Gilles Simon: The 2009 Australian Open Dark Horse

Nothing like a beach party in January to whet your appetite for the wild and wobbly—hence, the land down under! The Australian Open is underway, promising tallie action galore.

While all the true tennis fans and pundits are busy hashing over the chances of Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic to take home the grand slam prize, you have to remember that this is Australia, where the unexpected is standard operating procedure. Who is that man of the hour yet to announce his presence on the big stage?

While several newbies stand out, the dark-horse pick of the tournament for me is Gilles Simon, the baby-faced Frenchman with the skinny legs and the heart of a champion. He wins by his wits and by his dogged determination.

He is currently ranked No. 6 in the world after a sterling 2008 campaign. He ended 2007 ranked No. 29. 

The tennis world stood up and took notice of Simon when he dispatched Federer in the first round of the 2008 Rogers Cup in Montreal, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4. Ouch—Federer fans were stunned, as well as the rest of the tennis world! True, Simon had a wild ride coming into the Rogers Cup. 

He had dispatched Djokovic in the second round in Marseilles, where he ultimately reached the quarterfinals. He reached the semifinals in Rotterdam the following week. During the grass court season, he made it to the Nottingham Open quarterfinals. 

He won his third ATP title in Casablanca, taking out four of his countrymen. After losing to Gasquet at Wimbledon, Simon took off early for the U.S., hoping to use the extra time to beef up his hard court game. 

He won Indianapolis seeded No. 25 in the world. The heat on court was very bothersome, but Simon survived and thrived defeating Dimity Tursunov in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Every other prior match extended to three sets. 

After upending Federer at the Rogers Cup, Simon advanced to the semifinals where he met defeat at the hands of Nicolas Kiefer. Up to that point, Simon had won nine matches in a row. He moved to No. 14 in the ATP rankings. 

At the U.S. Open Simon lost to Juan Del Potro in the third round in an epic five-set match that last almost four hours (4-6, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6).

Simon went on to win his third title of the year at the BCR Open Romania. He entered the Madrid Masters and reached the semifinals. He scratched and clawed to hang on and won the nickname “the survivor” in the press. 

He stunned Rafael Nadal in the semifinals—finally losing to Murray in the finals. He displaced Gasquet as the No. 10 player in the world.

When Nadal had to withdraw from the year-end ATP Championship Tournament in Shanghai, Simon was drawn into the red group with Federer, Murray and Roddick. He again defeated Federer, confounding the mighty Swiss and his legion of fans. 

He made it to the semifinals, losing to Djokovic in three sets. His ranking rose to No. 6 in the world.

The man doesn’t know how to quit—like the Energizer bunny, he just keeps coming.  His strength is his patience and his intelligence.

He reminds one of Justine Henin, who developed a game and an attitude to overcome stronger and better physically equipped opponents.

He has a sweet spot in the draw—the ultimate dark horse of this tournament!