Gilles Simon points out media’s hypocrisy for not cherishing his victories against the likes of Novak Djokovic and calling them a mere ‘stroke of luck’


Gilles Simon points out media’s hypocrisy for not cherishing his victories against the likes of Novak Djokovic and calling them a mere ‘stroke of luck’

Gilles Simon

Gilles Simon after playing for two decades decided to retire this year after losing his last match against Felix Auger-Aliassime 1-6, 3-6 at Paris Masters 2022. He was given a warm farewell after the match. He too was emotional at the event.

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About more than three weeks later, Gilles Simon is in better shape both physically and mentally. He gave a long interview to a French channel, summarizing his journey of two decades and all of his past achievements and experiences.

“When Djokovic made 100 unforced errors against me at the Australian Open (in 2016), it was very easy for me to explain because he made them every time we played each other. Why the players made 60 mistakes or made 20 more against Andy (Murray) or Gaël (Monfils), it’s very easy to explain when you know what you’re looking for. But this is where sometimes media representations come to block things that are ultimately quite simple,” he said mocking the media.

“I play Novak in Australia, he has just won all the Grand Slams, and he is number one, everyone asks me before the game: ‘Why are you going on the pitch? You have no chance. You can’t do anything, the guy is unbeatable’. Me, I’m here, I want to go anyway because it seems to me that I know him and that no, he doesn’t know how to do everything, and that no, there are things he struggles with, and I feel good about the top of that and I want to see what happens. And I manage to do it and it gives that. But we say, ‘that’s it, he drove him crazy’. But we don’t know how to explain it,” he explained it further.

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“This is why I have always said that when Jo (Tsonga) plays well, and there is also an impact there when Jo beats Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic, he is the one who beat them. Because with his game, we tell you: ‘Jo he had a huge match, he served, he sent aces, forehands, he got into him’. If I beat Roger, it’s Roger who played badly. I made him outwit, I made him play badly, and I never played well in fact, I was never stronger than the other. It’s always: I got into his head, and suddenly he only made mistakes, so he missed things he would never miss. And I always found that it was a very pejorative way of qualifying a style of play compared to another and also of “stealing” your victory,” he continued.

Gilles Simon could never manage to win any Grand Slam title in his long career. He however did win 14 ATP singles titles and helped his country France to win the Davis Cup title in 2017.

Also Read: “I hear you Rafa” Martina Navratilova rallies with Rafael Nadal over the impact Roger Federer’s retirement had on his life

Gilles Simon’s last season on the tour

Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon

Gilles Simon had been struggling with an incompetent form for the past two years, Covid-19 exacerbated it. He could not do much in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He came in the 2022 season with little hope.

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The Frenchman started his season with participation in the Traralgon International tournament. He could not qualify for the 2022 Australian Open. He announced that 2022 will be his last year on tour. He got a wildcard to play in the French Open. He started well by defeating Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round. He was knocked out in the third round by Marin Cilic. At Moselle Open, he defeated David Goffin but lost to Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.

The 37-year-old won his opening-round matches against Andy Murray and Taylor Fritz in the Paris Masters. He lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime and subsequently retired.

Also Read: “I got in awful trouble,” When Sue Barker went off-script during Andy Murray’s Wimbledon triumph

Also Read: German tennis federation offers Boris Becker to “pick his job” upon serving his prison sentence

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