Gilles Simon has been making headlines in all the media for the past two weeks. He’s everywhere, we’re hearing him everywhere, yet he still has things to say. Part one of our interview.
Nice-Premium: You went to Lyon last week even though there was a risk of arriving tired in Paris, why?
Gilles Simon: The objective was to surpass certain players in the Race rankings. That’s accomplished since I’m now ahead of Ferrer. Now, I have to do as well as they do, whereas before I had to do better than them. Given how tough it is to win matches in a Masters Series considering the draw and the players present, being ahead is an advantage. They will certainly feel a bit more pressure, knowing they can’t afford any mistakes.
N-P: The fact that Blake and Ferrer might meet in the round of 16, is that an advantage?
G.S.: I’m not convinced because if one of them goes to the quarters, I must get there too. A lot can happen here. All the players can beat each other. At the end of the third round, things will be clearer. How many players can still qualify for Shanghai? Realistically, I’d say four or five in addition to Roddick, Del Potro, and myself.
N-P: What do you think about your first match against Andreev whom you met in Madrid?
G.S.: It’s a playable but difficult second round. I need to beat a very strong player, but who is no stronger than any other. Anyway, whether it’s him or someone else, I have to win.
N-P: Let’s go back to Madrid. You thought you had a tough draw that was eventually cleared thanks to Ginepri and Karlovic.
G.S.: No, the only result that cleared my draw was Djokovic’s defeat. Indeed, Robby Ginepri was as dangerous as Davydenko. I would have had the same type of match to play if it had been against the world number five. For Karlovic, he has a 50% chance against anyone. And then I still faced Nadal, whom I managed to overcome. Finally, Murray certainly eliminated Federer, but he is the fourth player in the world. That’s not trivial. In any case, if a player advances, it’s simply because they were in better shape on the day of the match.
“Against Nadal, you feel like the perfect victim”
N-P: In Madrid, it’s striking that except against Andreev, you were behind in head-to-heads with those you defeated.
G.S.: You have to be careful with ATP statistics because they account for matches since the beginning of your career. But Ginepri beat me more than two years ago. Then, he was 63rd, I was 12th, so I had no reason to feel inferior, I was the favorite. Indeed, I was behind in head-to-heads but ahead in ranking. With Karlovic, it’s the same except that I beat him three times in qualifiers or challengers, which doesn’t count for the ATP. His victory was in Nottingham, which does count. Actually, I use past confrontations mostly to identify my opponents’ weaknesses.
N-P: What do you take away from your victory over Nadal, luckily not played on clay?
G.S.: It’s clear that it’s better to face him on a fast surface. It’s really difficult to assert oneself. It’s very complicated because you feel like the perfect victim. I had a poor start to the match because it’s hard to get on the same mental level as him.
N-P: Ultimately, you seemed to play along with the crowd who didn’t hold it against you for beating Nadal.
G.S.: Against a player like him, people expect a thrashing. I lose the first set 6-3, and I’m in a very bad position. Everyone, including me, thinks he’s going to give me a 6-2 in the second set. But at one point, I turn things around, and the match shifts. The crowd was happy because they were witnessing a great match but weren’t worried about their favorite, certain that he’d prevail in the end. They were really pleased to see someone who fights, they respected me in the battle. When they sensed Nadal could lose, they tried a bit to unsettle me or to cheer him on harder but they were never disrespectful and that’s good.
N-P: You win this match on a ball that everyone sees as good… except you.
G.S.: For me, from the start, I knew it was out. Everyone thought it was in, they all wanted to believe it. In France, I’m sure it would have been Nadal who would have challenged the ball. That said, I would have preferred to win on a normal point rather than a challenge. But it’s still a very good thing that there’s video, especially on such crucial points.
N-P: Then comes the final, where you seem to have nothing to do against Andy Murray.
G.S.: Right away, I felt I was below his level. However, I managed my fatigue well. In the second set, I fought to hold my serve, I even had set points but couldn’t convert them. It’s a shame.
N-P: So you went to Lyon, a kind of training to maintain your familiarity with fast surfaces before Bercy, right?
G.S.: Exactly. If Bercy had been an objective to go all the way, I wouldn’t have gone to Lyon. But now, I will have the advantage in the first two rounds of having maintained a certain habit. The thing is, I need to avoid playing very long matches.
