Gilles Simon has recovered from two sets down to edge out Guido Pella in a five-set battle at the French Open and pave the way for a meeting with Viktor Troicki.
The world number 18 was made to work hard for victory, eventually sealing a 4-6 1-6 7-5 7-6(4) 6-4 triumph in Paris to progress through to round three.
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It looked to be a memorable win for Pella when he took the first two sets, taking advantage of his opponent's two losses of serve in the opener before once more punishing the Frenchman in a shorter second set.
Simon battled back in style, however, recovering in the third by breaking Pella's serve on a couple of occasions and forcing a tie-break in the fourth which he took control of early on.
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Having failed to drag himself over the line Pella, ranked at 48 in the world heading into this second Grand Slam of the year, saw the fifth set pass him by to end his hopes of an upset.
For the second time at this competition Simon battled back from two sets down, simply outlasting his opponent by taking his seventh match point of the evening to get over the line in just short of five hours.
Daniel Lewis
