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BNP PARIBAS MASTERSOctober 31, 2012Gilles SimonPARIS, FRANCE G. SIMON/V. Hanescu THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please. Q. Are the conditions different on Court No. 1? GILLES SIMON: That court is a bit faster, but the general court is smaller. So maybe it's not that much faster, but the impression is it's faster because we are closer to the crowd; we have less space. We always feel it's faster in that case because we have to play a bit closer to the lines. Q. Can you give us details about your opponent's game, his strengths and weaknesses? GILLES SIMON: I don't know because I had never played him before, and I have trouble assessing the game of someone until I play against him. But I realize that he was very solid, that he never missed, that his legs were moving fast. I believe he's not so solid on his forehand, but he's taking risks on that shot anyway, I believe. I believe he is really eager to win each one of his matches, and he fights a lot. Q. Did you watch a video of his game? GILLES SIMON: No. I don't do that usually. I believe while I'm playing the opponent I can assess what his strengths and weaknesses are. Q. But did you hit in practice with him? GILLES SIMON: Yes, I did, but when I practice I don't do exactly like I do in the game. I mean, I often go to the net, but... So I saw him maybe during the Asian tour. I saw the players he beat. I saw the players that bothered him. Q. You were long coming here after your match. Did you have treatment during all that time? GILLES SIMON: Well, you know, in order to get myself straight again I need to do a certain number of things. The treatment was not just because of the match. It's treatment also because I have to work on my body in a more comprehensive way. Q. How many treatments? GILLES SIMON: Well, I don't know, three or four times a day I do treatments. I have to get ready in the morning, etcetera. I'm a real grandfather. Q. What did you like in your game for that match? The serve? GILLES SIMON: No, my serve was not as good as two days ago. It was not as consistent. But at the right moment my serve came back, so I was happy with that. In my previous match I served consistently all along, but this particular match I'm happy because I was tense and I was able to relax and come back into the match at 5‑All, for example. In spite of being tense, I was able to play well. Q. I believe this is your best Paris Masters so far. Are you thinking ahead, or did you believe you could do that before? GILLES SIMON: Well, before the draw I had many ambitions for this tournament. When I saw the draw I was a bit less confident. Because, as I said, I'm fresh in the end of the season and I want to play; I'm eager to do well. It's great not being tired for the last tournament of the year, and I really want to play well and enjoy it. I was happy to see the draw was opening up with Roger retiring. So I was really motivated from the start. Q. The time you take for treatment, does this reduce the time you spend on the court for practice? GILLES SIMON: No, no. But it's true I'm spending a lot more time having treatment than on the court. I rather need a physio than Thierry. Before I was practicing four hours a day and the rest was for treatment; now it's the opposite. But the problem this year was a bit more general because I had the problems a bit everywhere. It was not one specific physical problem I had. So I need time. Many players had pains at certain time and don't have any now, so it is possible. I don't believe I'm going to get injured every two weeks until the end of my career. Q. Do you believe your tennis is all right and you don't need to practice anymore? GILLES SIMON: Of course I need to practice my tennis and improve it, but if I look at my last three seasons, almost half of the matches I lost were because I was bothered by some kind of injury. So I can't really say, you know, I have to improve this or that in my game. This year from March to the French Open when I lost it's because the opponent was playing better. So I knew then what I had to work on, but all the rest of the year I lost because I had physical problems. Because of my injuries, for example, I couldn't serve properly. So the goal is to be able to play without injuries, without pain, normal tennis, and then you know what you have to work on tennis‑wise. Often when I go to the court to practice I don't really play. I just make sure I will be all right for the match, and in that case I can't really improve. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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