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BARCLAYS DUBAI TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

February 26, 2009

Gilles Simon

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

G. SIMON/F. Santoro
7-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: All right. Questions, please.

Q. Gilles, somebody had to bring to an end the Fabrice story of Dubai, and it happened to be you. Is there a tinge of sadness about doing that?
GILLES SIMON: I'm just sad because he's going to stop at the end of the year. For me, he's done with this tournament, but not with the season yet.
So that's why his last tournament will be -- maybe I'm going to go watch every match he's going to play, because you never know which one you are going to lose.
But I think it's nice for him to play the last match on the Centre Court, to receive a prize at the end, because he did a great job for all of the tennis players. He is someone who is going to miss to the public and, well, I mean, he was a good tennis player, he was -- is still a good person. I think we need people like him on the Tour.

Q. Have you learnt from him during the years?
GILLES SIMON: Yes, I've learned from him, because when I arrived on the Tour, I played first the Challenger and it was a year his ranking dropped down.
So we played the same tournaments, and it was nice with all of the young players. I mean, it was -- he never was jealous or something, something like that. He was just happy to see new face on the Tour, to see young guys playing good tennis, and yeah, he wanted us to be very good.

Q. How tough was the weather out there today? There was a lot of fuss when we all in Australia a few weeks ago. Was it like that?
GILLES SIMON: No. Because in Australia, it was really hot.

Q. That wasn't really hot today?
GILLES SIMON: Here?

Q. Here.
GILLES SIMON: No, it's hot. It's difficult to play.
But already I'm used to it because, yeah, the Australian Open was just one month ago, and even if it's hard to play with the heat, it was better for me than for him. I mean, when I won the first set 7-6 after one hour of game, I felt better than him I think on the court.
So it's not easy to play, but it was good for me today.

Q. Am I right in saying you played all three of your matches during the day here?
GILLES SIMON: So I played a different tournament than the other ones.

Q. Is that what you're thinking?
GILLES SIMON: No. Really, I don't care, because every time I hope everybody is more tired than me. Maybe it won't be the case if I play during the night.
And especially today against Fabrice, that was really nice for me. When I saw the schedule, I was pretty happy, even if I knew that it would be hard to play, that was good.

Q. But it's a fact that it's easier to play -- it's not so difficult to play at night as it is during the day, is it?
GILLES SIMON: Yes, of course it's different. But I think you spend more energy on the court but finally you have more rest, too, than when Djokovic or Murray finish the match and it's, I don't know, 11 o'clock.
Me, I'm quiet in my room. That's good, too. (Smiling).

Q. Are you happy to play early again tomorrow then if selected to?
GILLES SIMON: I don't know. What time is it going to be?

Q. I don't know. But would you be happy to go out first again tomorrow?
GILLES SIMON: I don't think I will be first tomorrow, because I think that we are going to play the semifinals later than today.

Q. Two o'clock and seven o'clock.
GILLES SIMON: Two o'clock, one.

Q. That's the usual.
GILLES SIMON: Who is playing last match today?

Q. Murray.
GILLES SIMON: So I will play first. So, yeah. (Laughter).

Q. So is that a problem or is that okay?
GILLES SIMON: No, it's not a problem for me. No, it's good for me when the heat is on the court.

Q. Are you pleased with your performance today? Because once you had won that first set, you were pretty dominant for the rest of the match.
GILLES SIMON: Well, I had a bad start again. It's not easy, because I have some problems with my serve. So finally it broke me in the second game. Finally I played better then. I was more confident. I was hitting the ball harder.
But finally when I was frustrating on my third, I played a very bad game. I just did four mistakes in a row.
I don't know why I am doing something like this at this moment, but finally I just wanted to fight again because I knew that if I won this one, then I will win the match.
So that's why I played a very good tiebreak. That's why I really wanted to win the first set, because I knew then it was for me.

Q. Do you never wear a hat when it's that hot?
GILLES SIMON: Never.

Q. There's a good chance you'll make your Davis Cup debut next week. How much are you looking forward to that?
GILLES SIMON: Well, I'm not thinking about the Davis Cup yet, because that will be different and I have time to prepare for this.
I just want to do my best on this tournament, because I'm not playing my best tennis in every match, and I hope it's going to come. Maybe it will be easier tomorrow because I will play anyway, good players, if they are hitting the balls very hard, that will be easier for my game.
I just try to have more confidence on the court, in my game, and that's why I just focus on the semifinal.
THE MODERATOR: All right. Switch to French. Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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