Simon grits his way past Fritz to continue fairy-tale farewell at Paris Masters

Gilles Simon reached a career high of number six in the world during two decades on the men's tour. AP - Michel Euler

And so the farewell turn continues. Gilles Simon, who declared the Paris Masters would be the final tournament of his 20-year professional tennis career, advanced to the last-16 of the competition on Wednesday night with a three-set victory over the ninth seed Taylor Fritz.

It took the 37-year-old Frenchman three hours and six minutes to dispatch the American 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.