Gilles Simon

Country	France
Residence	Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Born	(1984-12-27) December 27, 1984 (age 27) Nice, France
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Weight	70 kg (150 lb; 11 st)
Turned pro	2002
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$6,080,776
Singles
Career record	244–168
Career titles	10
Highest ranking	No. 6 (January 5, 2009)
Current ranking	No. 11 (April 30, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (2009)
French Open	4R (2011)
Wimbledon	4R (2009)
US Open	4R (2011)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (2008)
Olympic Games	3R (2008)
Doubles
Career record	16–60
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 117 (January 28, 2008)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2008)
French Open	2R (2005)
Wimbledon	1R (2006, 2007)
US Open	3R (2007)
Last updated on: September 27, 2010.

Gilles Simon (born December 27, 1984) is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a ten-time winner on the ATP World Tour. His coach is French tennis veteran Thierry Tulasne,^[3] and his fitness trainer is Paul Quetin.

Personal life[link]

Simon was born in Nice, France, into a family with no involvement in sport, his mother being a doctor and his father working in insurance.^[4] Supported by his parents, he started playing tennis at the age of 6.^[5] Due to a growth delay that runs in the family, he was shorter than most kids his age during his early teenage years.^[6] This is the reason he cites Michael Chang as a major influence, as his comparatively small frame proved that size was not an important factor in playing tennis.^[4]

On September 2, 2010, Simon became a father for the first time. His partner Carine Lauret gave birth to a baby boy. The couple named their first child Timothée. Timothée was born four weeks ahead of schedule, when Simon was competing in the 2010 US Open.^[7]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Simon began his professional tennis career in the summer of 2002, competing at multiple Futures tournaments in France before playing in tournaments outside the country of his birth. His first Futures title came in Lisbon, Portugal, in June 2003, and he reached the quarterfinals of three other tournaments. He then captured his second title in Jamaica in September. During 2004, he saw three wins in France and another in Algeria.

In January 2005, he won his first ATP Challenger hard court tournament in Nouméa, New Caledonia, and defended it the following year. Ranked as world no. 113, Simon made his Grand Slam debut at the 2005 French Open, losing in the first round to Olivier Patience in four sets.

2006[link]

At the 2006 Australian Open

Simon competed at the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, where he beat Nicolás Massú and Tomáš Berdych before being defeated by No. 13 Thomas Johansson in the third round. After his result in the tournament, he broke into the top 100 for the first time, climbing to no. 89.

The Frenchman reached his first ATP Tour final in Valencia with wins over Andreas Seppi in the quarterfinal and Fernando Verdasco in the semifinal, but lost to Nicolás Almagro, 6–2, 6–3. He also made it to the semifinals in Casablanca, as well as the round of 16 in both the ATP Masters Series tournaments in Monte Carlo and Hamburg. At the end of the year Simon was ranked 45th in the world.

2007[link]

At the beginning of the year, Simon won his first ATP title at the Open 13 in, Marseille, France. En route to the final, Simon beat Lleyton Hewitt, Jonas Björkman, and Robin Söderling. In the final, Simon defeated Marcus Baghdatis, 6–4, 7–6.

In September, he won his second title of the year and of his career at the BCR Open Romania in Bucharest, Romania. He defeated Victor Hănescu in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. He broke into the top 30 for the first time on November 5 and finished the year as no. 29 in the world. By the end of the year, his career record against top-10 players was 4–5.

2008[link]

Simon reached the quarterfinals in Marseille, defeating world no. 3 Novak Djokovic, 6–2, 6–7, 6–3, in the second round. He reached the semifinals in Rotterdam the next week.

In May, he entered Casablanca as a qualifier due to his late entry to the tournament, even though his ranking was high enough to be seeded. Simon went on to win the tournament by defeating Julien Benneteau, 7–5, 6–2, in the final. After his third-round loss to countryman Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon, Simon left Europe for the United States to familiarize himself with the hard courts before the U.S. Open Series. He competed in the Indianapolis Tennis Championships and hit a career-best no. 25. He beat Tommy Haas and Sam Querrey before reaching the final. He won the tournament by beating the defending champion Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4.

Simon at the 2008 U.S. Open

The following week, he competed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, including a 2–6, 7–5, 6–4 win over world no. 1 Roger Federer in the second round, before losing in the semifinals to German veteran Nicolas Kiefer. This resulted in an entry into the top 15, three ranks behind the French no. 1, Richard Gasquet.

Simon participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, playing in the singles for France alongside Paul-Henri Mathieu, Michaël Llodra, and Gaël Monfils. He played doubles with Monfils, but lost in the first round to the Indian team of Bhupathi and Paes. In singles the Frenchman reached the third round, with victories over the Swede Robin Söderling and the Argentine Guillermo Cañas before falling to James Blake.

At the US Open, Simon was seeded number 16. On day 6, he lost in the third round to the 17th seed Juan Martín del Potro, 4–6, 7–6, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, in a five-set match that lasted 3 hours and 47 minutes.

On September 14, Simon won his third title of the year and fifth ATP title, defeating Carlos Moyà, 6–3, 6–4 at the 2008 BCR Open Romania. Simon entered the 2008 Madrid Masters the following month, defeating no. 11 James Blake and no. 14 Ivo Karlović to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, he defeated world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in three sets, 3–6, 7–5, 7–6, in a match that lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes. Simon lost the final to world no.4 Andy Murray in straight sets, 4–6, 6–7. The tournament boosted Simon to a career-high world no. 10, displacing Richard Gasquet as French no. 1.^[8] By the end of 2008, French had four players in the top 20, (Simon, Tsonga, Gasquet, and Monfils), for the first time since computer ranking was established in 1973. The French paper L'Equipe grouped the four player as néo-Mousquetaires. French TV Canal+ went on to produce a documentary series that followed the four French players and their touring around the world. The series "Les 4 Mousquetaires" went on the air for two seasons during 2009 and 2010.^[9]

On November 3, he qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup, a tournament usually reserved for the world's top eight players in Shanghai, after Rafael Nadal withdrew due to knee complications and fatigue.^[10] He was drawn in the red group with Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Andy Roddick. In his first round-robin match, he beat defending champion Federer with a score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–3.^[11] Simon lost to Murray in his next match, 6–4, 6–2, but followed it with a victory over Radek Štěpánek, who replaced the injured Roddick, 6–1, 6–4.^[12] After Murray defeated Federer in the final round-robin match, Simon qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to world no. 3 Novak Djokovic in three sets, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5. After this, he achieved a career high of world no. 7.

In December, he played in the newly-formed Masters France exhibition tournament for the eight French players who had performed best at the four French tournaments. He qualified from the round-robin group stage with victories against Julien Benneteau, Marc Gicquel, and Josselin Ouanna. In the final against Michaël Llodra, Llodra pulled out with a shoulder injury, resulting in Simon's becoming the inaugural winner of the tournament.

2009[link]

Simon during the 2009 French Open

Simon started the year off rising to a new career high of world no. 6 and played at the Hopman Cup, teaming up with compatriot Alizé Cornet to form the French mixed doubles duo.^[13]

Simon played at the first grand slam of the year, the Australian Open, as the sixth seed, winning against Pablo Andújar in the first round. He also competed with Jérémy Chardy as his partner in the doubles, but the pair was defeated by Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the first round. The second round saw him beat Chris Guccione in four sets, 6–7, 6–4, 6–1, 6–2. He defeated Mario Ančić in the third round, winning in straight sets, advancing to his fourth-round encounter with compatriot Gaël Monfils. Simon was leading in the first two sets before Monfils retired due to a wrist injury. He then played world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, where he was dispatched, 2–6, 5–7, 5–7, although he had two set points in the second set.

He participated in the Davis Cup with other French team members Michaël Llodra, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Richard Gasquet. The team competed against the Czech Republic from 6–8 March. Simon lost, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3 to Tomáš Berdych, and then played Radek Štěpánek (whom his fellow team member Tsonga beat). Simon lost to Štěpánek, 6–7, 3–6, 6–7, which gave the Czechs a 3–1 lead, and France was out of the Davis Cup in the first round for the first time since 2000.

He went into the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami ranked no. 7 in the world. After early round wins over former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and Rainer Schüttler, he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round, 7–6, 3–6, 2–6. Simon competed at the Monte Carlo Masters against Andreas Beck in the men's singles, suffering a first-round loss of 5–7, 1–6.^[14] This result caused his world ranking to drop 2 spots down to no.9.

Simon played at the Estoril Open as the top seed, before losing to Albert Montañés, 7–5, 4–6, 6–7, in the third round.^[15] He competed with fellow players Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jérémy Chardy, forming the French team at the ARAG World Team Cup in Düsseldorf. He lost to Robin Söderling and Rainer Schüttler.

He entered Roland Garros as the seventh seed and defeated Wayne Odesnik in five sets in the first round, and Robert Kendrick in straight sets. He was ousted by Victor Hănescu in the third round, 4–6, 4–6, 2–6.^[16] During his third-round match, he also injured his right knee. Although he managed to finish the match, this knee injury would turned into a chronic problem that bothered him for a long time.

Simon competed at the AEGON Championships at Queens as the third seed, where he beat Grigor Dimitrov, but lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the third round.^[17] At 2009 Wimbledon, Simon was the eighth seed. He defeated Bobby Reynolds and Thiago Alves in the first two rounds. He defeated Victor Hănescu in the third round with a comfortable 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 victory. He was ousted in the fourth round by unseeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6–7, 3–6, 2–6.

Simon was the top seed at Stuttgart's MercedesCup and defeated Philipp Petzschner in the first round in straight sets before falling to Mischa Zverev, 3–6, 2–6. At the 2009 International German Open, after receiving a bye in the first round, he lost to wildcard Daniel Brands, 6–3, 4–6, 3–6.

During the 2009 US Open Series, he played at the 2009 Rogers Cup where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round. One week later, he played at the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, where he defeated Nikolay Davydenko en route to the quarterfinals, where he would lose to world no. 4 Novak Djokovic. At the 2009 US Open, Simon equalled his best result of third round before retiring with a right knee injury during his third-round match against Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Simon then won his first title of 2009 at the 2009 PTT Thailand Open, where he defeated Viktor Troicki in the final, 7–5, 6–3. In Tokyo, Simon was third seeded, but fell to Mikhail Youzhny in the second round. A week later he played at the Shanghai Masters as the eight seed and received a bye in the first round. He beat Viktor Troicki and Tomáš Berdych, but lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 6–2, 2–6.

Simon returned to France to play in Lyon and lost in the semifinal to Michaël Llodra, 7–6, 3–6, 6–7. At the next tournament in Valencia, he lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinal. He continued to Bercy to play at the BNP Paribas Masters. He was seeded 11th and had a first-round bye. In the second round, he faced Ivan Ljubičić, whom he had never beaten in three previous meetings. In the third set of the match, Simon has a break point to go up 4–2. While lunging to return a wide serve, he aggravated a right knee injury that has been bothering him for half of the 2009 season. Although with his movement severely hampered, Simon decided to play on to finish the match in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. He went on to win the match, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6.^[18] Two days later, he played his R3 match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and lost, 2–6, 3–6.

In an interview during the Paris tournament, Simon said that the doctor had recommended that he take at least two months to recover from his knee injury.^[19]

2010[link]

Gilles started the 2010 season with an exhibition event, the World Tennis Challenge in Adelaide. It started badly for him, as he struggled with injury. He lost three straight matches, including to the home favourite Bernard Tomic. Simon pulled out of the Australian Open due to his knee injury.^[20] He did not make any appearances in the 2010 season until mid-February, at the 2010 Open 13 tournament in Marseille. As the fifth seed, he lost in the first round to Olivier Rochus, 5–7, 2–6 in Marseille. He then participated in the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships as the eighth seed, but lost in the first round to Marcos Baghdatis, 6–7, 4–6. Continuing to struggle, he lost to Brian Dabul, 5–7, 4–6, in the second round of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open Masters 1000 in Indian Wells. He also lost to Horacio Zeballos in the second round of the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open.

The right knee injury eventually caused Simon to miss the entire spring European clay season, including the French Open.^[21] He returned to the tour in mid-June, winning two rounds in Eastbourne before losing to Michaël Llodra, 1–6, 3–6, in the quarterfinals. Continued on to 2010 Wimbledon, Simon reached the third round before losing to Andy Murray, 1–6, 4–6, 4–6. He began the summer US hard court season by participating in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. and won two rounds of matches, including a win over top 10 player Andy Roddick. He lost in the quarterfinals to David Nalbandian in three sets. However, he suffered first-round defeats in his next two ATP Masters 1000 series tournaments, the 2010 Rogers Cup in Toronto and the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, showing that he still had a long way to go to return to his top form and regain his confidence. He moved on to New York to take part in US Open, reaching the thirdround by defeating Donald Young in three sets and Philipp Kohlschreiber in five sets. He went on to meet the no. 1 player Rafael Nadal in the third round. Before the match, upon hearing about the birth of Simon's son, Nadal jokingly offered to buy Simon a flight ticket back to Europe to see his son before the match.^[22] Simon stayed, and lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets.

After the US Open, Simon was picked to represent France in the semifinal of the Davis Cup because Tsonga was unavailable due to injury. He did not play any live rubber, but defeated Eduardo Schwank in a dead rubber, 7–6, 6–7, 6–3.

Simon then entered 2010 Open de Moselle as a wildcard. Originally, he did not plan to play the tournament because his son was supposed to be due that week. He took his newly extended family to Metz and eventually won the tournament by beating Mischa Zverev, 6–3, 6–2, in the final. This was his seventh career title, coming only weeks after the birth of his first child. During the award ceremony, he thanked his girlfriend for the support and called the victory a "family effort."^[23]

The rest of 2010 was more ups and downs, indicating that after returning from the serious knee injury, he was still struggling to find his consistency. He went on to participate in two Asian tournaments. He beat Sam Querrey and Michael Berrer to reach the quarterfinals of the China Open in Beijing, but lost to Djokovic in two relatively easy sets. He then crashed out at the first round of the Shanghai Masters to Stanislas Wawrinka in two sets. After Asia, he returned to France to play Open Sud de France in Montpellier. During his second-round encounter, he was down a set and a break to David Nalbandian before fighting back to even the match at one all. He was then down a break again before coming back to beat the seeded player in three sets. He eventually lost in the quraterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets. The next tournament was the Valencia Open 500, where Simon beat two seeds (Fernando Verdasco and Nikolay Davydenko) en route to his semifinal appearance, only to lose to the Spanish qualifier Marcel Granollers in two sets. At the last tournament of the season, BNP Paribas Masters, Simon again came from behind to beat newcomer Andrey Golubev in three sets during their first-round encounter. However, in the seoncd round, after failing to convert numerous breakpoints in the beginning of set 1, a set that he eventually lost, Simon faded and lost the second set to the eventual title winner Robin Söderling in two easy sets.

In December 2010, Simon was picked to play the Davis Cup final for France, which was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia. The final was filled with controversies over which player was to be called on to play each match. France called on Simon to play Novak Djokovic in day 1, while others were expecting Michaël Llodra to play, based on Llodra's good form in the BNP Paribas Masters (including beating Djokovic in two sets). Simon lost the match in three sets. When France won the doubles and led 2–1 going into day 3, the French team seemed to be on its way to yet another Davis Cup victory. But day 3 opened with Djokovic in strong form defeating Monfils in three easy sets, leaving the championship to a deciding fifth match. The schedule originally stated that the fifth match was to be played by Janko Tipsarević and Simon. Last-minute replacement saw both replaced by their teammates Viktor Troicki and Michaël Llodra respectively. The fifth match ended in anti-climatic fashion with an overwhelming victory for Troicki in three sets. Serbia won the Davis Cup for the first time in history. France's defeat caused some to question the choice of Llodra to play Troicki when Simon has a 4–0 head-to-head record against the Serb. Nevertheless, everyone agrees that Troicki and the Serbian team had displayed convincing performances over their French opponent, and the victory was well deserved.^[24]

2011[link]

Gilles Simon in action at the 2011 US Open

Simon started his 2011 campaign by entering three tournaments in Australia: Brisbane, Sydney, and the Australian Open. He lost in the first round of Brisbane to Santiago Giraldo 3–6, 3–6. One week later, he beat Alexandr Dolgopolov and Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals and semifinals and then captured his eighth title by defeating Viktor Troicki 7–5, 7–6, in the final of the Sydney International. In the Australian Open, he lost to Roger Federer in the second round in a five-set match 2–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 3–6. Simon went on to defeat Nicolás Almagro 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 in Hamburg, capturing the most important title (in terms of ATP Rankings) of his career to date.

Simon reached the fourth round of Roland Garros but lost to Robin Soderling 6–2, 6–3, 7–6. At Wimbledon, he lost to Juan Martín del Potro in the third round 7–6, 7–6, 7–5.

At the US Open, he advanced to the fourth round by defeating Ricardo Mello, Guillermo García-López, and Juan Martin del Potro in the third round in four sets 4–6, 7–6, 6–2, 7–6. He lost to John Isner in the fourth round 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, 7–6.

2012[link]

Simon started his season at the Brisbane International, where he made the semifinals. At the Australian Open, Simon went out in the second round.

He made the semifinals of the Open Sud de France and the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, where he went down against John Isner, 3-6, 6-1, 5-7. In Miami, he was defeated by Andy Murray in the fourth round, 3-6, 4-6.

He reached the semifinals at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters, defeating Janko Tipsarevic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round and quarterfinals, respectively. He lost in the semifinals to champion Rafael Nadal, 3-6, 4-6.

He won the tournament in Bucharest, Romania, defeating Fabio Fognini in the final, 6-4, 6-3.

At the Masters 1000 event in Madrid, the lost in the third round to Janko Tipsarevic. In Rome, he lost to David Ferrer in the third round.

Playing style[link]

Simon is known for his endurance, agility, mental strength and tennis brain. His backhand is considered his best shot as he is capable of expertly creating angles and varying his shots in addition to taking the ball earlier and unleashing flat and penetrating backhand drives. He is also very capable on the forehand side, and his forehand is the wing with which he is able to attack opponents. His technique is seamless, and this enables him to absorb and redirect powerful shots. As mentioned before, he is also a tactical player who can vary his hit point on both sides, keeping the ball on his strings until the very last moment, and then suddenly taking the ball early with random injections of pace. This keeps his opponents off-guard; hence, although he is widely classed as a counter-puncher, it is often he who controls the points.

As his career kicked off in 2008, Simon began to work tirelessly on his volleys and net-game, and this has since come to form a prominent part of his game. Nowadays, he looks to sneak in and finish points off at the net whenever he can, and he often enjoys rushing to the net off the return to break up his opponent's rhythm on break points and important points in general.

While his return is one of the best parts of his game, his serve has also become a pivotal part of his game, and he often manages to find his best serves on the biggest points. In general, Simon is often overlooked in an era filled with powerful players and big servers. However, he is a very unique player with countless layers to his game.

Equipment[link]

Simon plays with a Head YouTek IG Prestige Pro and 2009 Team series bag, both from Head, a brand which he has endorsed.^[25] His racquet is strung with Head IntelliTour 16 String. He is sponsored by Adidas.^[26]

Major finals[link]

Masters Series finals[link]

Singles: 1 (0 Titles, 1 Runner-up)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	2008	Madrid	Hard (i)	Andy Murray	4–6, 6–7(6–8)

ATP Career Finals[link]

Singles: 12 (10-2)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	April 16, 2006	Valencia, Spain	Clay	Nicolás Almagro	2–6, 3–6
Winner	1.	February 18, 2007	Marseille, France	Hard (i)	Marcos Baghdatis	6–4, 7–6(8–6)
Winner	2.	September 16, 2007	Bucharest, Romania	Clay	Victor Hănescu	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Winner	3.	May 24, 2008	Casablanca, Morocco	Clay	Julien Benneteau	7–5, 6–2
Winner	4.	July 20, 2008	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	Dmitry Tursunov	6–4, 6–4
Winner	5.	September 14, 2008	Bucharest, Romania (2)	Clay	Carlos Moyà	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	2.	October 19, 2008	Madrid, Spain	Hard (i)	Andy Murray	4–6, 6–7(6–8)
Winner	6.	September 28, 2009	Bangkok, Thailand	Hard (i)	Viktor Troicki	7–5, 6–3
Winner	7.	September 26, 2010	Metz, France	Hard (i)	Mischa Zverev	6–3, 6–2
Winner	8.	January 15, 2011	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Viktor Troicki	7–5, 7–6(7–4)
Winner	9.	July 24, 2011	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Nicolás Almagro	6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Winner	10.	April 29, 2012	Bucharest, Romania (3)	Clay	Fabio Fognini	6–4, 6–3

Singles Performance Timeline[link]

Updated till 2012 French Open.

ATP Tour career earnings[link]

References[link]

Source: http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/450301.asp

1. ^ "Gilles Simon". ATP. 2010-10-04. http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/?playernumber=SD32. Retrieved 2010-12-06. 
2. ^ "Gilles Simon Player Profile". ATP World Tour. http://www.atpworldtour.com/5/en/players/playerprofiles/highlights.asp?playernumber=SD32. Retrieved 2009–02–02. 
3. ^ "Gilles Simon". ATP. 2009–03–15. http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/playerprofiles/?playernumber=SD32. Retrieved 2009–04–15. 
4. ^ ^{a b} From a Family of Non-Jocks to the Top 10 Tennis.com, March 31, 2009
5. ^ Simon, Gilles Itftennis.com, April 18, 2009
6. ^ http://www.journaldugolf.fr/multimedia/magazine/JDTn2.pdf. Simon feature in page 24
7. ^ http://www.menstennisblog.info/2010/09/gilles-simon-becomes-father.html
8. ^ Gilles Simon s'est fait un nom, Romain Schneider. Le Figaro, October 18, 2008.
9. ^ http://www.canalplus.fr/c-sport/c-tennis/pid3498-c-les–4-mousquetaires.html
10. ^ "Fatigued Nadal out of Masters Cup". BBC Sport. 2008–11–03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7706939.stm. Retrieved 2008–11–10. 
11. ^ "Federer undone by Simon in opener". BBC Sport. 2008–11–10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7710316.stm. Retrieved 2008–11–10. 
12. ^ "Simon beats Štěpánek and waits on Federer-Murray". BBC Sport. November 14, 2008. http://uk.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUKTRE4AD2W220081114. 
13. ^ Current Results Hopman cup.com, June 9, 2009
14. ^ Monte Carlo Rolex Masters Montecarlomasters-series.com, April 14, 2009
15. ^ Simon Accepts Estoril Open Wildcard Estorilopen.net, May 2, 2009
16. ^ Draws/Men's Singles Roland Garros.com, May 22, 2009
17. ^ DrawsSingles AEGONChampionships.com, June 9, 2009
18. ^ http://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/breves2009/20091110_234604_simon-rejoint-tsonga.html L'Equipe, Nov 11, 2009
19. ^ http://www.fft.fr/bnpparibasmasters/2009/?ID=5631 BNP PARIBAS MASTERS 2009, Nov 12, 2009
20. ^ http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/news/articles/2010–01–16/201001161263609599281.html?fpos=r2,Australian Open 2010, Jan 15, 2010
21. ^ http://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/breves2010/20100517_121454_gilles-simon-forfait.html, L'Equipe May 17, 2010
22. ^ Clarey, Christopher (September 4, 2010), "Simon Will Meet New Son — as Soon as He Loses", New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/sports/tennis/05simon.html, retrieved September 4, 2011 
23. ^ http://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/breves2010/20100926_162311_simon-roi-de-moselle.html
24. ^ http://www.daviscup.com/en/news/articles/serbia-crowned-davis-cup-champion.aspx
25. ^ [1] Retrieved on March, 3, 2012
26. ^ Gilles Simon Tennis-warehouse.com, Retrieved on April 20, 2009
27. ^ http://stevegtennis.com/rankings/2005/$$121905.txt
28. ^ http://stevegtennis.com/rankings/2006/$$121806.txt
29. ^ http://stevegtennis.com/rankings/2007/$$122407.txt
30. ^ http://stevegtennis.com/rankings/2008/$$122908.txt
31. ^ http://stevegtennis.com/rankings/2009/$$122809.txt
32. ^ http://stevegtennis.com/rankings/2010/$$122710.txt
33. ^ http://stevegtennis.com/rankings/2011/$$122611.htm
34. ^ http://www.stevegtennis.com/rankings/2012/$$051412.htm

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gilles Simon

• Gilles Simon at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Gilles Simon at the International Tennis Federation
• Gilles Simon at the Davis Cup

v t e Association of Tennis Professionals: Top ten French male singles tennis players as of May 28, 2012 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5 ) Gilles Simon (12 ) Gaël Monfils (14 1) Richard Gasquet (20 ) Julien Benneteau (32 ) Jérémy Chardy (55 1) Michaël Llodra (57 ) Benoît Paire (69 3) Édouard Roger-Vasselin (82 1) Nicolas Mahut (89 1)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)

Alexandr Dolgopolov
Олександр Долгополов

Country	Ukraine
Residence	Kiev, Ukraine
Born	(1988-11-07) 7 November 1988 (age 23) Kiev, Ukraine
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight	73 kg (160 lb)
Turned pro	2006
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$1,957,452
Singles
Career record	67–62
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 13 (January 16, 2012)
Current ranking	No. 18 (May 14, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (2011)
French Open	3R (2010, 2011)
Wimbledon	2R (2010)
US Open	4R (2011)
Doubles
Career record	15–26
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 42 (9 January 2012)
Last updated on: 25 April 2011.

Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukrainian: Олександр Олександрович Долгополов) (born 7 November 1988), formerly known as Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr., is the top-ranked Ukrainian male tennis player. He changed his first name spelling to the current form in May 2010.^[2]

Early life[link]

Alexandr's father, Oleksandr Dolgopolov, was a professional tennis player for the Soviet team, and his mother was a gymnast. He started playing tennis at age 3, coached by his father. The senior Dolgopolov was also the coach of Andrei Medvedev, Ukraine's most successful tennis player to date. At a young age, Dolgopolov lived on the tour with his parents, traveling frequently and playing players such as Medvedev, Andre Agassi, and Boris Becker.^[3] Players such as Jim Courier remembered hitting balls with Dolgopolov when he was a toddler.

Tennis career[link]

Dolgopolov made his ATP Tour debut in September 2006 at the BCR Open Romania as a qualifier, losing in the first round to Christophe Rochus. He was also part of the Ukrainian Davis Cup team in the tie against Great Britain, where he was defeated by Andy Murray.

Eventually, the younger Dolgopolov decided that he wanted less of his father's influence and develop himself in his own way. In 2009, at age 20, he parted ways with his father and enlisted the help of Australian Jack Reader as his coach.^[3] Dolgopolov and his father didn't speak for 6 months but has since reconciled with the Dolgopolov Snr stating that he is in fact, very proud of his son.^[3]

2010[link]

Dolgopolov started the year at the 2010 Brisbane International, where he qualified for the tournament by beating Joseph Sirianni and Kaden Hensel. In the main draw, he defeated Bernard Tomic 6–4, 6–4, before losing in the second round to Radek Stepanek in three sets. At the 2010 Australian Open, he lost in the first round of qualifying to Simon Stadler, 8–6 in the third set.

Dolgopolov qualified for the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with wins over Santiago Ventura and Mischa Zverev, but lost to Julien Benneteau in the first round 4–6, 7–5, 2–6. Dolgopolov continued to the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he qualified to get into the tournament. In the first round, he beat Andreas Seppi 6–3, 6–4, but in the second round lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal 4–6, 3–6. At the 2010 French Open, he beat Arnaud Clément in a long five-setter, which he won 6–3 in the final set. Dolgopolov upset 12th seed Fernando González in straight sets. This was the biggest win in his career and best showing at a Grand Slam to that time. In the third round, he lost to Nicolás Almagro 3–6, 3–6, 4–6.

Dolgopolov started off his grass-court season seeded seventh at the AEGON International, with wins over Jamie Baker, Lu Yen-hsun, and James Ward, before falling to Michaël Llodra 3–6, 5–7, in the semifinals, despite being 4–1 up in the second set. Dolgopolov defeated Marco Chiudinelli 6–4, 6–3, 6–3, in the first round of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. He put on a solid performance against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round, but ultimately succumbed to the Frenchman in five sets 4–6, 4–6, 7–6, 7–5, 8–10.

2011[link]

Dolgopolov began 2011 at the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia, where he won the first two rounds over Bernard Tomic and top-seeded Sam Querrey, and later lost to the eventual champion, Gilles Simon, in the quarterfinals.

At the 2011 Australian Open, Dolgopolov had his best showing at a Grand Slam thus far, reaching the quarterfinals. He beat Mikhail Kukushkin and Benjamin Becker in the first two rounds, then avenged his defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at The Championships, Wimbledon in 2010, in five sets 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, 6–1. He went on to beat world no. 4 Robin Söderling in the fourth round 1–6, 6–3, 6–1, 4–6, 6–2, reaching his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.^[4] In the quarterfinals, he lost to Andy Murray, the fifth seed 5–7, 3–6, 7–6, 3–6.

Dolgopolov next hit the clay courts of Latin America. He entered the 2011 Brasil Open in Costa do Sauípe as the fourth seed, receiving a first-round bye. He defeated Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo 7–5, 6–4, in the second round. He then beat Potito Starace in the quarterfinals 6–3, 6–4. Dolgopolov then crushed home-town favourite Ricardo Mello 6–2, 6–1, to enter his first ATP tour final.^[5] He was then defeated by the top seed, world no. 13 Nicolás Almagro 3–6, 6–7. Dolgopolov then headed to Buenos Aires to play in the 2011 Copa Claro as the seventh seed. He suffered a surprising first-round defeat to Argentinian wildcard José Acasuso in straight sets 2–6, 4–6. However, partnering Igor Andreev, Dolgopolov reached his first ATP tour doubles semifinal, where they lost 2–6, 1–6 to eventual champions Oliver Marach and Leonardo Mayer. Dolgopolov then participated in the final leg of the Golden Triangle swing in the 2011 Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament in Acapulco, as the sixth seed. He defeated Chilean Paul Capdeville 7–5, 6–2, in the first round, and then beat doubles partner Carlos Berlocq 6–4, 6–1, in the second round. He then reached the semifinals after beating fourth seed Stanislas Wawrinka 6–4, 7–6. He stretched the top seed and world no. 6 David Ferrer to three sets, but lost 7–5, 1–6, 1–6.