Newsletter

“You lift Federer higher than he can be”

Gilles Simon (right) is causing a stir with his biography.

Image:
Getty Images

Gilles Simon caused a stir in his biography with his critical words about Roger Federer. Now the world number 63 is explained. And says why Federer’s success is not good for the French youth.

«Federer has already cost us 20 years. It would be good if it didn’t cost us 20 more. ” With such sentences, Gilles Simon caused confusion a few weeks ago in his published biography. “Who can say that he knows the real Federer, the one who is hiding behind his construction?” The Frenchman admitted suspiciously and continued to blaspheme: “They explain that Federer can heal the blind, and I’m just exaggerating a little. »

Simon dedicated a whole chapter in his book “Ce sport qui rend fou” (This sport that drives you crazy) to the 20-time Grand Slam winner. And the Swiss not only got off well, which is why Simon felt the displeasure of the Federer fans. Simon now explains to “Blick” that he has no problem with Federer: “I have absolutely nothing against him. Like the majority of people, I admire Roger Federer. “



“Our youth are bred after Roger”

The 14-time ATP tournament winner recommends reading the whole book and not just the excerpts that have been quoted in the media “and possibly incorrectly translated”. Gilles Simon explicitly discusses his accusation that Federer would not do the French tennis offspring any good: “Roger is not the problem, the French are the problem. I’m trying to explain what they’re missing in order to win another Grand Slam tournament – without having to follow the Federer model. “

In France, people have been looking for a tennis player with the elegance and boldness of Federer for a long time. “Because his style corresponds exactly to the French ideal,” says Simon. “This is problematic for our youth. She is bred after Roger – we see no other role model. We forget that it is almost impossible to become a Federer. “

He knows what he’s talking about. After all, he himself grew up with the expectations of how a French Grand Slam winner would play. “I thought it was terrible, it stole an awful lot of energy because I was supposed to do something I couldn’t. (…) But those who weren’t as brilliant as Roger couldn’t prevail. “

Simon explains doping allegation against Federer

Simon also tries to explain his alleged doping allegations against the maestro. In his book he asks himself why no one has ever spoken about Federer’s body: “In 2017, at the age of 35, he played five sets against Nadal in Australia. That is extraordinary. But nobody has ever pointed this out. “

The background to the statements are the doping allegations against Rafael Nadal. France’s former sports minister, Roselyne Bachelot, claimed in 2016 that the Spaniard had tested positive in a doping control four years earlier, but without any evidence. “For some it is difficult to understand that Rafael Nadal is a better tennis player than Roger Federer,” wrote the self-confessed Nadal fan Simon in his biography and therefore compared it with Federer.

“Who can say that he knows the real Federer?” Asked Simon in his book and now explains that he meant that the Basel bidder is necessarily presented differently than he actually is: “You raise him higher than he is can. No matter how he lives, what he does – he remains the best. That is certainly not entirely made up and a lie – he has great class. But the picture certainly doesn’t correspond to him one hundred percent. “

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending