1 of my best memories was my win in Metz around the same time that my child was born, it was better than defeating Nadal or Federer: Gilles Simon
Former World No. 6 Gilles Simon recently announced that he would be retiring at the end of the 2022 season. The 37-year-old is set to compete at Roland Garros one last time.
Ce fut une aventure magique, merveilleuse et extraordinaire. Elle s’arrêtera à la fin de l’année. Un énorme MERCI à tous ceux qui l’ont rendue possible.
Il n’y a aucune tristesse, aucun regret. Juste la volonté de mettre tout ce qu’il me reste. Sur chaque match, jusqu’à la fin.
During a pre-tournament press conference, the Frenchman was asked to recount some of his best memories on the ATP tour. In response, Simon said that winning the Moselle Open in Metz around the same time as the birth of his child was a great memory.
"There are bad performances and there are also good events, because emotionally you have great memories because you have a win in Metz, for instance, when I had my first newborn, this was great," he said.
"It was much better than having defeated Nadal or Federer. We are talking about tennis performance, 100%."
The Frenchman defeated Rafael Nadal once at the Madrid Masters in 2008, but lost each of their eight other encounters. Interestingly, Simon won his first two matches against Roger Federer back in 2008 before the Swiss maestro dented the Frenchman's record by winning the next seven.
"At the end of the season, everything takes too much time, everything is too difficult" - Gilles Simon on the reasons behind his retirement
When asked whether the reasons behind his decision to retire were physical or mental, the Nice-born player, who won 14 career titles, revealed that the tour was taking its toll physically and mentally, causing his level to drop.
"Well, everything. Once the level has been going down and down constantly, it's becoming very difficult for me. I run half the time continuously, I'm never ready. Usually at the end of the clay season, I feel okay. When it's the grass season, I feel okay," he said.
"At the end of the season, everything takes too much time. Everything is too difficult. Weeks are not good enough. It seems that I don't have enough time every time for each tournament."
Simon opined that the effort that was needed to maintain a level of consistency in a physical sport like tennis was not something he could put in anymore.
"This sport is very physical. I need to play every week. I need to be consistent in the way I play. It requires too many efforts, and I do not have enough matches under my belt. I do not manage to get the upper hand. The last logical consequence of all this is to stop at the end of the year," he added.
The Frenchman will take on Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in his opening match at the French Open. He is three wins short of the 500-mark with a win-loss record of 497-386.