Gilles Simon, the Tata Open Maharashtra champion, is energy personified. After a gruelling game against Kevin Anderson, whom he beat 7-6, 6-2 to claim the ATP 250 title here at the Balewadi Stadium on Saturday, the Frenchman was warming up for the doubles draw.
READ: Simon overcomes Anderson to claim title
He didn’t have a season to remember last year and here, he saw hope. “I don’t want to think about the past or future. I want to live in the present. I am happy about winning the tournament. My ranking is low and I have to work on that this year. I want to do better in 2018,” he said, after the match.
Talking about the tough opponent in Anderson, he added, “It was a great performance. I had never beaten him before, so it is a great achievement for me to beat him in the final. I tried my best on the court. It is uncomfortable against him as he has a huge serve. I managed to keep my calm and played my natural game. In the end, it just turned on my side.”
"I changed a few things in my game. There were small adjustments. You can't return every serve, but you need to jump as fast as you can and try to change things. I managed to save my serves. Today, I am happy because I got into the game much earlier than I did the last time I played him."
"I think I was mixing the pace of the serve which was effective today, though I wish I could serve 220 kmph in every corner like him, but that's not what I can do."
"After the game with Cilic, it helped me a little bit. They have similarities in their game. Kevin was even serving better than Marin, it is terrible to return those serves. They play high pace. To play Marin before Kevin was helping a lot."
Simon had a terrific connection with the crowd from the onset of the tournament. “They were happy to see me from the day I won the first match here. They probably love the way I play. It gave me a good feeling too. They helped me play my best tennis,” said Simon, who will next head to Sydney.
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