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Gilles Simon's Chat Thread #1

203K views 5K replies 138 participants last post by  *Raine 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Does anyone know him ? :confused:
I saw him play in Marseille last week, and even if he lost (but it was vs J.Johansson) I thought he played quite good. So, if you have information about this player...
Maryse
 
#1,104 ·
Re: Gilles Simon

I'm not living in France either, but being French helps!

You mean the old pic with the red shirt? It's one of my favourite pics of him. I really like in general all these older pics of him, like the ones posted by Cécile on the first page of this thread, when he still looks like a teenager.

This is old, but I just realized his match against Andreev in Sopot is available online if you're bored during the off-season (I could only find the Robredo one at the time):
http://www.itvp.pl/player.html?mode=0&channel=452&video_id=26346
 
#1,109 · (Edited)
Re: Gilles Simon

Thanks for all this info! :D
There's a lot about Gilles in the French news it seems. You're lucky!

Also a lot of Thierry in the articles, I love this man, he's so nice and the first coach I became a fan of. (But since I know Bruno, he has kicked him off the first spot, I could say they share #1 on my list, but not 50/50, more like 65/35 :lol: )
To all of you who think I'm nuts after reading this; I admit, I am a little crazy sometimes ;)
 
#1,110 ·
Re: Gilles Simon

And another interview of him in the last issue of Grand Chelem (you can download the whole magazine here: http://www.sportagence.com/gc/GC06.pdf )
« En 2008, j'aimerais passer sous la barre des vingt meilleurs joueurs mondiaux »
EN REMPORTANT DEUX TITRES CETTE ANNÉE, GILLES SIMON A CONFIRMÉ SA BELLE ASCENSION. LE NIÇOIS NOUS A DONC ACCORDÉ UNE INTERVIEW OÙ IL NOUS A CONFIÉ QU’IL VOULAIT VISER PLUS HAUT. ENTRETIEN VÉRITÉ AVEC UN CHAMPION QUI A OUBLIÉ DE MANIER LA LANGUE DE BOIS.

Peut-on revenir un instant sur ta saison qui a été très positive ?
Ah oui! Plus que positive. J'ai gagné deux tournois ATP dont l'Open 13 (l'autre est Bucarest) qui est un tournoi reconnu et relevé. En plus de cela, j'ai réussi de bonnes perfs' sur toutes les surfaces. Ce qui était l'un des objectifs de cette saison.
Tu atteins ton meilleur classement cette année. Quels sont tes objectifs pour 2008 ?
C'est vrai que je suis 29ème mondial. J'aimerais passer sous la barre des 20, ce qui est un cap. Donc les objectifs sont simples. Plus de deux titres ATP, un meilleur classement et progresser dans mon tennis. En fait comme 2007 mais en mieux !
A quel âge as-tu commencé le tennis ?
A six ans dans un club, comme tout enfant qui commence un sport. Je faisais beaucoup de sports différents: du foot, du golf, de la natation. Mais celui qui me passionnait le plus, c'était le tennis.
Justement, pourquoi le tennis plus que les autres ?
Je pense que c'est une préference qui est venue toute seule. Personne ne jouait au tennis dans ma famille et on ne m'a pas poussé vers ce sport là en particulier. Mais moi ça me plaisait. Le côté duel, un contre un sûrement.
Tu te souviens de ta première raquette ?
La première, c'était une raquette vraiment basique, une raquette de supermarché. Je me rappelle que la première fois que j'ai remporté un championnat de ligue, j'avais neuf ans. Le premier lot c'était une raquette, une Pro Kennex. J'étais super heureux. Je l'ai gagnée trois ans de suite! (rires)
Trois fois la même ?
Oui ! Mais j'étais quand même content. J'étais un des seuls gamins de mon âge à avoir une nouvelle raquette chaque année !
A cette époque il y avait des posters de joueurs dans ta chambre ?
Oui, les murs était remplis de tennis. Mon joueur préféré, c'était Michael Chang. Sans être mon idole, mais plus comme mon modèle. J'adorais sa façon de jouer. Un petit bonhomme super nerveux qui faisait tomber les grands. Je trouvais cela génial.
Est-ce qu'aujourd'hui tu peux être tennisman sans être passionné par le tennis ?
Non. Et je suis catégorique la-dessus. Certains, comme Davydenko, ne se cachent pas de leur amour pour l'argent. Mais je ne pense pas qu'il aurait un tel niveau s'il ne prenait pas de plaisir à jouer, à progresser. De l'argent, il en gagne depuis un moment et s'il continue à s'entraîner ce n'est pas que pour le pognon. En France, certains ont fait des apparitions grâce à leur talent mais sans être vraiment passionnés. Ils ont rapidement disparu. Je pense notamment à Olivier Mutis. Il avait un vrai talent naturel dès qu'on lui mettait une raquette dans la main mais il n'avait pas un vrai amour du jeu.
Quand tu ne joues pas, tu regardes les matches à la télévision ?
Je regarde rarement les matches mais je m'intéresse beaucoup au jeu. On fait beaucoup de paris entre joueurs sur les résultats du circuit. Et comme je suis un gros joueur, j'adore quand une rencontre se déroule selon mes pronostics.
Il y a un joueur dont tu aimes regarder les matches juste pour le plaisir ?
Je trouve que certains joueurs pratiquent un tennis magnifique. Mais j'essaye de me détacher. Si on est amené à jouer contre quelqu'un que l'on admire trop, on peut faire un bon match mais rarement le gagner. Pour moi le tennis c'est comme la boxe. Et si on prend trois minutes pour regarder jouer l'autre parce qu'on est content de l'avoir en face de soi, on ne va pas le voir longtemps ! (rires)
Quand tu étais petit, tu disais déjà que tu voulais être joueur de tennis ?
Oui. C'est ce que je voulais. Sur ma petite fiche signalétique à l'école, j'écrivais « joueur de tennis ». Bien sûr, à l'époque l'idée de jouer à Roland-Garros me semblait très lointaine. Rien que mon professeur, qui était 2/6, je pensais ne jamais pouvoir le battre. Mon repère était d'essayer de rester au meilleur niveau par rapport aux jeunes de mon âge que je jouais en tournois.
Est-ce qu'il t'est arrivé de détester ton sport ?
Non, parce qu'aujourd'hui je suis récompensé de tous mes efforts. C'est vrai que j'aurai pu. Quand t'es adolescent et que tu vois tes potes faire la fête alors que tu dois aller te coucher parce que dimanche tu as un tournoi dans le fin fond de la France, ca peut te saoûler. J'ai eu un peu ce phénomène d'attraction-répulsion pendant un court moment. Mais finalement j'ai vite enchaîné. J'aurais peut-être détesté le tennis si je n'avais jamais réussi à faire mieux qu'une 300ème place mondiale.
A part le tennis, tu as d'autres passions ?
J'adore le golf. Le tennis me prend beaucoup de temps donc je n'ai pas souvent l'occasion d'y jouer. Je suis aussi un grand fan de jeux vidéos et de RPG (jeu de rôles) comme Final Fantasy. J'ammène toujours ma console sur les tournois. Le soir je rentre à l'hôtel et pour décrocher des matches je joue. Sauf si ma copine est là sinon elle râle un peu. (rires)
Tu vis de ta passion. Tu as conscience d'être un privilégié ?
Oh que oui. C'est ça qui est incroyable. Il n'y en a pas beaucoup qui arrivent à vivre de ce dont ils ont toujours rêvé. Le tennis c'est ma vie. Et même si je m'arrête dans dix ans, il me reste une deuxième vie derrière. Je ne regretterai jamais d'avoir fait ce choix.
Donc si tes enfants te disent qu'ils veulent devenir joueurs de tennis, tu les encourageras ?
Oui, mais je ne les y obligerai pas non plus. Je pense qu'il est important qu'un enfant s'amuse dans son sport. Si on perd la notion du jeu, ça devient trop dur. Tennis, foot, peinture, sculpture, ils feront ce qu'ils voudront, tant qu'ils s'éclatent comme moi je m'éclate avec le tennis.
 
#1,111 · (Edited)
Re: Gilles Simon

It's not very interesting, but since it was easy to translate for a change, here's a sort of translation. This issue of Grand Chelem is about how to raise a champion and how champions came to tennis, it explains the many questions about the childhood:

« In 2008, I would like to enter the top 20 »
With two titles this year, Gilles Simon confirmed his great rise. The Niçois reveals he aims even higher in a genuine interview with a champion who doesn’t cant.
- Let’s go back over your season which was very positive.
- Oh yes! More than positive. I won two ATP tournaments, one of them, the Open 13, being a recognized event with a good field. On top of that, I had some good results on all surfaces. Which was one of the goals for this year.
- You’ve reached your best ranking ever. Your goals for 2008?
- I’m ranked #29, so I’d like to enter the top 20, which is a big step to take. The goals are simple: more than 2 ATP titles ^^, a better ranking, improve my tennis. Like 2007, but even better!
- How old were you when you started with tennis?
- 6 years old, in a club, like any other child who starts a sport. I was doing many different things: football, golf, swimming. But tennis was my favorite sport.
- And why tennis more than the other ones?
- It came just like that, I think. Nobody was playing tennis in my family and I wasn’t pressed to play tennis. But I liked it. The duel, probably, one against one.
- You remember your first racket?
- The first one was a very basic one, bought in a supermarket. I remember that I won a championship when I was 9 years old and the first prize was a racket, a Pro Kennex. I was so happy! I won it three times a row. (laughter)
- Three times the same racket?
- Yes! But I was happy though. I was the only boy of my age having a new racket every year!
- Were there posters of players all over the walls of your room?
- Yes, it was full of tennis posters. My favorite player was Michael Chang. He wasn’t my idol, more like a model. I loved the way he played. A little guy, extremely nervous, who managed to “knock down” the tall ones. I found that great.
- Today, can you imagine being a tennis player without having a passion for tennis?
- No, and I’m categorical. Some players, like Davydenko, make no secret of their love for money. But I don’t think he would have reached such a high level if he wasn’t enjoying playing and improving. He’s been earning a lot of money for a while now and if he keeps training, it’s not just for the money. In France, some players have made brief appearances because they were talented, but they were not having a real passion for tennis. They disappeared quickly. Olivier Mutis is one of them. He had a natural talent when you put a racket into his hand, but he didn’t really love the game.
- When you’re not playing, do you watch tennis matches on TV?
- I rarely watch matches, but I follow the game very closely. We bet a lot with the other players. And since I’m a gambler, I love it when a match goes the way I predicted.
- Is there one player you like to watch just for the fun?
- I think some players play beautiful tennis, but I try to remain detached. If you have to play against a player you admire too much, you might play a good match, but you will probably lose. Tennis is like boxing for me. If you take 3 minutes off to watch the other guy because you’re so happy to face him, you won’t last long! (laughter)
- Were you already saying as a child you wanted to become a tennis player?
- Yes. That’s what I wanted to do. On the little introduction card at school, I wrote “tennis player”. Of course, the idea of playing in Roland-Garros seemed very far at the time. I thought I would never be able to beat my tennis teacher who was ranked 2/6. I tried to keep up with the other boys of my age I played against in tournaments.
- Have you ever hated your sport?
- No, because I’m rewarded for all my efforts. I could have hated it, it's true. As a teenager, when you see your friends partying while you have to go to bed early because you’re playing a tournament in the depths of the country on Sunday, it can be annoying. I had this attraction-repulsion feeling during a short time. But I moved on quickly. Maybe I would have hated tennis if I had never been able to pass the #300 mark.
- Do you have other passions outside of tennis?
- I love golf. But tennis is very time-consuming, so I don’t have much time left for golf. I also am a big fan of video games and RPG, like Final Fantasy. I always have my games console on tour. I play in my hotel room at night to switch off after the matches. Except when my girlfriend is there because she moans a little bit then. (laughter)
- You’re earning your living with your passion. Are you aware you’re very fortunate?
- Oh yes. It’s incredible. Not many people manage to earn their living by doing what they’ve ever dreamed of. Tennis is my life. And even if I stop in 10 years, I’ll have a second life afterwards. I will never regret this choice.
- So if your children tell you they want to become tennis players, you will encourage them?
- Yes, but I won’t force them either. It’s important a kid is having fun when doing a sport. If you lose that playful dimension, it becomes too tough. Tennis, football, painting, sculpture, they will do whatever they want as long as they get their kicks doing it, like I do with tennis.
 
#1,115 ·
Re: Gilles Simon

It's not very interesting, but since it was easy to translate for a change, here's a sort of translation. This issue of Grand Chelem is about how to raise a champion and how champions came to tennis, it explains the many questions about the childhood:


- When you’re not playing, do you watch tennis matches on TV?
- I rarely watch matches, but I follow the game very closely. We bet a lot with the other players. And since I’m a gambler, I love it when a match goes the way I predicted.
Don't think this is really a smart thing to say with all these match fixing issues lately :p
 
#1,113 · (Edited)
Re: Gilles Simon

Another interview of Gillou today:
http://www.sports.fr/fr/cmc//tennis/200751/simon-j-affiche-mes-ambitions_159565.html
He loved the training in Saint-Cyprien, this group feeling, he thinks it's great to practice together with guys like Piro who is ranked out of the top 1000 because he did the same when he was younger and it helped him a lot.
Now he's training in Roland-Garros and he will leave for Australia in 2 days.
Then he talks about his season, the fact that he isn't so impressed by top 10 players anymore now, and about his goal for the future, which is to reach a ranking of around 15th.
Again, he stresses he needs to adapt his game in order to run less because he thinks that's the reason why he lost in the 2nd round in Roland-Garros or Wimbledon. He is too exhausted after the first round. Against Paulo in RG, he felt like he had a good chance to win, but he crumbled physically. And in Wimbledon he lost to Youzhny 6-4 in the 5th set with his body hurting all over. So it's obvious he can't afford to play the way he does in 5 sets matches.
The journalist remarks he is known for not being afraid to speak his mind. He says he makes indeed no secret of his ambitions when he feels confident. And on the other hand, he also admits it when he isn't playing well and tries not to look for excuses all the time [I'm not too sure about that, the interview after his loss to Verdasco at the US Open for example, when he was whining that they hadn't practiced with a left-hander and it took him like 12 games to adjust because of that, was a tad embarrassing...]
Then the journalist asks him about the difference with the States: when an American guy says he wants to become the number 1, everybody is fine with that. Not the same in France. In the States, if you say your goal is to become number 15, people will almost be mad at you! People think another way in France, but he's sure all the players have the same confidence deep inside, otherwise they wouldn't be able to go out there and play. Some say it openly, others don't, that's all. He thinks his goals are reasonable considering his 2007 season and if other people mean he can't do it, it's now up to him to prove them wrong.
 
#1,119 ·
Re: Gilles Simon

Thanks to Ayane for the reminder, I hadn't noticed it's Gillou's birthday today. 23 ans!
You're welcome my friend :hug:
 
#1,120 · (Edited)
Re: Gilles Simon

Happy Belated Birthday Gilles. Hope you had a great one.

Here is the draw for Adelaide. I think he can get past Llodra easily but it will probably be Ancic next. They've never played. It will be tough.


[1] Lleyton HEWITT (AUS) v Dudi SELA (ISR)
Alejandro FALLA (COL) v Jose ACASUSO (ARG)
Ernests GULBIS (LAT) v QUALIFIER
Victor HANESCU (ROM) v [6] Jo-Wilfred TSONGA (FRA)

[3] Jarkko NIEMINEN (FIN) v QUALIFIER
QUALIFIER v Simone BOLELLI (ITA)
Florian MAYER (GER) v Mischa ZVEREV (GER)
Vincent SPADEA (USA) v [8] Sebastien GROSJEAN (FRA)

[7] Juan Martin DEL POTRO (ARG) v Michael RUSSELL (USA)
[WC] Robert SMEETS (AUS) v Benjamin BECKER (GER)
Evgeny KOROLEV (RUS) v Mario ANCIC (CRO)
Michael LLODRA (FRA) v [4] Gilles SIMON (FRA)

[5] Radek STEPANEK (CZE) v [WC] Joseph SIRIANNI (AUS)
Sam QUERREY (USA) v Steve DARCIS (BEL)
[WC] Chris GUCCIONE (AUS) v QUALIFIER
Julien BENNETEAU (FRA) v [2] Paul-Henri MATHIEU (FRA)
 
#1,122 ·
Re: Gilles Simon

Michael LLODRA (FRA) v [4] Gilles SIMON (FRA)?
Julien BENNETEAU (FRA) v [2] Paul-Henri MATHIEU (FRA)?

Not a good draw for me ... early French battles. :(
Anyway, I'll go for Gilles & Julien (although PHM may win).
 
#1,123 ·
Re: Gilles Simon

He lost 7-6 6-3.
He was apparently playing poorly in training, so it's not so surprising, and the first match of the year is no big deal, but... grrrrr, Gilles, not against Llodra!

He's also playing in doubles with Zverev.

A couple of pics with ugly watermarks, that's all I've found:
 

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#1,127 · (Edited)
Re: Gilles Simon

Now if he loses to Llodra AND Fish in a row, I won't be pleased. Time to win a match, Gilles:

(6) HEWITT, Lleyton AUS v MAHUT, Nicolas FRA
(WC) GUCCIONE, Chris AUS v QUALIFIER
SIMON, Gilles FRA v FISH, Mardy USA
VOLANDRI, Filippo ITA v (4) BERDYCH, Tomas CZE

He also plays doubles with Verdasco.

Edit: I just realized Fish played in the Hopman Cup and seemed to be in good form there...
 
#1,131 ·
Re: Gilles Simon

Allez Gilles! Good job today! I hope you can go deeper & deeper.
Anyway, since you're already in the same part as Nico & Tomas,
I hope to see your match against one of them.
It's exciting but hurt to see my beloved ones fighting each other
but I have no choice so ... do your best!
 
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