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ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 30, 2018

Gilles Simon

Paris, France

G. SIMON/L. Pouille

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. First, what is your analysis of the match? You were quite robust, weren't you?
GILLES SIMON: Yes, I played well. I started well, I served well. Maybe once or twice I was a bit shaky when one or two opportunities couldn't be seized, like the double break I couldn't do and the serve behind that. That was the case for the first set and the second set.

Otherwise, it was quite clean.

Q. When we see you play at the end of the season, you're the best French player. The Davis Cup final is coming up. With GaÃ«l, you're the best French players at the end of this season. Do you feel more concerned? Have you had some signs that you were going to be called?
GILLES SIMON: No, I have no news. I'm trying to play well to wrap up this season well. This season end is much better than last year. I'm trying to take advantage of it, to have a higher ranking, to enjoy.

I'm focusing on what I have at hand right now to play as well as I can. Because this is my job.

Q. As for the next season, would you like to be seeded?
GILLES SIMON: Yes, before when you were seeded my feeling was that you always had 10, 15, players to avoid. Now, when you're seeded you still have 60 players to avoid anyway who are difficult to play against. So it's not that much important as for the previous seasons.

A lot of changes have taken place in the ranking because a lot of wounded players haven't come back yet. They're coming back now. It is more stable this year.

So it is still important to be the 30th, to have a title at the end of the first week. It's hard, but then, you know, I'm trying not to think about that. The most important thing for me is to play, entertain myself, to be as relaxed as possible and to play. That's it. This is what I could do today. I could do it well. And I'm trying to move forward this way.

Q. There's no more French player in the top 20. So should the Davis Cup team have players among the top 30? But you don't have any communication as others. You're not saying, I'm among the best 30. I'm among the top 30. You should take me.
GILLES SIMON: Well, I always said that if someone calls me I would come, but for the moment they're not calling me. If I'm being asked whether I feel concerned or not in the way that I could be called, I don't know. We'll see.

I'm trying to play as well as I can. There's a Davis Cup final coming up. I played one match. I didn't play the match that I would have wanted. I felt there's one that I missed that I would have liked to play. I couldn't because last year I couldn't play it. I was not in the right condition. And we'll try to see if we can go there now.

But as I said, when I want to play Bercy, I just register. I'm being automatically registered, actually. But if I want to play at the tournament, I just have to register. But for the Davis Cup, it's another kettle of fish.

Q. Are you highly motivated to play at the Davis Cup final or is it something that you would like to do?
GILLES SIMON: If I'm there, yes.

Q. Does it actually induce you to play well?
GILLES SIMON: Well, I would still want to play well because I'm in Bercy, notwithstanding the Davis Cup.

I play well. I have to play against Dominic Thiem tomorrow, not early. I will want to win it because that's it. I love to play. I'll try to play well. This will change nothing.

Of course if people -- if I'm being called to play for the Davis Cup, then it will change.

Q. There was a meeting with players regarding the Davis Cup in the future.
GILLES SIMON: I wasn't there.

Q. Why?
GILLES SIMON: Because I wasn't invited.

Q. Do you know what was said then?
GILLES SIMON: Absolutely not.

Q. Is it because you don't want to tell us?
GILLES SIMON: I don't know. I'm not looking at you because I'm watching the TV.

Q. Is it because you don't want to know about it? It's the same logic as the previous questions.
GILLES SIMON: I don't decide. I'm just trying to focus on what I can do. As for the Davis Cup, I have talked for hours with many, many people from ATP, presidents and vice presidents. I think that it's useless. So I'm keeping my energy for my own tennis.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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