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The third-seeded Tsonga eventually had too much power for his
second-seeded opponent in a rematch of the 2013 final won by
Simon.
"I am very happy, it was a big first set," said Tsonga.
"It's always tricky to play against Gilles, the ball always
comes back."
Simon added: "He was more solid than me on the important points,
especially in the first set."
Tsonga misfired some 20 forehands in the opening set but he
still won the tiebreak 7-5 after saving six break points.
Simon, however, regained control and bagged the first five games
of the second set, leveling to one set all when Tsonga netted a
forehand.
The former Australian Open runner-up found his range in the
decider, breaking for a 3-1 lead before ending the contest when
Simon's forehand bounced out following a net cord.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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