The France team will present itself in the final of the Davis Cup against the Croats, in Lille in ten days (23-25 November), without its three best players in the world rankings: Richard Gasquet (26th), Gael Monfils (29th) ... and Gilles Simon (30th).
This is probably the least understandable absence. " I know how it works ", had dropped the Nice during the Masters 1000 in Paris, while he was questioned about his chances of being called by Yannick Noah for this final after having thrashed Lucas Pouille (6-3, 6 -4). A few days earlier, the player had already explained to Metz that " not many people " came to see his matches, a sign that he did not return to the plans of the captain for a long time. It has never been called this season.
Favorable balance sheet for Simon
Simon, however, signed the best end of the season of the Blues, with a title in Metz, and has an extremely favorable balance sheet against the two best Croatian players (6-1 against Cilic, 2-0 against Coric). Publicly, he accepted without hesitation the sometimes questionable choices of the captain not to play it when he was selected.
If the clay is not his favorite surface, the 30th world does not seem to be in the papers of Noah. Why not keep it? " Because he has a way of working far enough away from mine, " detailed Noah. We explained it quietly. I think Gilles is a much better player on fast surface and indoor than on clay. "