Masters 1000 Paris – After 3h05 of fight, Gilles Simon eliminates Taylor Fritz and goes in 8th against Auger-Aliassime

Retirement will wait…again. True to his reputation as a tireless warrior, Gilles Simon achieved a small feat on Wednesday evening in a white-hot Accor Arena. The tricolor veteran, 188th in the world and invited by the organization, offered the American Taylor Fritz, 11th at the ATP, after a crazy second round at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The native of Nice gave everything to win in three sets (7-5, 5-7, 6-4) and 3h06 of battle. He will face Félix Auger-Aliassime in the round of 16, a stage he had not reached for five years in Masters 1000. Taylor Fritz, meanwhile, says goodbye to the Masters which sees its cast completed by “F2A” and Andrey Rublev.

He was afraid of not being up to the task for his last tournament. Rest assured, Gilles Simon honors his career at Bercy and continues to give chills to the French public. By giving up the second set after having had a break in advance, one could reasonably think that he had missed his chance. But he didn’t let go, refusing to die and taking viewers with him in his conviction. And faced with this tidal wave, Taylor Fritz finally gave in.

Simon brought Fritz into his line…

From the start, “Gilou” had set the tone with a break, certainly erased in stride by Taylor Fritz. Then the fight began. And from the baseline, the Frenchman, as in his best days, methodically wove his web. Able to neutralize his opponent by playing in the axis, he however found himself facing three set points on his serve at 4-5, 0/40. By dismissing them, he gave this game the turn he was hoping for and instilled doubt in the Californian’s head. The latter began to accumulate faults (35 in all, for 49 winning shots nevertheless) and lost this famous first set.

But Fritz therefore did not completely crack, even if the stands of Bercy vibrated with pleasure at the slightest offensive from Simon. He took advantage of a slight physical decline of his opponent to tilt the dynamics of the game. A rebound break, three 6-5 balls discarded on his serve and the American reset the counters by seizing the opposing service again (7-5, 5-7) after 2h10 of combat.

…and his legs carried him all the way

Despite his 37 years and increasingly painful legs, Simon has bent his back. In turn on a thread, he saved three break points and his serve at 3-2 against him in the final act. Carried by his mad hope and the unconditional support of the Parisian crowd, he stuck to the ball, countered and changed pace as we thought he could no longer do.

His quality of recovery and his still exceptional eye did the rest at 4-4, before he released a service game full of authority and aggression to close the deal. No, it’s not over. Simon wants more than ever to prolong the pleasure.