Tennis World
Almagro, Montanes Pick up Titles
Defending champion and local hope Robin Soderling was unable to fend off a spirited Nicolas Almagro in Bastad on Sunday, losing 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 to the Spaniard in the final. Soderling was pushed to three sets in each of his matches during the week, but couldn’t engineer another miraculous escape on this occasion. The Swede was disappointed with his performance, and admitted that he needed to work hard in the next few months. However, he remained upbeat about his chances at the US Open and beyond. “Too bad that I didn´t get the break early in the first set,” he said after the match. “I played OK in the second set but I gave away a break in the decisive set, and that´s why I lost the match. I was very disappointed after having lost in the final. I have some very important tournaments coming up, and a stretch that suits my game really well.”
Almagro was delighted with the win, which is his sixth on the ATP World Tour: “It’s a great feeling to win here,” said Almagro. “It’s always amazing to win a final and I’m very happy with the week. I’m going to enjoy this moment and then prepare for next week in Hamburg.”
Over in Stuttgart, Gael Monfils surrendered the title to Albert Montanes after retiring with an ankle injury midway through the second set. He was unhappy with how the championship match ended but tried to look on the bright side. "I twisted my ankle on the court and it was impossible to finish the match," he said. "The week was good. I played pretty good tennis, a lot of confidence came back. To reach a final again was pretty exciting. I had a bad experience (today) but hopefully it will be better soon and I can get back to my best level and try to reach some other finals."
