Bit old to win this tournament, says champion

PUNE: For his maiden ATP Tour title in India, Gilles Simon could not have chosen a better occasion as the Tata Open Maharashtra is the first edition in Pune of the country’s only ATP 250 Series event that has moved here this year from Chennai.

And the singles champion, who defeated Kevin Anderson in straight sets, acknowledged that it was unique coincidence that he was quite old to have won the first edition of the event in Pune.

“I am 33 and a bit old to have won such a tournament. Normally whenever a tournament is organised for the first time, there are some problems but here there were no problems from the first day,” Simon said.

The Frenchman was elated with this win as he is trying to climb back in rankings from his present 89 and a title so early in the season bodes well for him. Controlling the game against Anderson is very difficult as he has a huge serve that helps him dictate pace but Simon was happy he could play his own game. “It is hard to be comfortable against him as he has this huge serve and is controlling the game (with it). But today I managed to stay calm and played my own game.”

Simon said he will use the confidence he gained in this event to do well this season. “I didn’t have a good year in 2017 and from here I will be going to Australia and hope to do well there too.”

GILLES SIMON WAS ELATED WITH THIS WIN AS HE IS TRYING TO CLIMB BACK IN RANKINGS FROM HIS PRESENT RANK

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