Topic: ALLEZ Gilles Simon!

[monstertruck]

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Gilles-Simon.aspx
http://www.itftennis.com/mens/players/player.asp?player=30023245
http://www.daviscup.com/teams/player.asp?player=30023245








For da ladies




A steady player who provides a nice counterpoint to attackers and power-baseliners.
7 ATP titles to date is not a shabby start.

Allez Gilles!

[conchita]

I am so deeply touched! I think I am going to cry, first posting a tribute video about Jeniffer and now you opening a thread about Simon.
Thanks a ton MT! this was the most special and touching moment during all those 3 years posting here!   Merci beaucoup! 

[conchita]

I don't know how to restart this thread, I am so happy for Gilles in the last months, he is now a daddy! Congrats Gillou!  

I love this picture so much!  



Yesterday, when I opened the thread about the Valencia Open, it brought to me great memories, the unforgettable weekend when I was in Valencia in 2006 and I discovered him when he defeated Verdasco in the semis and lost the final to Almagro, the guy Rafa chooses as hitting partner on clay.  

Gilles is 7-2 in finals, the other defeat was against Murray in MS Madrid but who could not forget his semifinal epic win over Nadal in 2008.  

[conchita]

I have not watched this video in months, nice to see is still available, hope the entire French documentary is also there in the net!

intro: Gilles Simon playing the piano 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdvZbKBKsDI&translated=1[/youtube]

[Chris1987]

Really glad to see we have a new thread for Simon going now the last one is a complete mystery still

[conchita]

you can not be more biased than this, this post brings me some memories, back in 2009:

My first time I saw Gilles in action was in the tournament at the RCT Valencia in 2006. He defeated Verdasco and lost in the final to Almagro, one of the best clay court specialists on the tour. Gilles impressed me, he played well and he was friendly and humble. nice memories. I love the way he handles the media and interacts with fans.
I have been following his career since the unforgettable weekend in Valencia, It's easy to follow French players if you are lucky and can speak the language. Who does not like an adorable French player like Gilles??
Then came the story all the Simontards know so well, Marseille, Bucharest and the second half of the 2008 season. I was very happy to see his meteoric rise. It was a great second half the season, starting with the win against AO champion Djokovic in Marseille, then world number 1 Federer in Toronto, later new world number 1 and national hero Nadal in his country and the second accident in Shanghai when he beat Federer again, so cute Gillou. That was last year.

Let's focus on the present, he still lacks the experience, needs to figure out he is a top 10 player with a meteoric rise. He is very hard to read in matches, what's going on in his head. Sometimes he does not create enough pressure and is too passive staying 3 meters behind the baseline and probably at the moment he has fitness issues. My wish is he will remain positive and finally this week he has a week off to recover.
He is maybe no more the player of the second half of last year, he has missed something, he has too many UE in key moments. The confidence is not there at all since the rookie and team leader debut in the Davis cup. Difficult times for the Simon camp and fans ahead. Oh well, I will always be a fan of him, no matter wins or defeats. He is smart and I hope he is able to remember the last half of the season and remember how well he played then.
He is perhaps pretty stiff and limited, he strikes me as a somewhat more talented Ferrer, but with a little less grit so it balances itself out. He has a good ending to last year but sadly I don't think he will be able to sustain it for too long. Wish I am wrong, Let's keep expectations low!
He is fun to watch and plays so well for the limited weapons he has but I see Gilles as a player who lacks the really big weapon that I believe players need to reach in the very top of the game or slams finals or semifinals. He will stay fairly consistent but I expect him unfortunately to fall in the coming months and stay in a ranking around number 20. I wish I'll be wrong. I hope he will be stay determined to improve and humble. I like his playing style, not tall or big enough for modern tennis. I fully admire his mental strenght, work rate and ability to get the most out of his talent.
I will stand forever by my player, Gillou.
Hope he will remain down to earth, now that he has plenty of fans and will not start to be know by his cockiness. Gillou is a sweetheart with a long way to go.
If anyone can comeback after losing first set or some matches, it's Gilles. He has made a career out of it.
There's nothing bad about being a great player. Don't you sometimes dislike your favourite player when Gilles loses? probably . It's like 3 o'clock in the morning, empty room, very sad thoughts but we keep hope of better days to Gilles. The favourite players are ageless. Gilles is the greatest of them all. No one ever leaves a wonderful player as Gillou. That's what makes Gilles a star.
Gilles, the player of Nice, warmth with elegance, passion with patience, common sense with uncommon wit, great strenght with even greater vulnerability.
Gilles is a great player with a touching history.
So please Gilles be kind to us, your fans, I know you will and make us proud.

Gilles, you rock my life. Bravo et Merci champion! 

 

[monstertruck]

I am so deeply touched! I think I am going to cry, first posting a tribute video about Jeniffer and now you opening a thread about Simon.
Thanks a ton MT! this was the most special and touching moment during all those 3 years posting here!   Merci beaucoup! 

Both my wife and I have a soft spot for J-Cap despite or perhaps because of her tumultuous personal life.
Hearing her name in the news recently I had hoped for something positive, but alas, it seems like she's still wrestling with some inner demons.  I hope she eventually makes peace with herself and can create a fruitfull life.

[conchita]

I am so deeply touched! I think I am going to cry, first posting a tribute video about Jeniffer and now you opening a thread about Simon.
Thanks a ton MT! this was the most special and touching moment during all those 3 years posting here!   Merci beaucoup! 

Both my wife and I have a soft spot for J-Cap despite or perhaps because of her tumultuous personal life.
Hearing her name in the news recently I had hoped for something positive, but alas, it seems like she's still wrestling with some inner demons.  I hope she eventually makes peace with herself and can create a fruitfull life.

the main reason why I love Jennifer so much is because of her tumultuous life, all her personal problems, all her inner conflicts. I love people who struggle with personal problems and try to overcome all those problems, I very much sympathized with that kind of people. One of the things that hurt me most about Jennifer is that she has completely disappeared. There are so many tournaments in America when former greats or good local players are around for some tribute, broadcast or other things....but Jennifer has completely disappeared, they are never news about her. That makes me feel she is probably suffering a big depression or perhaps she is in drugs again. It's all very sad. Too sad.

[conchita]

Gilles Simon

Country  France
Residence Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Date of birth December 27, 1984 (1984-12-27) (age 25)
Place of birth Nice, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight 69 kg (150 lb; 10.9 st)
Turned pro 2002
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money US$4,008,301
 
Singles
Career record 176-125
Career titles 7
Highest ranking No. 6 (January 5, 2009)
Current ranking No. 48 (October 18, 2010)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open QF (2009)
French Open 3R (2009)
Wimbledon 4R (2009)
US Open 3R (2008, 2009, 2010)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals SF (2008)
Olympic Games 3R (2008)

Doubles
Career record 16–60
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 117 (January 28, 2008)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 2R (2008)
French Open 2R (2005)
Wimbledon 1R (2006, 2007)
US Open 3R (2007) 

Gilles Simon (born December 27, 1984 in Nice) is a French professional tennis player. He is a seven time winner on the ATP World Tour. " His coach is French tennis veteran Thierry Tulasne. Fitness trainer is Paul Quetin.

Personal Life
Simon was born into a family with no involvement in sport, with his mother being a doctor and his father working in insurance. Supported by his parents, he started playing tennis at the age of 6. Due to a growth delay that runs in the family, he was shorter than most kids in his age during his early years in teenage. This is the reason he cites Michael Chang as a major influence, as his comparatively small frame proved that size wasn't an important factor in playing tennis.

On September 2nd, Simon became a father for the first time. His partner Carine Lauret gave birth to a baby boy. The couple named their first child Timothée. The baby was born four weeks early, when Simon was competing in the 2010 US Open.

Career
Early career
Simon began his professional tennis career in the summer of 2002, competing at multiple Futures tournaments in France before playing in international tournaments. His first Futures title came in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 2003, and reached the quarterfinals of three other tournaments. He then captured his second title in Jamaica in September. During 2004 he saw three wins in France and another in Algeria.

In January 2005, he won his first ATP Challenger hard court tournament in Nouméa, New Caledonia, and defended it the following year. Ranked as World No. 113, Simon made his Grand Slam debut at the 2005 French Open, losing in the first round to Olivier Patience in four sets.

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2006
Simon competed at the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, where he beat Nicolás Massú and Tomáš Berdych before being defeated by No. 13 Thomas Johansson in the third round. After his result in the tournament, he broke into the Top 100 for the first time, climbing to No. 89.

The Frenchman reached his first ATP Tour final in Valencia with wins over Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinal and Fernando Verdasco in the semifinal but lost to Nicolás Almagro 6-2, 6-3. He also made it to the semifinals in Casablanca, as well as the round of 16 in both the ATP Masters Series tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg. At the end of the year Simon was ranked 45th in the world.

2007
At the beginning of the year, Simon won his first ATP title at the Open 13 in, Marseille, France. En route to the final Simon beat Lleyton Hewitt, Jonas Björkman, and Robin Söderling. In the final Simon defeated Marcus Baghdatis 6-4, 7-6(3).

In September, he won his second title of the year and of his career at the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest, Romania. He defeated Victor Hănescu in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. He broke into the Top 30 for the first time on November 5 and finished the year as No. 29 in the world. By the end of the year, his career record against Top 10 players was 4–5.

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2008
Simon reached the quarterfinals in Marseille, defeating World No. 3 Novak Djokovic 6–2, 6–7(6), 6–3 in the second round, and the semifinals in Rotterdam the next week.

In May, he won his third ATP title in Casablanca as a qualifier. After Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew during their semifinal match, Simon went on to defeatJulien Benneteau 7-5, 6-2 in the final. After his third-round loss to countryman Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon, Simon left Europe for the United States to familiarise himself with the hard courts before the U.S. Open Series Competing in the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, Simon's world ranking hit a career-best No. 25. He reached the finals, encountering defending champion Dmitry Tursunov and defeating him in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4.

The following week, he competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, including a 2–6, 7–5, 6–4 win over World No. 1 Roger Federer in the second round, before losing in the semifinals to German veteran Nicolas Kiefer. This resulted with an entry into the Top 15, three ranks behind the French No. 1, Richard Gasquet.

Simon participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, playing in the singles for France alongside Paul-Henri Mathieu, Michaël Llodra, and Gaël Monfils. He played doubles with Monfils, but lost in the first round to the Indian team of Bhupathi and Paes. In singles the Frenchman reached the 3rd round, with victories over the Swede Robin Söderling and the Argentine Guillermo Cañas before falling to James Blake.

At the US Open, Simon was seeded number 16. On Day 6, he lost in the 3rd Round to the #17 seed Juan Martín del Potro 4–6, 7–6(4), 1–6, 6–3, 3–6 in a 5-set match that lasted 3 hours and 47 minutes.

On September 14, Simon won his 3rd title of the year equalling his 5th ATP title, defeating Carlos Moyà 6–3, 6–4 at the 2008 BCR Open Romania. Simon entered the 2008 Madrid Masters the following month, defeating No. 11 James Blake and No. 14 Ivo Karlović to reach the semifinals in the tournament. In the semifinals, he defeated World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in 3 sets 3–6, 7–5, 7–6(6) in a match that lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes. Simon lost the final to World No.4 Andy Murray in straight sets, 4–6, 6–7(6). The tournament boosted Simon to a career high World No. 10, displacing Richard Gasquet as French No. 1 and captain of the néo-Mousquetaires.

On November 3, he qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup, a tournament usually reserved for the world's top eight players in Shanghai, after Rafael Nadal withdraw due to knee complications and fatigue. He was drawn in the red group with Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Andy Roddick. In his first round robin match he beat defending champion Federer with a score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–3. Simon lost to Murray in his next match, 6–4, 6–2, but followed it with a victory over Radek Štěpánek, who replaced the injured Roddick 6–1, 6–4. [9] After Murray defeated Federer in the final round robin match, Simon qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to world No. 3 Novak Djokovic in three sets - 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. After this, he achieved a career high of World number 7.

In December he played in the newly-formed Masters France exhibition tournament for the eight French players who had performed best at the four French tournaments. He qualified from the round-robin group stage with victories against Julien Benneteau, Marc Gicquel, and Josselin Ouanna. In the final against Michaël Llodra, who pulled out with a shoulder injury, resulting in Simon becoming the inaugural winner of the tournament.

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2009
Simon started the year off rising to a new career high of World number 6 and played at the Hopman Cup, teaming up with compatriot Alizé Cornet to form the French partnership and mixed doubles duo.

Simon played at the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, as the 6th seed, winning against Pablo Andújar in the first round. He also competed with Jérémy Chardy as his partner in the doubles, but the pair was defeated by Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the first round. The second round saw him beat Chris Guccione in 4 sets, 6–7(5), 6–4, 6–1, 6–2. He defeated Mario Ančić in the third round, winning in straight sets, advancing to his fourth round encounter against compatriot Gaël Monfils. Simon was leading 2 sets before Monfils retired due to a wrist injury. He then played World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, where he was dispatched 6–2, 7–5, 7–5 although he had two set points in the second set.

He participated in the Davis Cup with other French team members Michaël Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet. The team competed against the Czech Republic from the 6th to the 8th of March. Simon lost 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 to Tomáš Berdych, and then played Radek Štěpánek (whom his fellow team member Tsonga beat). Simon lost to Štěpánek 7-6(3), 6-3, 7-6(0) which gave the Czechs a 3-1 lead indicating that France was out of the Davis Cup in the first round for the first time since 2000.

He went into the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami ranked No. 7 in the world. After early round wins over former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and Rainer Schüttler, he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round, 7-6(4), 3-6, 2-6. Simon competed at the Monte Carlo Masters and versed Andreas Beck in the men's singles, suffering a first round loss of 7-5, 6-1. This result caused his world ranking to drop 2 spots down to No.9.

Simon played at the Estoril Open as the top seed, before losing to Albert Montañés 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the third round.[12] He competed with fellow players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jérémy Chardy, forming the French team at the ARAG World Team Cup in Düsseldorf. He lost to Robin Söderling and Rainer Schüttler.

He entered Roland Garros as the 7th seed and defeated Wayne Odesnik in 5 sets in the first round, and Robert Kendrick in straight sets. He was ousted by Victor Hănescu in the third round, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Simon competed at the AEGON Championships at Queens as the 3rd seed, where he beat Grigor Dimitrov, but lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the third round.[14] At 2009 Wimbledon Simon was the 8th seed. He defeated Bobby Reynolds and Thiago Alves in the first two rounds. He defeated Victor Hănescu in the third round with a comfortable 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 victory. He was ousted in the fourth round by unseeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Simon was the top seed at Stuttgart's MercedesCup and defeated Philipp Petzschner in the first round in straight sets before falling to Mischa Zverev 6-3 6-2. At the 2009 International German Open, after receiving a bye he then lost to wildcard Daniel Brands, 6-3 4-6 3-6.

During the 2009 US Open Series, he played at the 2009 Rogers Cup where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round. One week later, he played at the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, another Masters 1000 tournament, where he defeated Nikolay Davydenko en route to the quarterfinals where he would lose to world no. 4 Novak Djokovic. At the 2009 US Open, Simon equalled his best result of third round before retiring with a knee injury during his third-round match against Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Simon then won his first title of 2009 at the 2009 PTT Thailand Open where defeated Viktor Troicki in the final 7-5, 6-3. At Tokyo, Simon was third seeded but fell to Mikhail Youzhny in the second round. The week later he played at Shanghai Masters as the eight seed and received bye at the first round. He beat Viktor Troicki and Tomáš Berdych but lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals by 3-6, 6-2, 2-6.

Simon returned to France to play at Lyon and lost in the semifinal to Michaël Llodra by 7-6, 3-6, 6-7. At the next tournament in Valencia, he lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinal. He continued to Bercy to play at the BNP Paribas Masters. He was seeded 11th and has a first round bye. In the second round, he faced Ivan Ljubičić, who he has never beaten in 3 previous meetings. In the 3rd set of the match, Simon has a break point to go up 4-2, while lunging to return a wide serve, he aggravated a right knee injury that has been bothering him for half of the 2009 season. Although with his movement severely hampered, Simon decided to play on to finish the match in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. He went on to win the match by 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4).[15] Two days later, he played his R3 match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, lost by 2-6, 3-6, and ended his season in Paris.

In an audio interview during the Paris tournament, Simon said the doctor has recommended him to take at least 2 months to recover from his knee injury

[conchita]

2010
Gilles started the 2010 season with an exhibition event, the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide. It started badly for him as he struggled with injury. He lost 3 straight matches including to home favourite Bernard Tomic. Simon pulled out of Australian Open due to right knee injury. He didn't make any appearance in the 2010 season until mid-February, at the 2010 Open 13 tournament in Marseille. As the 5th seed, he lost in 1st round to Olivier Rochus 5–7, 2–6 in Marseille. He then participated at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships as the 8th seed, but lost in 1st round to Marcos Baghdatis 6–7(3), 4–6. Continued to struggle, he lost to Brian Dabul 5-7, 4-6 in 2nd round at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open Masters 1000 in Indian Wells as 16th seed with a 1st round bye; and also loss to Horacio Zeballos in the 2nd round at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open as 20th seed with a 1st round bye.

The right knee injury eventually caused Simon to miss the entire spring european-clay season including the French Open, the second Grand Slam Simon has missed in 2010 due to injury and has fallen down in the rankings. He returned to the tour in mid-June, winning 2 rounds in Eastbourne before losing to Michael Llodra 1-6, 3-6 in the QF. Continued on to Wimbledon, Simon reached the 3rd round before losing to Andy Murray 1-6, 4-6, 4-6. He began the summer US hard court season by participating in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C. and won 2 rounds of matches including a win over Top 10 player Andy Roddick, lost in the QF to David Nalbandian in 3 sets. However, he suffered first round defeats in his next 2 tournaments, ATP1000 Toronto and Cincinnati, showing he is still a long way to return to his top form and regain his confident. He moved on to New York to take part in US Open 2010, reached the 3rd round before defeated by world #1 Rafael Nadal in 3 sets. In Davis Cup he defeated Eduardo Schwank in dead rubber by 7-6,6-7 and 6-3.

He took his seventh career title in the 2010 Open de Moselle by beating Mischa Zverev 6-3, 6-2 in the final, coming only weeks after the birth of his first child.

[conchita]

Playing style
Simon is known for his speed, agility, mental strength and tennis brain. His backhand is considered his best shot as he is capable of expertly creating angles and varying his shots in addition to taking the ball earlier and unleashing flat and penetrating backhand drives. He is also very capable on the forehand side, and his forehand is the wing that he is able to attack opponents. His technique is seamless, and this enables him to absorb and redirect powerful shots. As mentioned before, he is also a very tactical player who is capable of varying his hit point on both sides, keeping the ball on his strings til the very last moment, and then suddenly taking the ball early with random injections of pace. This keeps his opponents off-guard, hence, even though he is widely classed as a counter-puncher, it is often he who controls the points.

As his career kicked off in 2008, Simon began to work tirelessly on his volleys and net-game, and this has since come to form a prominent part of his game. Nowadays, he looks to sneak in and finish points off at the net whenever he can, and he often enjoys serving and volleying or rushing to the net off the return to break up his opponents rhythm on break points and important points in general.

While his return is one of the best parts of his game, his serve has also becoming a pivotal part of his game; and he often manages to find his best serves on the biggest points. In general, Simon is often overlooked in an era filled with powerful players and big servers. However, he is a unique player with countless layers to his game. When lacking confidence, he has a tendency to retreat to behind the baseline, and play passively. However, when he is confident and lucid, he is a force to behold.

Equipment
Simon plays with a Youtek Prestige MP paintjob of a Prestige Tour 630 Racquet and 2009 Team series bag, both from Head, a brand which he appeared in an advertisement for. His racquet is strung with Head IntelliTour 16 String. He is sponsored by Adidas

[conchita]

Career finals

Singles: 9 (7–2)
Finals by Surface
Hard (4–1)
Clay (3–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by Surface
Outdoors (4–1)
Indoors (3–1)
 
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. April 16, 2006  Valencia, Spain Clay  Nicolás Almagro 2–6, 3–6
Winner 1. February 18, 2007  Marseille, France Hard (i)  Marcos Baghdatis 6–4, 7–6(3)
Winner 2. September 16, 2007  Bucharest, Romania Clay  Victor Hănescu 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Winner 3. May 24, 2008  Casablanca, Morocco Clay  Julien Benneteau 7–5, 6–2
Winner 4. July 20, 2008  Indianapolis, United States Hard  Dmitry Tursunov 6–4, 6–4
Winner 5. September 14, 2008  Bucharest, Romania (2) Clay  Carlos Moyà 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 2. October 19, 2008  Madrid, Spain Hard (i)  Andy Murray 4–6, 6–7(6)
Winner 6. September 28, 2009  Bangkok, Thailand Hard (i)  Viktor Troicki 7–5, 6–3
Winner 7. September 26, 2010  Metz, France Hard (i)  Mischa Zverev 6–3, 6–2

[conchita]

1st title, February 18, 2007  Marseille, France Hard (i)  Marcos Baghdatis 6–4, 7–6(3)





 
 

[conchita]

2nd title, September 16, 2007  Bucharest, Romania Clay  Victor Hănescu 4–6, 6–3, 6–2

[conchita]

3rd title, May 24, 2008  Casablanca, Morocco Clay  Julien Benneteau 7–5, 6–2

[conchita]

4th title,  July 20, 2008  Indianapolis, United States Hard  Dmitry Tursunov 6–4, 6–4

[conchita]

5th title, September 14, 2008  Bucharest, Romania (2) Clay  Carlos Moyà 6–3, 6–4