Paul-Henri Mathieu claimed his second successive
title by posting a 4-6 6-3 6-1 victory over Gustavo Kuerten in the final
of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon.
The young Frenchman captured the Kremlin Cup in Moscow last week as a
qualifier for his first career ATP crown. Here, he extended his winning streak
to 13 consecutive matches.
"Both victories are sweet but champagne tastes better than vodka," said
Mathieu, who is the third player this year to win consecutive titles.
"I knew I had a chance today going into the match. Guga is a legend of tennis
and this makes the victory extra special. When I received the winner's trophy at
the prize giving ceremony it finally hit me that I had won again."
The 20-year-old Mathieu became the fourth Frenchman to triumph here, joining
Arnaud Clement (2000), Fabrice Santoro (1997) and Yannick Noah (1987).
He earned £64,000 for the victory.
Kuerten was also seeking a second straight title after winning his previous
tournament in Brazil last month. However, the former world number one appears to
be back on track after undergoing hip surgery earlier in the year.
"I started to lose some power in the second set, and in the third I felt like
I had no energy left," said Kuerten, a three-time French Open champion.
"I was hoping to hang in there and hopefully get another chance to come back
into the match. I had four really tough matches this week and they started to
show. Overall, I am very happy with how I have performed here in Lyon."
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