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MEDIBANK INTERNATIONAL

January 15, 2011

Gilles Simon

SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES

G. SIMON/V. Troicki
7-5, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. So how did it feel winning tonight and coming back from the knee injury and everything you've been through in the last year?
GILLES SIMON: Well, it feels good, even without the knee injury. It's always good to win the tournament. I mean, you never know if you're going to win more after, so I enjoy it every time.
It's nice also for me to win here, to win some different tournaments. I played four times I think here and never get through the second round the years before. (Smiling.)
So, no, it's really nice for me. It's a tournament I like to play. I come here every year, and it's good for me to win this time.

Q. How close do you think you are to getting back to your best?
GILLES SIMON: Well, it's always difficult to say, because I just have the feeling that I'm playing good, and I have the feeling that I was not playing better two years ago.
The thing is, in tennis it's always a matter of confidence. I could see tonight I was playing a very nice tennis, but sometimes I had to finish -- I played some bad games beginning of the second set. I wasn't doing it, I mean, two years ago.
I think it will come back with the match and with the victory. So that's why it's very good to win here. I think I need also one big match against a top player. The last time I played them, I lost to Murray, Nadal, and Djokovic in three sets, straight every time.
So I need to do better than that. (Smiling.)

Q. What about your opponent tonight? It's now a 5-nil record you hold against him, but he's still a pretty tricky opponent.
GILLES SIMON: Well, he was playing really good. He was, I mean, sometimes very aggressive and sometimes he was defending well also. The thing is tonight I think we didn't serve very good. It was hard to serve with the night. It was so dark. I mean, the night in Australia is always like this, but it was so difficult to see the ball.
Then after, we were playing a very nice tennis from the baseline, and it was a real fight. I'm just happy to win it, because Viktor is playing better and better week after week. That's very good for me to be feeling now, because I know that he's playing good and I know that I'm able to defeat him even when he's playing good.
So it's good for my confidence.

Q. Viktor got a bit firey and seemed to lose his cool. Is it difficult for you to keep your cool in that sort of situation?
GILLES SIMON: Well, in the final it's always harder. Things are always harder. You are a little bit -- I mean, it's difficult to play your best tennis. You are a little bit more nervous than the other days. So everything that happens on the court is -- you know, you don't see it like the other days.
The thing is, tonight I think I was focused on my match, and I had -- well, I was just focused on the fight. I just wanted to win it, and I forget all the other things.

Q. Looking ahead to the Australian Open, obviously you've got to get through the first round, but you've got Roger second round. Pretty tough task?
GILLES SIMON: Well, yeah, it's very tough draw, but I'm not seeded, so I know I will play one seed in the two first rounds. It's Roger; it's not the easiest one.
But first I will to have defeat Lu one more time. I defeated him this week, but we know how tennis works. Maybe Monday it's going to be harder.
I will have to travel tomorrow; I will have just maybe one hour of practice there, so it will be a tough first round. I will need to play a very good tennis if I want to first to win, and then to have a chance against Roger after.

End of FastScripts

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