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ROLAND GARROSMay 28, 2014Gilles SimonPARIS, FRANCE G. SIMON/A. Gonzalez THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please. Q. Do you remember that you played two matches or two rounds in less than two hours during a Grand Slam? Does that ring any bells? GILLES SIMON: No, I don't think so. No, I don't think so. I'm sure it never happened before. And even one, no, it didn't happen that often. So two in a row, no. Q. So how come? What's the reason, according to you, it's a very good start for Roland Garros? GILLES SIMON: Well, I feel good, you know. Look at my opponents. I felt good on the courts against them very early in the match, so I was quite free to play the way I wanted to play, and that's it. Q. How can you play in a free way, as you say, when this was one of your main problems during your career? You said you would lose a lot of energy during the first rounds in the past. How did you manage to do this? GILLES SIMON: I don't know. Ten times I have been playing Roland or something like that, ten times, so there comes a moment when you have to improve, you know, in general during the Grand Slam. That was my objective, as I said before, to play in a more relaxed way. Sometimes I managed to do this; times I couldn't really do this. But in a general way as I develop in my career, usually I start not that well, and then I improve with time. And also, sometimes during the second part of my career I might be a bit injured. Like last year it was ‑‑I reached the round of 16 twice, and then an injury, and then another injury, and then I had to retire. But I have the impression that for the Grand Slams it's improved for me for a while now. And the other ones are on a quick surface, so you can't ‑‑it's a lot more difficult to have such a score on a quick surface, whereas here the conditions are good for me. It's quite slow. It's not really sunny, so it's usually from the baseline. Therefore, if I feel good, I can play better than my opponent. Then I feel good, I don't have the impression he's going to come back into the match, nothing can happen to me. So that's okay. Q. Being relaxed is something that you discussed. Is that something you work with your coach? GILLES SIMON: Yeah, that's true. We worked on that. And I found it, I lost it, and then I found this control again. Q. Do you have the impression that there is more continuity between Rome, Nice, and Roland? GILLES SIMON: Yeah, a lot better. And again, you know, it's a combination of two things. That is the way you look at these matches, and then what happens on the courts; and then the game style of your opponent. Well, the conditions are favorable for me. You know, against this opponent I can return all the time. He's not that quick. So I will have many points to run for, and therefore everything is on my shoulders. Either I'm tense and then it's going to be a physical struggle, I have to run, or I can be quite relaxed and have good points on the right, on the left, and, you know, in the past I couldn't really do this. Now I feel the game better. I know I can do everything and play in a relaxed way, and the opponent gives me time to play, so go for it. Q. You were saying that the poor weather conditions are good for you. What is different? Could you describe this, please, for us? GILLES SIMON: Well, it helps me, you know, but, you know, it all depends on the opponent, of course. Well, sometimes the conditions are I want to have faster conditions depending on the style of the other player. But during the first round if you play against a player who is two meters in height, a hundred kilos and with a big serve and then all of a sudden he can't use his big weapon, that's a good serve, it's a good advantage to play against him when it's 15 degrees outside and I can return all the time. And today against an opponent who really loves to play high balls and with a lot of spin and the balls are usually at shoulder height, well, he had to play at a lower level. He couldn't do this, you know. The balls were such that they were not that high. I could really strike them very strongly. Q. You said it's two elements. You've talked about the first one, that is the style of the first opponent, that's the first element. And you said I think also the mental approach to the match, that's the second element. What does that mean? That is the way you're ready for this in the locker rooms? Or what does it mean? GILLES SIMON: Well, it's always strange, because it looks simple, but, you know, I think, Oh, I don't want to be fighting for three hours. It sounds easy when you say this. But he's a slower player so I will go for it and strike and strike. It's a simple sentence but it's difficult to do. You have to feel it. It's not mentally, not in the head. You have to feel it. And today, go for it, you know. And today I was tense at the beginning of the match so I played slowly. I made one or two errors. Then I didn't really start as well as in the first round. Then after a while, I thought, no, no, no not today, not today, not a four‑hour match today. But, you know, it sounds easy when you say it, but it's not easy when you're on the courts. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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