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Simon eyes more slam success
Source: Agencies |
January 3, 2009, Saturday
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FOR all his success in 2008 -- wins over Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic and a leap in the rankings from No. 29 to 7 -- Gilles Simon played totally out of character in the grand slams.
So Simon, competing for France in the Hopman Cup mixed teams event beginning today, has a clear ambition for 2009. "I want to play better in the slams because I had a great year ... but I didn't reach the third round in any," Simon said. "So that's one of my goals this year."
The 24-year-old Simon lost in the first round at the French Open and didn't see much of the second week in the other three. But he did win three tournaments and made it to the semifinals of the Masters Cup in Shanghai.
He beat Djokovic at Marseille, Federer at Toronto and saved his best performance of the year in a semifinal upset of No. 1 Nadal at the Spaniard's hometown Madrid Masters.
After beating No. 11 James Blake and No. 14 Ivo Karlovic to reach the semis, he stunned Nadal in three sets, saving 17 break points, including seven in the final set.
"The difference is not on the court when you play against them, because we saw last year I can defeat these players," Simon said of the top three. "But I know that during all the year they are far better, so that's the difference. You have to be at the top every week."
Simon will partner Alize Cornet at the Hopman Cup. France opens the eight-country competition today when it takes on Chinese Taipei. Among the leading teams for this year's event are the United States (Meghann Shaughnessy and Blake), Australia (Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua) and Russia (the brother-sister pair of Marat Safin and Dinara Safina).
The Hopman Cup opens the 2009 season.
So Simon, competing for France in the Hopman Cup mixed teams event beginning today, has a clear ambition for 2009. "I want to play better in the slams because I had a great year ... but I didn't reach the third round in any," Simon said. "So that's one of my goals this year."
The 24-year-old Simon lost in the first round at the French Open and didn't see much of the second week in the other three. But he did win three tournaments and made it to the semifinals of the Masters Cup in Shanghai.
He beat Djokovic at Marseille, Federer at Toronto and saved his best performance of the year in a semifinal upset of No. 1 Nadal at the Spaniard's hometown Madrid Masters.
After beating No. 11 James Blake and No. 14 Ivo Karlovic to reach the semis, he stunned Nadal in three sets, saving 17 break points, including seven in the final set.
"The difference is not on the court when you play against them, because we saw last year I can defeat these players," Simon said of the top three. "But I know that during all the year they are far better, so that's the difference. You have to be at the top every week."
Simon will partner Alize Cornet at the Hopman Cup. France opens the eight-country competition today when it takes on Chinese Taipei. Among the leading teams for this year's event are the United States (Meghann Shaughnessy and Blake), Australia (Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua) and Russia (the brother-sister pair of Marat Safin and Dinara Safina).
The Hopman Cup opens the 2009 season.
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