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BNP PARIBAS MASTERS


October 29, 2012


Gilles Simon


PARIS, FRANCE

G. SIMON/M. Baghdati
7‑5, 6‑1


THE MODERATOR:  Questions in French, please.

Q.  Congratulations for this performance.  During the last tournament we saw you having a bit of trouble after the first round.  How are you feeling right now?
GILLES SIMON:  It's okay.  I was able to play without any pain in my last tournament, although I lost.  So now I'm fine, and I'm trying to enjoy it.

Q.  You had a difficult first round, but now the second round should be easier.  The fact of not playing Roger, is it a relief, or are you disappointed because of the crowd?
GILLES SIMON:  I will be pleased to play him later, but it was not my priority here in this tournament to play Roger in the second round of this tournament.
On the contrary, I think this is an opportunity for me.  I will try to take advantage of it.  I know my opponent well.  I know what to expect.
I like playing against Roger, but I think I'm quite happy with that match.

Q.  Thierry Tulasne watched your match.  Are you happy of that?
GILLES SIMON:  Yes, I'm very happy with that, but I have no problems with Thierry.  I was very happy for him to be here.

Q.  Are you happy to move on now?  Do you know what to expect for the following weeks?  Did you really need to have this break, so to speak?
GILLES SIMON:  For me it's not a break.  It's something I do because I believe it's going to help me.
What I need is to be calm and relaxed on the court, and this is what I felt today.  This is the feeling I like to have, being alone on the court and being free of making any decision I want.  I remained focused on my match.  I'm not looking around.
Of course here there are many people I know, so it's a bit more difficult.  But when I was in Shanghai, I was really alone.  It helps me.  It's good for me.
In my last matches, although I lost, I felt better on the court, more relaxed, and I was less nervous.  I think it showed.
But anyway, this is how I felt.

Q.  So the idea is not changing coaches, it's remaining alone?
GILLES SIMON:  Yeah.  Or at least staying alone until I really find a stable way of being on the court.

Q.  So how do you practice during the week?  Is it easy to get organized?  How do you do?
GILLES SIMON:  It's strange.  Everybody seems to think that a player really needs a coach to book a court for practice or to travel.
When I was 16, 17, 18 years old I was alone playing in tournaments, in tournaments that were not very well organized, and I needed to manage.  Here it's easy because I know everybody.
Many other players ask me to play with them.  I have absolutely no problems.  I think I can manage, you know.

Q.  What is your state of mind coming into this tournament?  Just to win a few matches or to go far in the tournament?
GILLES SIMON:  Neither of those.  Mentally I feel fresh for this end of season.  Very often I feel I can't play my best tennis; if I can do this here, I will be very happy.
If there was a tournament next week, I would be happy to play it too.  Normally I feel tired, but maybe because of the changes I made lately I feel I'm starting something new, and I am very eager to play.
I just hope I won't have physical problems during the tournament and that I will be able to go far in this tournament.  This is my goal.

Q.  You were talking about a next tournament, but they are club competitions.  Are you going to play them?
GILLES SIMON:  Yes, I'm going to play them with the TCP.
After that I will go on holidays.

Q.  Did you have time to do medical examinations that are far enough to determine what you have, that you're always injured?
GILLES SIMON:  Well, in 2010 it was always the knee; in 2011 it was my neck; now it's my pelvis.
So it's never at the same place that I have problems, so we can't really say it's a general problem.  It's just because I'm getting older, I guess.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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