Simon: From a family of non-jocks to the Top 10

Of the ATP’s Top 10 players, Gilles Simon is probably least known to U.S. fans. And given his family background, it’s quite a surprise that the No. 8-ranked Frenchman is a pro tennis player at all.

“What’s strange is that no one in my family was really aware of sports,” Simon, 24, told TENNIS.com in a recent interview (conducted in English).

“My parents have played tennis, but at a very low level,” said Simon, whose mother is a doctor and whose father works in insurance. “My brother is an engineer. They were all pretty good at school, but not me.”

Still, Simon’s parents weren’t disappointed that their son wasn’t particularly academically inclined, and they encouraged him to try sports from an early age.

“My parents, when they were young, wanted to do some sports, and unfortunately my grandparents didn’t allow them to do that,” Simon said. “So they didn’t want to make the same mistakes with us.”

Simon, who first picked up a racquet at age 6, said his parents encouraged him to develop his game. “They always wanted me to do what I like to do,” Simon said. “So they did everything for me to reach this level. It wasn’t easy. They traveled with me to tournaments all the time. They really pushed me to be a tennis player.”

The Frenchman played his first ATP match in 2004, made his Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros in 2005, moved into the Top 50 in 2006 and won his first tour titles in 2007. But his big breakthrough came last season, when he won tournaments in Casablanca, Indianapolis and Bucharest and broke into the Top 10 in October, finishing the year at No. 7.

At 5-foot-11 and 155 pounds, Simon doesn’t overpower his opponents, but beats them with speed, counterpunching and guile. Growing up, Simon idolized Michael Chang for showing that tennis isn’t all about size.

Surprisingly for someone with his patient style of play, Simon said his primary problem as a junior was lack of focus. “I couldn’t keep my concentration for three hours.” Clearly, his attention span has lengthened, and he has a career record of 3-2 in five-setters.

While few tennis fans knew of Simon before his three tournament wins last year, the Nice native points out that he’s had a steady rise in the rankings, improving his position in each of the past six years.

“I wasn’t expected to reach that high,” Simon said. Expectations have been higher for his celebrated compatriots Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet, all of whom Simon has eclipsed in the rankings.

“Everyone was talking about them, so it was surprising that someone else was in the Top 10,” Simon said. “And people are still talking about them because they make more of a show on the court.”

Simon is friends with the all three of those Frenchmen, and says watching them play under pressure—with varying degrees of success—has helped prepare him for his own high-profile career. “I saw what happened to them the first time they had good tournaments and people were talking about them,” he said. “So when it was my time, I was okay. I knew what was going to happen.”

To rise further in the rankings, Simon says he needs to work on offensive elements of his game, particularly his serve and net play. “It’s good to be in the Top 10 with many things still to improve,” he said.