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Former world No. 6 Gilles Simon says he is looking forward to a much relaxed life in retirement as he is excited about finally getting a chance to spend more time with his family. Simon, 37, announced last week that he is playing his final season on the ATP Tour.
Simon, who turned professional in 2002, is a father of two and he is looking forward to spending quality time with his family. "I don't have any concrete plans for life after this. But I know that I want to spend a lot of time with my family,” Simon told tennisnet.com.
“Due to the high number of trips, I missed a lot of their development. It often seemed to me that when I left the house they were still crawling and when I came back they were already walking. This is the life of a tennis pro.
I am now looking forward to being at home for a longer period of time. Then we'll see what else happens."
Simon has no regrets over not playing Monte Carlo
In early April, Simon decided to play the Barletta Challenger instead of the Monte Carlo Masters.
When he was asked by fellow French players why he chose Barletta over Monte Carlo, Simon said he wanted to visit a new place and play another tournament for the first time. “Recently, I played at the Barletta Challenger," Simon said.
"This tournament took place the same week as the Monteâ€Carlo Masters. There, some French players asked me why I hadn't tried to take part in the much tougher Monte Carlo tournament, to which I replied that I had already played this tournament 15 times and that I was really happy to be in Barletta for the first time: Yes, there is wind, the quality of the courts leaves something to be desired and the organization corresponds to all the Italian clichés.
But I was just happy to be in Barletta with the boys. As a tennis player, you go to many fantastic places, but every year. I like this new change and maybe I would like to understand why players have been complaining about a tournament like Barletta for 25 years."