Gilles Simon's lazy elegance floors Kevin Anderson

PUNE: The French have a good taste for almost everything - art, literature, fashion and tennis too. At 33,

Gilles Simon

may lack the brute power that has come to rule the modern game. But he certainly has the craft to tame it.

The native of Nice played it to nicety and perfection to tame South African giant Kevin Anderson, and his powerful groundstrokes, for a 7-6 (4), 6-2 win and clinch the $560,000 Tata Open Maharashtra title here on Saturday.

Of course, Simon is a former world No. 6 and knows a thing or two about competing at the top level. Currently ranked 89, he had beaten Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal when both were No. 1s in 2008.

At 6'0", he just about makes the template of a contemporary tennis player. But little else is contemporary about Simon's game.

There's a lazy elegance to his game that transports the fans back to, say 90s, when variety was the spice of the game. Of course, he can hit the ball like a whiplash and get the yellow, fuzzy sphere zip past the opponent in a blink.

And he is no less fit than any of his peers. But Simon's game is more about craft and style one attaches with the likes of

Fabrice Santoro

and Zinedine Zidane. And he put them both on display in abundance at the Centre Court of the MSLTA Courts on Saturday.

Anderson began the proceedings with a thundering ace on his third serve. Simon was slow off the blocks, as he usually does, but was forced to switch gears sooner than later when he faced four breakpoints in the fourth game.

Anderson let him off the hook with two mistimed forehands and a backhand error, and that may have been the turning point. Simon then took the lead in the seventh game with a forehand pass that sent the packed stadium into raptures.

World No. 14 Anderson levelled with a break of his own in the 10th game but he was yet to get on top of his French rival. It showed in the tie break when Simon produced a cracker of a forehand for a minibreak. Although the 2017 US Open finalist reduced the margin with a forehand pass, the Frenchman sealed it on the first set-point with a dipping forehand that left Anderson stranded at the baseline.