Mahut beats Wawrinka for first title at age 31; Halep beats Flipkens for 2nd straight title

ROSMALEN, Netherlands — Nicolas Mahut of France won his first ATP title at the age of 31, playing impeccable serve-and-volley tennis to beat second-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-4 in the Topshelf Open final on Saturday.

Earlier, Simona Halep won her second title in two weeks, beating Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 6-2 in a rain-interrupted women's final.

Mahut's and Wawrinka's match also was disrupted by rain and Mahut — appearing in his first final since 2007 — dealt with the interruptions better.

The Frenchman's victory on grass capped a comeback from a career-threatening knee injury that sidelined him for months.

"Six months ago, I was not sure I could play again on the tour and here I am with the trophy," he said.

"I am really proud with the way I played all week," added Mahut, who came through qualifying.

Mahut had to break Wawrinka only twice for the victory, once to take a 5-3 lead in the first set — with Wawrinka serving a double fault to gift the Frenchman the game — and again in the third game of the second set.

In the women's final, Halep was a break up at 5-4 when rain forced a 75-minute break, but she came back strong, holding serve to take the set.

She then twice broke Flipkens' serve to race to 3-0 before the Belgian broke back.

But Flipkens had no answer to the powerful groundstrokes from Halep, who easily won her first grass-court title.