(April 12, 2015) Slovak Martin Klizan beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2, 6-2 to win the Casablanca Grand Prix Hassan II title on Sunday, his third ATP World Tour trophy.
The No. 41 player Klizan took advantage of his experience against first-time ATP finalist Gimeno-Traver ranked 95th in the world. The Slovak built a 5-1 lead in the first set and never looked back against the Spaniard.
Klizan who is now a perfect 3-0 in finals dedicated his victory to his grandfather, who died last week.
“It’s an amazing feeling right now,” Klizan said. “Every time I am in Morocco, I have played a lot on Centre Court and seen the list of all the names. I wished to be a champion and today I am. I am very proud and excited now. The crowd was unbelievable, they always support me.”
“I would like to dedicate the trophy to my grandfather, who passed away last week, and also to those who died in a bus crash [on Friday] in southern Morocco.”
“Today, was a difficult match for me,” Gimeno-Traver said. “I played a long match yesterday [against Jiri Vesely] and I didn’t feel very well today. Martin played a great match and deserved to win. I will always remember this week and I’m very happy that I reached my first final here.”
For Gimeno-Traver, before this year he had never won match in Casablanca in 2011 and 2013.
Klizan no adds Casablanca to his previous titles came in 2012 in St. Petersburg and in Munich last year.