right knee injury, fought back and levelled at 4-4.
Montanes took a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker and sealed the win when a backhand from Monfils sailed long.
The Open de Nice is a warm-up tournament for the French Open.