Gilles Simon of France won his first ATP title on American soil, beating Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-4 at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships on Sunday. Simon, seeded second and ranked 25th, had not reached an ATP semifinal in the United States before the Indianapolis tournament, which moved to a hard-court surface in 1988. “That's special for me because it's not the kind of court I like to play usually,” said the 23-year-old Simon, who earned his fourth career ATP title. “I beat some good players on this kind of court, that's why it's a very good thing to win this tournament.” Tursunov, seeded third and ranked 32nd, was hoping to join Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick as the only players to win back-to-back singles titles in Indianapolis since 1981. Tursunov beat Frank Dancvic in last year's final. “To be honest, I didn't really feel that pressure,” said Tursunov, who was seeking his fifth career ATP title. “I do get a bit of jitters and my game doesn't work that well when I'm nervous. I really have to go for my shots and there's very little margin for error.” Tursunov finished with 32 unforced errors, compared to 13 by Simon, and failed to convert any of his nine break-point chances. “He played a few good points and then I made some silly errors,” Tursunov said. Ashley Fisher and Tripp Phillips won the doubles championship with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 victory over Scott Lipsky and David Martin. It was the first doubles title in Indianapolis for both Fisher and Phillips. Wozniak bags title Canadian qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak captured her first career title by defeating sixth seed Marion Bartoli of France 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the Stanford Classic on Sunday. Wozniak became the first Canadian woman to win a title since 1988. “I believed in myself, but I never thought I would win the tournament,” said Wozniak. “I surprised myself and I'm so proud of what I accomplished. Going through the qualifying and playing eight matches isn't easy.” Bartoli needed a medical timeout down 2-1 in the second set for a left hip injury and was clearly hampered in her movement the rest of the way. Bartoli said she felt pain in her morning practice but it became more intense as they match went on. “My leg was moving so slowly and I wasn't able to hit the ball like I was in the past matches,” said Bartoli. Wozniak, who could rise to the top 50 in the world rankings, has her sights set on going even higher. “I can definitely be top 10,” she said “Everyone has their time when they feel more mature and learn to control their emotions when they play the big champions. The quicker you believe in yourself, the more success comes.” Verdasco champion Top-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain defeated Russia's Igor Andreev in the final of the 326,000-euro ATP claycourt tournament here on Sunday 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Verdasco beat his fourth-seeded opponent after rallying from a set down in a 2hr 44min title decider. It was Verdasco's second career trophy and ended a four-year drought for the 24-year-old who captured his first title at 2004 in Valencia. He had since finished runner-up at four events at Acapulco in 2004, Kitzbuhel in 2005, the 2007 St. Petersburg event and on grass at Nottingham last month. “It could have not been more exciting,” said Verdasco.
