'Made us lose': Gilles Simon's brazen take on Roger Federer's legacy
French star Gilles Simon has questioned the image young tennis players have of Roger Federer and said his influence on the sport might not be beneficial to the sport going forward.
Simon was talking about the release of his new book to French outlet Le Parisien, which has caused plenty of hype considering it is titled: ‘The Federer myth’.
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But asked about what fans could expect, Simon talked about how today’s coaches and kids are obsessed with playing the way the 20-time Grand Slam champ does.
The Frenchman claimed putting him on the pedestal isn’t necessarily a good thing for the sport.
"I have nothing against Roger Federer personally, but against the image we have of him," Simon was quoted, by Sportskeeda.
"For decades, it has been believed that only Federers should be trained. And he, with his style of play, his way of going forward, the confidence he exudes, came to validate these choices. He made us lose 20 years!"
Simon suggested if players, such as Nadal, surpassed Federer’s records it would benefit the game.
"In France, everyone wants Roger Federer: parents, coaches… We don't realise that Rafael Nadal has won so many Grand Slams by doing something quite different,” he added.
“That's why it would help if Roger Federer's records fell because we'd finally have to see the others.”
Most recently, Nadal obliterated Novak Djokovic to secure his 13th Roland Garros title and equal Federer’s haul of 20 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic set to surpass Federer record
Djokovic, who spent 555 weeks in the Top 10, will most likely fall short of Nadal’s record due to his elbow injury lay-off in 2017-2018.
But the Serbian is closing in on Federer’s record of most consecutive weeks as World No.1.
Djokovic has spent 292 weeks at World No.1, 18 weeks shy of Federer.
He is tipped to take over Federer’s record in March 2021.
Only an insane run of form from Nadal or World No.3 Dominic Thiem will prevent Djokovic from the record.
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