Gilles Simon says he isn’t reconsidering his decision to retire, even though he’s scored two big wins in the Rolex Paris Masters this week.
The 37-year-old Frenchman is hanging up his racquets following this event, but has thrilled the home crowds so far by defeating ninth seed Taylor Fritz and three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray.
His 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 win against Fritz took more than three hours, with the crowd crucial to helping him grab the third set.
“I know I’m hurting everywhere,” he told press coming off the court. “And then at some point, you tell yourself… ‘Enjoy it. If it hurts everywhere, if you can’t play anymore, it’s not a big deal.’
“Then you win a point, the people are there, you win another and they get fired up, and you say to yourself, ‘Ah, maybe you can go again.’ And like this, you come back.”