[澳網] Simon making his own way
Simon making his own way
Monday 26 January 2009
By Eleanor Preston
It was a great shame that the Gallic clash between Gael Monfils and Gilles
Simon did not bubble up into quite the contest we expect from these two
talented young Frenchmen. Simon progressed through to the quarterfinals
when Monfils retired hurt – citing a painful right arm – with Simon
leading 6-4 2-6 6-1. Until the discomfort began to rob Monfils of much his
ability to stay with his compatriot, it was a high-quality affair.
French tennis has long been held up as a model for other nations to follow,
and that nation’s knack for producing talented tennis players has been
clear to see at this Australian Open. Monfils, Simon, Richard Gasquet and
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were of the same golden generation of juniors – Monfils,
Gasquet and Tsonga both won junior Grand Slam titles – and were part of a
production line of male and female players. Marion Bartoli won the US Open
in juniors, and showed by beating Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round on
Sunday that the talent is spread equally between the genders in France.
Simon was marginally slower to break through than either Tsonga or Monfils,
but he proved by qualifying for last year’s Masters Cup and finishing in
the world’s top 10 that he belongs in the world’s elite. His game is far
more conservative and counter-punching than Gasquet’s, Monfils’ or
Tsonga’s, and he succeeds by absorbing power and pace and cleverly using
the angles of the court. He is precise in his movement and his hitting,
and relishes the mental challenge of outwitting rather than outhitting
opponents. Simon plays either Fernando Gonzalez or Rafael Nadal in the
next round, and expects it to be the latter. Needless to say, he is rather
looking forward to it.
“I have to run five hours to win. I have no choice,” he said, with a
smile. “Usually I think that it's easier to play against them because
you really know what you have to do. You just have to do a perfect match
to win. If it's not perfect, you lose. It's easier when you get into the
court. It's easier to stay focused on the match because you know that
every point is important. Well, just have to be perfect to win. So I
prefer to play in that way.”
The perfectionist streak was certainly there against Monfils, as Simon
slowed the tempo down and then picked his moments to pounce. Monfils
has enjoyed a strong showing this Australian summer, but his tendency
to physical frailty remains a concern, one which has so far stopped him
from fulfilling his exciting potential. In the second set, when he began
to impose himself on the match, he played with the exuberance which makes
him such fun to watch. While Simon proved up to the task of containing
him in the end, a fully-fit Monfils would have been far more dangerous.
“Well, you never want to win like this. It's already strange when it's
another player, but when it's a friend like Gael, it's more difficult,”
said Simon afterwards. “He has a pain, I don't know where, just in the
arm. It's hard for him to hit the forehand. What can I say?”
Simon was beaten by Nadal at last year’s Australian Open, and if he
faces the Spaniard again, he plans to be a good deal more pragmatic. “
The approach is different because I just did it once, so it's easier for
me. When you get into the court, you just want to win always,” said
Simon, sounding like a man hardened by experience at the highest level.
“Last year when I played against him, that was not this already. I
wanted to play a good match, but when I had a chance to finish the
first set finally, I didn't play to win the match. I was just enjoying
to be on the court, playing beautiful points, but that was it. This
time, it's gonna be different because I just want to win.”
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