Simon, ex-N.6 in the world today 188th, was trailing 6-4, 5-3 before managing to reverse the situation and win after 2h50 min of struggle.

In the second round on Wednesday, he will face the American Taylor Fritz, world No.11 and still in the race to qualify for the Masters at the end of the season.

Simon came very close to seeing an end to his twenty-year career when he found himself one game away from defeat.

But, under the eyes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, he retired from Roland-Garros, Gaël Monfils, who had just become a father, and Richard Gasquet, seated side by side in the last row of the presidential stand, he equalized at a set everywhere four games later - and a string of unforced errors from Murray.

And in the decisive round, with the public joining the dance and who took to believing in it with him, he kept a break made early to the end, to lead 2 games to 1, and even took advantage of three double faults of the Scotsman to stay in the match and conclude on the face-off of his opponent.

Enough to deserve an additional lap in the Parisian room.

"It's very difficult, there are a lot of very contradictory feelings that come, frankly this last week, it's been hard," whispered Simon even on the court, very moved.

"Because playing tennis has been my life so far and it's going to end there. And everything I do, I know I'm doing it may be for the last time, he continued. . I try to enjoy it but I have colossal stress. I want to do well, to finish well."

Murray, ex-world No.1 now 48th, nevertheless led 16 to 2 in his confrontations with the Frenchman until then, only winner once in 2015, and once in 2007.

"I was afraid that it would scroll, admitted Simon. I said to myself: + He will ruin my career for me until the end +".

The victory is only his eleventh on the main circuit since the start of 2021.

© 2022 AFP