Richard needed less than 70 minutes to defeat Benoît Paire 6-2 6-3 and win his 9th career title. His next tournament is Rotterdam where he will play Viktor Troicki in the first round.
A beautiful lob in the first game set the tone. Richard broke at once and his variety and solidity were too much for his opponent. Two breaks in the pocket, Richard sealed the first set after 23 minutes.The third game in the second set was by far the longest game of the match and Richard finally broke Paire on his 6th breakpoint, only to be rebroken straight away. But the momentum did not change. Richard kept control of the match and broke Paire twice for a convincing 6-2 6-3 victory.
