PUNE: France’s Gilles Simon felled giant South African Kevin Anderson in the Maharashtra Open final in Pune on Saturday to claim his first title in nearly three years. The 33-year-old former world number six capped a resurgent start to the year with a 7-6(4) 6-2 defeat of last year’s U.S. Open runner-up – his first win over 2.03m tall Anderson. Simon beat each of the tournament’s top three seeds on his way to the title, having knocked out Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in round two before taking out top seed Marin Cilic. Playing with his trademark fluency and nimble footwork, Simon kept Anderson guessing. Anderson dropped serve twice in the second set and was well-beaten in the end. Published in Daily Times, January 7th 2018.