Monfils, Berdych earn finals spots

MONTPELLIER, France, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- France's Gael Monfils defeated countryman Gilles Simon Saturday and earned a shot at Tomas Berdych in the finals of the Sud de France Open tennis tournament.

Monfils, the No. 3 seed, beat the second-seeded Simon 4-6, 7-6, (7-4), 6-4 over 2 1/2 hours. It was the first time in three career meetings that Monfils defeated Simon.

Each player had four breaks in the seesaw match. Monfils had 18 aces -- but also 11 double faults -- in winning 60 percent of the points on serve. He still dropped serve twice in the final set but was able to claim 55 percent of the points when receiving and break Simon's serve three times in the set.

Berdych, ranked seventh in the world and seeded No. 1 this week, ousted seventh-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4. He lost 16 points over 10 games serving and saved all five of the break points he faced.

Sunday's final will mark the second meeting between Berdych and Monfils. Berdych took a straight-set decision in 2008 in Dubai. He has split his 12 ATP title match appearances. Monfils is 4-12 in finals, including a loss in Doha earlier this year. He won in Montpellier in 2010, the last time the tournament was contested.