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MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERS


April 15, 2014


Gilles Simon


MONTE CARLO, MONACO

T. GABASHVILI/G. Simon
4‑6, 6‑4, 6‑4


THE MODERATOR:  Questions in French, please.

Q.  You almost made it at the end, but you ended up losing that final set.  What happened?  You seemed to do okay in the beginning of the match.
GILLES SIMON:  I was never really comfortable.  But, of course, I was ahead in the beginning of the match.
What happened is I had a very bad period from the end of the second set on.  The level of the game became higher, the game was tighter, we were playing very long rallies.  He was able to break me.
From 4‑All to 6‑4, 2‑Love, I was just standing there looking at the ball pass me by.  After we played with a lot of intensity, but this letdown in the middle of the match really hurt me.
I believe I was playing a bit better than before, but I was serving very badly today.

Q.  Why did you miss those returns in the last game?
GILLES SIMON:  I didn't react well.  I felt he was tense, and I didn't use this to be more aggressive.  From the baseline he was playing very well.  He never missed a shot, in spite of the fact that we had very long rallies.
What I have to do against him normally is put pressure on his serve.  I was able to do a little bit of that, but I was not serving well myself.  On the contrary, it was a catastrophe.
Against him, if you're able to hold your serve, then you can put a bit of pressure on him on his serve and you might be able to win, otherwise it's impossible.
Every point was very tough, so then I put the pressure on myself.  I knew I couldn't miss the shots, and that's why I made those two catastrophic returns.

Q.  Why were you serving so badly today?
GILLES SIMON:  I started off pretty well.  But at the end of the match I was only serving second serves.  What happened in the match is that the player who was able to dictate the game was winning the points.
Usually I serve better than he does, but not today.  So it was 50/50.  That's why we played three hours.

Q.  Obviously you're not happy with the beginning of the season.
GILLES SIMON:  No.  This is what happens when you lose confidence.  It's more difficult.  It would have been good for me to win that match.
There were a few good moments where I was able to find a good rhythm and to hit well.  But what I need is some victories.
It's very difficult to have your first win or the second win.  After that it becomes easier.  But nowadays it's very tough because all the players are playing very well.  They never give away any points.  In this match, every time I was holding back, I paid for it immediately.
It's going to be a long time before I can really improve my level.  My coach told me I was playing at two kilometers an hour.  I believe today I was able to solve two problems out of three.  If I'm able to stay healthy, I know I might be able to get back to my normal level.

Q.  This year you added Casablanca.  What will be your schedule now?
GILLES SIMON:  I don't know if it was a good idea to play in Casablanca because the conditions were dramatic.  I had to play two 'modest' players.  The courts were no good.  I believe I'm paying for this now.
Here, on the contrary, the conditions are excellent.  That means the players never miss, though.  You have to take more risks, which was not the problem last week.
In this match I was sometimes too timid.

Q.  So what are you going to do next?
GILLES SIMON:  I'm going Bucharest.  I'm going to try to play good doubles and practice well, find my rhythm again.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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