A Roland-Garros,
For 17th participation, Gilles Simon, lost heavily against Marin Cilic, 23rd in the world (6-0, 6-3, 6-2). His last match at Porte d’Auteuil. The public did not want him and chanted “Gilou”, “Gilou”, at the end of the match. “I was lucky enough to manage to play my best tennis at the first all that hadn’t been there for … a while anyway, he said hotly. It remains a miracle, so improbable, that I can’t believe it. I’m glad I did. Tuesday night, I thought it would be over. I was lucky to pass this round, to do another one, to do a third one today (Saturday). . It was obviously not the game I would have liked to play.
A louder clamor than the others even rose when the Niçois won his first game of the game, on Cilic’s serve, when he was trailing 6-0, 2-0. 8th runner-up at Roland-Garros, without managing to go beyond (2011, 2013, 2015), he obtained his best Grand Slam result at the Australian Open 2009 and at Wimbledon 2015 by advancing to the quarter-finals of final. Facing the public, he spoke of his special relationship with the Parisian Grand Slam. ” Roland Garros ? Big joys, big disappointments, big frustrations. I did good things, not so good things. It’s a competition where we want more than elsewhere, where we want all the time. When we manage to transform this desire, to share it with you, it’s a magic thing.
And later in front of the press he elaborated on his difficulties on ocher, his favorite surface being grass: “I know what 5 sets on clay represent physically. I know that when I was in top form, it was already a big concern for me, because this surface requires a lot of effort from me. It is a surface where my lack of power is felt a little more.
The former world number 6 decided to leave the circuit at the end of the year because his body is no longer able to keep up. And this Saturday his body was tired, very tired. In front of the crowd he joked, “I was three voltarenes and six dolipranes before the game. All that’s left is the morphine and then…” And in front of the press he clarified: “I can’t be 100% every day; and today was really a day off for me. I have reached the physical limits of my body. Today I was in too much pain. And faced with a player like that, there was not much to do. The Niçois was happy that his last executioner was called Marin Cilic: “It was a very difficult match against a strong opponent who gave me no solution. Even scoring a point was complicated. I was able to play three matches. And I played my last here against a player I admire.
As the end draws near, Simon humorously points out, “Good things are a bit dated. My children doubt that at one time I was able to play tennis well. Them, since they remember, they say to themselves: “all the same, the tournaments end a little quickly now.” This time, Gilles Simon made the pleasure last for at least three matches, before saying goodbye to Roland-Garros. He will say goodbye to the professional circuit in Paris a few kilometers further east during the Rolex Paris Masters in November.
