Nice (AFP)

"When at 6-1, 3-3 you have a heat stroke while you have been playing for 40 minutes, you know that you are not completely ready ...": Gilles Simon came out victorious in Nice on Tuesday of his first post-containment match, but it was hard!

The 54th in the world finally beat Dan Added (379th) in the Elite FFT Challenge, a mini-circuit of three tournaments organized in the Alpes-Maritimes by the French Federation to support tri-color players in search of competition since March.

Asked about its preparation during the freezing period of the ATP circuit, the 35-year-old recognized without false pretense that it left something to be desired. "I arrive very, very, very short, but hey, it's easier to get over it by playing matches."

"But at the same time, the tournaments are still far away, six weeks ago. The most important thing for me is not to hurt myself. I tried to work well especially on this, to have the body well unlocked everywhere, to take good care of the abs, shoulder, knees, "Simon said.

"I did not do cardio weights either, I did not have a big motivation to do it so far from the deadlines. There, the matches, it is the result of the training. I played rather well in early but with limited capacity, "he added.

Will this first match allow the Frenchman to find his motivation? "No, slice Simon again. The first official tournaments will be at best in 6 weeks (the ATP 500 in Washington is scheduled for August 14, editor's note). Six weeks is a long time, it's almost all a winter preparation when we stop between Bercy and Australia. If you told me + you're burnt + in Bercy, we wouldn't be worried about the Australian! "

So he sees the Elite FFT Challenge as a way to get back to work.

Only downside, the absence of ball pickers, sanitary instructions obliges.

"It's 50 ° C, you have to go get your towel over there, but the ball is on the other side ...", he explains, judging the absence of these collectors "really very, very, very, very, very annoying. "

And yet, despite the heat, the lack of physical condition and the absence of collectors, Simon found the resources to win his duel: "It pisses me off to lose, anyway, so at some point I have to move. .. "

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