Top seed Gael Monfils downed Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-3 in an all-French semi-final at the Metz ATP tournament on Saturday to set up a final with Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Gasquet, fighting to recapture his best form after a 2-1/2-month suspension following a positive test for cocaine, which he claimed was from kissing a girl in a club (hmmm….) stayed in contention until he dropped serve with a double fault in the ninth game.
In Sunday’s final, the Frenchman will meet Kohlschreiber, seeded second, who beat France’s Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 6-4. Their semi-final was tighter with the German showing more composure when it mattered.
Monfils, who leads 1-0 against Kohlschreiber, has been chasing a title since his maiden win in 2005 in Sopot, Poland. He has lost six finals since.
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