Gilles Simon: biography, statistics, style of play

Gilles Simon does not belong to the grandees of world tennis. He does not have titles in the Grand Slam tournaments, but playing against him is incredibly difficult, because he can impose a serious struggle on his opponents. Simon is distinguished by perseverance and diligence. Outside the court this athlete refers to those who always openly express their opinion. Wide resonance caused his words about the prize in women's tennis. The player believes that the fairer sex should pay less. He reproaches tennis players that they want joint tournaments with men, as the prizes are divided equally. But this, according to Gilles Simon, is unfair. He said that the era of great tennis players ended with the departure of the sport Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, the men, on the contrary, are now playing great athletes.

Carier start

Gilles Simon was born in Nice, but soon his family moved to the suburbs of Paris. It was there that he became interested in tennis. Gilles began to play in the local sports community. At the age of 14 he was noticed by the Tennis Federation of France, which awarded a promising sportsman a scholarship.

The professional career of Simon began in 2002. The next few years he played in tournaments of the category Futures and Challenger. In 2005, the tennis player made his debut at the Grand Slam tournaments. Simon received an invitation from the organizers at his home tournament "Roland Garros". True, there he lost already in the first round.

Successful performances

During his career, Gilles Simon managed to win 12 titles in the ATP tour. He was in the top of the best tennis players in the world. The athlete constantly speaks for the French national team, the best result of which is reaching the final of the Davis Cup in 2010. His first title in singles was won by the French tennis player in 2007 at the tournament in Marseille.

The following year the player had a real breakthrough. He was able to win three titles, as well as successfully perform at some major tournaments. For example, at the "Masters" in Madrid in the semifinals, Gilles won by Rafael Nadal. Successful performances allowed the player to reach the seventh place in the ranking. At the moment, this is his best position in the table of ranks.

Style of play

Experts called Gilles Simon tennis intellectual. He has tremendous control of the ball, forcing opponents to take risks. In his game tactics are very important, the French tennis player makes his opponents make mistakes. His strong quality is psychological stability, even before important matches Gilles Simon does not worry, no external pressure acts on him. The tennis player has good strikes from both forehand and backhand. The player himself claims that his strength is the ability to change the pace of the game. Simon can play at an average pace, and then sharpen it up. Often rivals are not ready for this. Therefore, the Frenchman has victories over the best players in the world. For any tennis player, a serious contender is Gilles Simon. The rating of the ATP system for this athlete is 2235 points, which puts him on the 15th place among the best tennis players in the world.

The beginning of the 2016 season

One of the best matches in the career of Gilles Simon can be called a game against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open in 2016. This meeting almost came to an end with a sensation. The match lasted more than four hours and was held in a bitter struggle. It was here that the best qualities of Simon appeared.

This match can be used as an example of how you can beat the best tennis player to date. After the defeat, the Frenchman said that he had a game plan, which almost worked. It is very difficult to resist such an opponent, but Simon advised players to use their strengths. He noticed that often Djokovic is losing in advance, can not properly tune in for the match. But the French tennis player showed how to play his tennis, showing the strong qualities of the game. Djokovic in that match allowed 100 unforced errors. For him it's a record. Intellectual tennis opponent created for Djokovic serious difficulties. In that match, Simon Gilles could easily defeat. Tennis is an unpredictable sport.

Some call the game of the French athlete a little strange, uninventive. And this is not surprising, because he prefers a defensive style, forcing opponents to make mistakes.

In life, Gilles Simon is a cheerful and open person. He is a happy husband and father. Big tennis plays an important role in his life. Simon says that he does not know what he would have done if he had not become an athlete.