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ROLAND GARROSMay 26, 2014Gilles SimonPARIS, FRANCE G. SIMON/A. Pavic THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please. Q. During such a match, what would you say is the most difficult thing to manage? Is it the rotten weather conditions or the opponent? Well, I thought at the beginning of the match you could beat him easily. GILLES SIMON: Well, I didn't have to make special efforts. I wanted to play, that's all. Because these conditions are good for me against him, you know, a lot. We would have to serve on the lines and may not be able to return against these players. When you always have to return, you know it's going to be tough for him. Then I was afraid of this, I thought this day might have been a very rainy day from A to Z, I wouldn't play. That was my only fear today. Q. You wanted to finish today? GILLES SIMON: Yes, I wanted to finish as early as possible, but then it started raining again when it was 6‑1, 5‑ 1. And then it's different because if you start and play again the following day you have less time to play. But in the beginning I had some type of fears, you know, to come here a bit tired and to have to play a full match the following day and then play again, you know, that's the type of thing. I didn't know if I could make it. Well, this time it was okay. Q. Would you say by that you could appraise your level of game, or is it a totally atypical match? GILLES SIMON: Well, the conditions are so special, so that's true. You can more or less appraise how well you can play with these conditions. Nobody knows, nobody knows if it's going to be sunny for two weeks in a row, but, you know, it might be totally different if you play the same player, if it's 35 degrees, it's really dry and it's slipping and the balls bounce a lot. It's a different match that you're going to play, so that's all. I think it was a good thing for me to play today. Q. You had a good week in Nice. What about this Roland Garros tournament for you? GILLES SIMON: I was okay. I was quite relaxed, which was a good objective for me, you know. I was there on the courts, and I was not stressed. I was not feeling tense. And I had the feeling I was really well focusing on what I had to do. And then, as usual, or often in this case you have a break, so you feel a lot better, etcetera. And then the day is lovely. That's it. Really nice. Q. Now, the fact to be relaxed, have you talked about it already? You know, Nadal's match in Rome, was that a key match as far as that is concerned? GILLES SIMON: Yeah, an important match, but then it's all the other matches. Let's say I was defeating Nadal in Rome and then the following day against Youzhny on the same court, I could have felt the pressure. It's never something to take for granted. I work on it a lot, and I knew what I had to play until Indian Wells, then I lost it. And then for several months it was very difficult for me to catch up. So it's a good thing to have this match, to play this match at all levels in terms of my tennis, in terms of my game, in terms of my physical or tennis intensity, you can play for three‑and‑a‑half hours. You know, it really shows that what you do in practice is useful. And that's something that's useful that you can use. We always need these positive signs at certain moments. Q. I have a question from the fans, from Roland Garros.com. A question for you. They are asking for your confirmation concerning your usual habit to eat the Chocapic, bowls full of Chocapic in your bedroom. Can you tell us more about that? GILLES SIMON: Well, that's true, I would do this in the past, a bit less now, but at the time it was really good. I could do this throughout the weekend. That's true. It was less the case for Jo. Jo was watching me. Q. New Caledonia, you won in 2005, 2006, these internationals over there and the Caledonians are certain that your career started that year. Then there was Melbourne, three rounds, what would you say? Don't disappoint them. GILLES SIMON: It was an important moment for me. The only two challenger tournaments that I won, twice the same, and I always have the impression that when you improve you can get stuck at a certain moment. I was in the futures for a long period of time. I started when I was very young. It was very difficult for me to know what to do to improve, to win a lot of matches. When it's a challenger match, it was quick for me, thanks to this tournament, because I manage to get in the top 100, and then the following year I played well, as well. So a tournament that was, of course, important for me because it's part of my personal development. Q. With or without racquets, will you go back there one day? GILLES SIMON: Well, yes, of course I'd love to go back there, but I will take a break before, you know, before I travel such distances, a break on the plane. Q. (In English.) Last week Alize Cornet was a little bit upset because she was playing in Strasbourg and she got booed from the crowd. I know that can be a problem for the French players sometimes at Roland Garros. Do you find that sometimes the crowd can be a bit demanding? GILLES SIMON: (In English.) I felt the crowd was fantastic today. Q. (In English.) How about matches in the past? GILLES SIMON: (In English.) No, but they are just reacting, just depends how you behave on the court. And even if you're French, if you are doing, if you are acting bad on the court, then they won't help you, but they are ready to fight with you. It's very important for us to have them. Here, it helps you a lot when you play the top guys like feel better on court, because normally when you play on Wimbledon against Roger it's a 99‑1 in the public, you maybe have just your coach cheering for you (smiling). No, it's very helpful, and I don't think that the French guys can complain that much about our public. Q. (In French.) Do you have the impression there is less pressure on you than in the past in Roland? Is it an advantage, would you say? GILLES SIMON: I have the impression that people expect less from us, us, I mean, it's not me, it's us. They expect less. Is it something which is an advantage? Well, for some, yes, it's the way they function, if I can say. For me, there is no difference, you know. The expectations come from myself. So I want to do well, and when I'm tense, when I'm nervous, it's because I want to do more. It's never been an external pressure on me. You know, it's always the pressure I put on myself that I can either bear or not. Then it's true that our results on clay were not really that good before Roland, and yet when I see them play, these guys, you know, I don't see why they will be better or less than anybody else. I think everybody has a chance. Of course, it wasn't that great for us, but, you know, Roland is always different. It's at home, it's a possibility of a five‑setter, and physically we are all ready. We know it can be long matches. And then we can perhaps find the moment to relax a little. And then given our level of play in general, when you win a match or two, you feel a lot better. You know, for instance, I'm not frightened. I feel less expectation from you. It doesn't really have an impact on me, but for others, they have the impression they can practice in a more relaxed way. Q. I'd like to know about Twitter, something about Twitter. What about Twitter? GILLES SIMON: Not me. Q. Are you not interested at all in Twitter? GILLES SIMON: Well, you know, I say too many silly things, so with Twitter, it might be worse. Maybe. I'll see. Q. (Off microphone.) GILLES SIMON: Well, yeah, maybe then. I do something with Sebastian. He and I on Twitter. If I do this, it will not be for a good reason, probably. It's because a lot of people pretend they are me, just like on Facebook. People tell me, Oh, you've said something on Facebook. No, not me, not me, I'm not saying anything on Facebook. Maybe I'm going to have an official one so that people know it's the official one. I wouldn't trust myself. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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