DIEGO Schwartzman has claimed his second fantasy tennis tournament title in 2020, and his fifth career title overall after downing top seed and fan favourite, Gael Monfils in straight sets. Following on from his win at Munich earlier in the year, Schwartzman was just too strong for the enigmatic Frenchman, getting up 6-2 6-2 with a couple of extra breaks in each set being the difference.

Throughout the contest Schwartzman never looked fazed, and he continued the form of the last two sets against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in the semis. Since losing the first set of his semi-final to the fifth seed, Schwartzman has only dropped eight games combined in the next four sets, winning them all 6-2 to race to a memorable victory.

Monfils was not at his best on the day, but he will be buoyed by the fact he found some form on clay ahead of Roland Garros after some inconsistent form throughout 2020. He only matched it with Schwartzman at times, but it was more from inconsistency off his own racquet rather than the Argentinian doing a lot of damage to him.

Both players will head to Roland Garros but the result of this final is more important than one might think, because it moved Schwartzman up to number eight in the world, leapfrogging Monfils who slipped to ninth. While on face value that might not seem like much, what it does mean is that Schwartzman avoids playing any of the top seven players in the world until the quarter finals, while Monfils will have to face one in the fourth round if he makes it there.

LYON FINAL RESULT:

[2] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) defeated [1] Gael Monfils (FRA) 6-2 6-2