Articles & interviews
 

Here's the translation of what we were talking about with Brego in the pics thread. There are bits of post-match interviews during the Australian Open 2006 here - it was pretty much his first "coup" on the tour when he beat Massu and Berdych, people didn't know him yet, so he was asked to describe his game in interviews, that's why I find it funny to read a few years later:
- Who is Gilles Simon?
- I have no idea! (laughes) Nobody has found out yet. Not even me! I think I'm a bit atypical. I'm capable of the worst as well as the best on a tennis court, like everybody else, but it's more extreme with me.
- Guy Forget said you're a genious. [That part still cracks me up!]
- (laughes) It's nice from him, I'm touched! Now, I'm not sure about that! It must be the first time he watches me play in a tournament. If he thinks so, that's great, but I'm not so sure.
I like varying the pace. I have a good timing in striking the ball, that's why I can get so much force on the ball without expanding too much energy. Now, it's true my game is a bit strange for players who don't know me because I play very softly most of the time and when I decide to speed up the ball, it goes pretty fast. It's in or out, but most of the time, it's deciding. So I understand what my opponents go through. I hate playing guys who play like I do, without much pace, without hitting hard - maybe that's the reason why I play like that.

And Potier (his coach at the time) says he's very talented with fundamental qualities - able to hold out very long, very fast, great returner, amazing backhand and a real competitor. He is very stubborn, which has disavantadges, but the advantage is that he doesn't give up in matches. (The journalist says his game reminds of Santoro's - I don't see it :shrug: ): It's different from Santoro. Gilles' shots are not heavy because he weighs 60 kg, but the ball goes very fast. "He didn't really amaze me against Berdych because the other guy was playing like an idiot, so I was sure Gilles was going to hammer him. It was hilarious."

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And one of his few interviews in English, the article on atptennis.com after his win in Marseille:

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I don't see it either except that Gilles thinks out there like Santoro he doesn't just bash the ball.

Santoro, however, has great net play which alas we can't say about Gilles.

Thanks for the interviews. :D

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Here's the "translation/summary" of the interview he gave to "Nice Premium" before his first round match in Monte-Carlo. It's not so interesting, it's just a local newspaper, but never mind. It's most of all a review of the first part of the season in his perspective.
(He already gave a long interview to the same newspaper in Monte-Carlo last year, btw: Gilles Simon : "J'ose plus aller vers l'avant")

http://www.nice-premium.com/article/...-%BB.3129.html
Gilles Simon: "I'm eager to play against Federer"

"2007 was a good year. It was encouraging because I also played well in some important matches, even though I lost them. So my goals for 2008 were clear, I wanted to keep going. But my start in the new season is not good. The Australian tournaments were tough, despite of a good Australian Open. After that, I made a quarter of final in Marseille, a semi-final in Rotterdam, I thought it would be enough to be seeded in IW and Miami. But in both tournaments I just missed a seeding (33rd). I also had some bad luck for the Challenger of Sunrise between Indian Wells and Miami. I needed to confirm my entry until 18:00. My match against Youzhny finished at 18:03 and I had to wait one more week without playing matches.

The match against Nadal in Australia:
I was tense and nervous. In the first round, I had beaten Reynolds in 4 hours, I'm very happy about that match. [:shrug:] In the 2nd round I beat Schüttler, but I was not playing very well and wasn't feeling my shots at all. Then the 3rd round against Nadal. I have no pressure, I find back to my game. I get a 5-2 lead in the first set and I get tight. I can't take my chances. 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, I end up losing this first set 7-5 after two games which feel extremely long. In no time, he's leading 4-0 in the 2nd set. I get myself back into the match, I lose that set 6-2, and then, at 3-3 in the 3rd set, I collapse and lose 6-3. It was close, a good match and a great experience.

Marseille and Rotterdam:
The first tournament was a plus. I finished the match against Djokovic with a terrible abdominal spasm (he smiles). The next round against Paulo was very tough. In Holland I played two very good matches against Lopez and Tipsarevic and won without too many problems against Gabashvili. The problem is that I collided with a bus in the semi-final! (he laughes) I played against an ultra-powerful Söderling. I've rarely felt dominated that way (6-2 6-1). I felt like he was only playing aces and winners during the entire match. It's the kind of matches I have no regrets about because the other guy is just too strong.

Indian Wells and Miami:
I was starting to feel well. I was ranked 29th before IW, but other players made some good results so I wasn't seeded. It was also due to a poor performance in Zagreb, I should have rather played Dubai. I lose in the 2nd round of IW, which means I can prepare properly for Miami. unfortunately I get a tough draw there and lose to Ancic in the first round.

Estoril:
This time, I had an open draw, but I got injured against Cipolla. It's annoying, all the more since the pain reappeared on Sunday in training with Marat.

About Monte-Carlo:
Playing a qualifier always is annoying, especially in a Masters Series. They all have a good ranking, between 50 and 70 [not exactly!] and can play tennis. It's not a walk-over. But it's very motivating to know I can play against Federer. I hope I'll be able to play at full capacity against him like I did against Nadal in Australia.
He's the only top 10 player (with Blake) I've never played against. It's all the more motivating that he's the actual number 1. I'm eager to play against him. I've never played against Agassi, there were a few occasions, but everytime either he or I lost in the round just before. It's one of my regrets, like not having played Hewitt, Safin or Henman in tournaments [when they were at the top, I guess]. I played Gaudio or former number 1 like Moya or Ferrero, that's great."

Then some general stuff:
It was a good experience to be on the DC team in Romania, to see how it works. It was nice, the atmosphere was good. He doesn't know what happened in the States and doesn't want to comment on it.
The French Open remains a big goal for him and he hopes he won't be injured. If he's seeded, great. If he's not, it's not that important.
His goal is to go to the Olympics. It will depend on the clay season since the 4 best French players after RG will qualify, so he hopes his back won't bother him too much. So far, he's in.

The goals for 2008:
"I want to climb in the rankings. If I'm #30 at the end of the year like I am now, it will be decent, but I'm supposed to be in an ascending phase and the real goal is to reach the top 20 and to win one title."

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Amen to that

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Well Truc I wanted to Good Rep you for translating this and most of the other articles here but I have to spread my reputation around more before giving it to you again.

Thanks. :worship:

Edit: I tried to Good Rep you too Scott but the same thing. I don't know how much reputation I have to spread around but I've done about 10 good reps in the past couple days. :shrug:

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I love you Fran :kiss:

You have to spread the reps around a lot, Brego. This board likes you to be a whore.

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De rien, Scott. :kiss:
Lee explained last time that we have to rep 20 different posters before we can rep the same poster again, Brego! I find 20 a bit much.

It's not so interesting for you because it's all in French, but I added a few older articles to the "blog" where I used to put my Gillou articles, interviews and videos (Marseille 2005, Australia 2006, Valencia 2006...):
http://gilles-simon.over-blog.com/
Of course, it's a bit repetitive since every article mentions the late growth issue, etc. But some parts are funny to read now - well, especially for me since I'm a new fan and I wasn't following him yet at that time, maybe you already know all that stuff.

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I can summarize at least a few bits.

The article about Marseille 2005 says he got an ovation from the crowd for his victory over Tojo, but hardly celebrated his win on the court. "It's not my style", he says in his first press conference ever. But he also says that he has always dreamed as a kid of playing one day in a beautiful stadium in front of a big crowd.
He says about himself he knows "he isn't much to look at" ("il ne paie pas de mine", I don't know the exact translation). He looks at first "out of line" on the tour with his legs which look more like the legs of an old woman. :lol:
But the players of the Challenger tour have learned at their expense that he's tireless and a formidable opponent (he is the player who played the most on the circuit in 2004 - 107 matches).
He's already working with Tulasne at that time who is quite laudatory: "He's a brilliant guy in real life [the article stresses he passed his "baccalauréat S", which is pretty good compared to the others] and perfectly knows how to adjust on the court, he proved it again against Tojo. He has a big potential." Gilles: "I know that my wait-and-see game won't be enough anymore at one point. But until I get 'real beatdowns', I'm sticking to my beliefs."

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A few bits from the first AO 2006 articles:

The journalist describes him as "a 21-year-old 'lightweight' who looks like a sitcom actor and whose both thighs together are slimmer than one leg of Serena". ^^
After his first round, he called his coach Potier from the infirmary and told him to come because he wasn't feeling well at all. When Potier arrives, he laughes because Gilles is sleeping like a baby. "Gilles isn't a nutritional genius. His natural stamina is exceptional, but he doesn't really keep himself fit. And since he isn't used to play 5 sets matches, it leads to odd situations... Luckily, he's a great competitor. And when he doesn't whine on the court, he can do really great things."
After the Massu match, Forget was explaining to Clément with great enthusiasm: "This guy is a genius! I wish you would have seen how he bluffed his way through against Massu!"
His "off-beat" game reminds a little bit of Mecir or Mutis, with faster shots than Mecir and more doggedness than Mutis beneath his nonchalant attitude.
Gilles: "Everything is based on the physical aspect and it's obvious there's still a lot to do for me in that regard. I mean I have a good natural endurance, but 5 sets matches are another story. I'll need to develop my lower body. The problem is that I have to start from the scratch... It will be long, it will be hard, but I'll have to do it."

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And the last one about the Berdych match in Australia (An unindentified tennistic object):

Berdych was completely mad after the match because it's impossible to find one's rhythm against Gilles. "He's a bit like those Frenchies who look ... [he makes a nonchalant gesture, with arms dangling]. He serves big three times in a row and then he serves as if he was throwing the ball with the hand. He looks like he's exhausted and then hits winners out of the blue..."
But this time, it wasn't just bluff. Gilles' tactics was to play without any intensity and to drive Berdych crazy.
Gilles isn't easy to coach with his mix of casualness off the court, stubborness and tenacity during the matches. "I know Jérôme (Potier) thinks I behave 'amateurishly' when it comes to the physical part of the training. It's not totally normal not to be able to walk after a first round match, that's true. He'd want me to work more. But I go through phases and sometimes it annoys me! I don't manage to keep the same intensity in training and in matches. If I miss a backhand in training, no big deal, I have 30 more tries."
Potier: "He has so many natural qualities that he isn't used to work. It's too bad because he has a better weight-power ratio than Ascione (whose nickname is "the Beef")! He's talented, clever and tenacious. And most of all, he doesn't whine anymore. He's much better since he has stopped telling his life story on the court during the matches." [I didn't know Gilles used to be a kind of Gaudio on the court! He's pretty impassive now.]
And the conclusion:
"Priceless in his devastating outspokenness, Gilles Simon can look forward to a radiant future: 'If I'm setting limits to myself? Right now, I would say no.'"

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:lol:

Merci Fran :hug:

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That quote made me laugh too!

I found the articles quite interesting because he was already 21 years old at that time and they're really talking of him as if he had to start everything from the scratch (start working properly on his stamina, etc.) He really is a latebloomer.
I'm sure Potier exaggerates too, he's like that a lot, judging by his interviews, but still, there must be elements of truth in what he says.
I prefer the Tulasne style, though.

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The summary of the Valencia 2006 articles ("Simon is asserting himself"):

He's still ranked out of the top 80 and strung a couple of good wins together to reach his first ATP final (over Sanguinetti (52), Seppi (54) and Verdasco in the semi (34)).
He still means at that time that hardcourt is his best surface, but says he hasn't any mental block on clay either [now he says clay is his best surface in interviews].
He's a bit disappointed since he wanted to play Safin in the final [he often says in interviews Safin was his favourite player when he was young], but will play Almagro.
Against Verdasco, he took the advantage in the tiebreak by playing serve & volley out of the blue. Potier: "He's as sly as a fox! Now he just needs to add the power of the bison."
Of course, the journalist takes up again this fox & bison metapher to comment on his loss to Almagro in the final. Gilles describes it himself as a "slaughter". "At the beginning, I was just trying to play the ball back in order to find my marks. I should have realized sooner that it was no use to try to slow down the pace."

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Thanks so much Truc for translating those early articles.

I love how Gilles is never afraid to speak his mind.

Some interesting insights about him in your translations.