Grosjean Wins All-French Final in Lyon

Sebastien Grosjean defeated compatriot Marc Gicquel 7-6(5), 6-4 in front of screaming French fans at the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon. After Fabrico Santoro, whom he defeated in the second round, Grosjean is the elder statesman of men's tennis in France, even though he lives in Florida.

It's been a long time between drinks for Sebastien, who won the last of his four career titles five years ago in St. Petersburg. Ranked No. 81, Grosjean is the lowest rank titlist in Lyon's history. Last year, he lost to Gicquel in the quarterfinals, while Gicquel advanced to the finals to lose to Richard Gasquet.

"I'm very happy with my level of play today," said Grosjean. "This season wasn't a very good one for me and it's great to finally win a title and enjoy myself on court again. I also want to thank my coach Bernard Fritz. He was there for me when it didn't go well this summer and it's great to win this title with him in my box. We've known each others for a long time and he's almost like a second father for me."

"Emotionally this win is more important than St. Petersburg and also than Nottingham. Of course my biggest title is still Bercy where I qualified for the Masters by winning the title in 2001. It's great to win in France, as several French players did here in Lyon before."

Grosjean becomes the sixth Frenchman to win in Lyon alongside Yannick Noah (1987), Fabrice Santoro (1997), Arnaud Clement (2000), Paul-Henri Mathieu (2002) and Gasquet (2006).

Grosjean went out after the singles final with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who he dispatched in the semfinals, and won the doubles title as well. Not a bad week for the veteran.