Simon celebrates Sydney win

Gilles Simon lifted the Sydney International title with a 7-5 7-6 victory over Viktor Troicki on Saturday.

Frenchman claims title in second-set tie-break

Gilles Simon lifted the Sydney International title with a 7-5 7-6 (7-4) victory over Viktor Troicki on Saturday. The Frenchman took one hour and 58 minutes to claim his eighth career title at the New South Wales Tennis Centre. World number 30 Troicki hit five aces to Simon's three and saved eight break points during the match. But Simon broke his opponent's serve five times in what was another significant step forward on the comeback trail for the 26-year-old. One of those breaks secured the first set for Simon when Troicki gave up his serve at 5-6 down. The fourth-seeded Serb failed to capitalise on Simon's difficulty with his first serve, winning only 18 of a possible 40 second return points. Troicki led 3-0 and then 6-5 in the second set but the Frenchman fought back to force the tie-break and go on to clinch victory. The victory is the first by a Frenchman in the tournament for 20 years, after French Davis Cup captain Guy Forget's victory in the 1991 New South Wales Open. And Simon, who reached a high of sixth in the world midway through 2009, now looks to be on his way back after slipping to 41st following an injury-hit 2010.