Gilles Simon does not belong to the giants of world tennis. He has no titles at Grand Slam tournaments, but playing against him is incredibly difficult because he can force a serious fight on his opponents. Simon is persistent and industrious. Outside the court, this athlete is one who always openly expresses his opinion. A wide resonance aroused his words about the prize in women's tennis. The player believes that women should be paid less. He reproaches the tennis players for wanting joint tournaments with men, since the prize pools are divided equally. But this, according to Gilles Simon, is unfair. He said that the era of great tennis players ended with the departure from sports of Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, while men, on the contrary, are now playing great athletes.
Carier start
Gilles Simon was born in Nice, but soon his family moved to a suburb of Paris. It was there that he became interested in tennis. Gilles began to play in the local sports community. At the age of 14, he was noticed by the French Tennis Federation, which allocated a scholarship to a promising athlete.
Simon's professional career began in 2002. Over the next few years, he played at Futures and Challenger tournaments. In 2005, the tennis player made his debut at the Grand Slam tournaments. Simon received an invitation from the organizers at his native Roland Garros tournament. True, there he lost in the first round.
Successful performances
During his career, Gilles Simon managed to win 12 titles in the Asia-Pacific Tour. He was one of the top best tennis players in the world. The athlete is constantly playing for the French team, the best result of which is reaching the Davis Cup final in 2010. The French tennis player won his first singles title in 2007 at a tournament in Marseille.
The following year, the player had a real breakthrough. He was able to win three titles, as well as successfully perform at some major tournaments. For example, at the Masters in Madrid in the semifinals, Gilles beat Rafael Nadal. Successful performances allowed the player to reach seventh place in the ranking. This is currently his best position in the ranking card.
Play style
Experts call Gilles Simon a tennis intellectual. He has amazing ball control, forcing opponents to take risks. In his game, tactics are very important, the French tennis player makes his opponents make mistakes. Its strong quality is psychological stability, even before important matches Gilles Simon does not worry, he does not have any external pressure. The tennis player has good kicks from both forehand and backhand. The player himself claims that his strength is the ability to change the pace of the game. Simon can play at an average pace, and then sharply inflate it. Opponents are often not ready for this. Therefore, on the account of the Frenchman there are victories over the best players in the world. For any tennis player, a serious contender is Gilles Simon. The rating on the ATR system for this athlete is 2235 points, which puts him in 15th place among the best tennis players in the world.
The beginning of the season 2016
One of the best matches in the career of Gilles Simon is the game against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in 2016. This meeting almost ended in a sensation. The match lasted more than four hours and took place in a bitter struggle. It was here that Simon's best qualities appeared.
This match can be used as an example of how you can beat the best tennis player to date. After the defeat, the Frenchman said that he had a game plan that almost worked. It is very difficult to confront such an opponent, but Simon advised the players to use their strengths. He noted that often Djokovic lose in advance, can not properly tune in to the match. But the French tennis player showed how to play his tennis, showing the strong qualities of the game. Djokovic made 100 unforced errors in that match. This is a record for him. The intellectual tennis of the opponent created serious difficulties for Djokovic. In that match, Simon Gilles could well have won. Tennis is an unpredictable sport.
Some call the game of the French athlete a little strange, unimpressive. And this is not surprising, because he prefers a defensive style, forcing opponents to make mistakes.
In life, Gilles Simon is a cheerful and open person. He is a happy husband and father. Tennis plays an important role in his life. Simon says he has no idea what he would do if he did not become an athlete.