Gilles Simon beats "Hane"

Romanian player Victor Hanescu was defeated yesterday by Frenchman Gilles Simon, in the BCR Open Romania final.

At the start of the year, Victor Hanescu was struggling at the bottom of the ATP standings. Victor was number 643 ATP. Sunday, "Hane" was the hero of the 5000 spectators and the thousands of TV viewers that watched breathless the final, when the Romanian faced Frenchman Gilles Simon.

Hanescu (number 151 ATP), the first Romanian player to reach the Bucharest final, was not able to cope with the huge pressure and lost (6-4 3-6 6-2), after 1 hour and 52 minutes of play. At 26 years of age, Victor missed not only the opportunity to conquer his first ATP title, but also the 55.820 EURO check that the winner was granted.

Victor Hanescu and Gilles Simon had never played before in the professional circuit. With the crowd behind him, and a big morale (given the fact that he did not concede a single set before the final), Victor started well, and got the first set quite easy.
Gilles Simon (number 42 ATP) got ahead quicly tough in the second set, a set that he won 6-3. The Frenchman continued to play well in the third set, while "Hane" seemed to be losing morale. Not even the crowd cheering and the "home" clay were not able to save the first Romanian to reach this tournament's final.