Four days. That’s how long Gilles Simon waited between his defeat on Thursday against Andy Roddick in the round of 16 of the Paris Bercy Masters Series and the announcement, yesterday, of Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from Shanghai. In the meantime, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga surpassed the player from Nice in the ATP Race rankings, thanks to his victory in the capital. The player from Le Mans is now seventh, while Gilles Simon was the first alternate for the Chinese tournament.
He had to hope for a withdrawal from one of the qualifiers to become a main player and participate in this major event. That happened yesterday because a little before 6 PM, world number one, Rafael Nadal, announced on his website that he would not play in China, preferring to recover from his knee injury. The Spaniard had to retire in the quarter-finals at Bercy against Nikolay Davydenko. He added that he wanted to be fully operational for the Davis Cup final in Argentina, at Mar Del Plata, which will take place a week after the Masters Cup.
This withdrawal allows France to be the most represented country and above all to have two participants in this tournament, something that hasn’t happened since 1986 when Henri Leconte and Yannick Noah competed in the event. However, a player from Nice at the Masters Cup, it’s the first time ever…
There is no doubt that the two French players will live up to the expectations placed on them and especially to the level they have shown since the beginning of the season. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon will know the composition of their group tomorrow. They will play their first match next Sunday or Monday.
