RICHARD GASQUET
Name: Richard Gasquet
Nickname(s) Richie, Richou, Baby Federer
Born: 18 June 1986 Beziers, France
Richard Gasquet (born 18 June 1986) is a French tennis player. He has reached a
career high of World Number 7 in the world on July, 2007 after making it to the
semi-finals of Wimbledon 2007, defeating Roddick in 5 sets, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6,
8-6. Later this year, Gasquet qualified for the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup.
Gasquet was born in Beziers in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. He began playing
tennis at the age of 4 under the guidance of his father, Francis, who ran a
tennis club, the TC Serignan, along with his mother Maryse. He appeared on the
cover of French Tennis Magazine aged only 9, and was touted as an extremely
promising prospect even at such an early age. He was coached by his father
during his junior career, and by Tarik Benhabilas for a short period. Since 2004,
he has been coached by ex-professional tennis player Éric Deblicker.
He made his debut on the ATP tour in April, 2002, at the Tennis Masters Series
tournament at Monte Carlo where he received a wildcard into qualifying and
became the youngest player ever to qualify for a Tennis Masters event. At the
age of 15 years, 10 months, he defeated Argentina's Franco Squillari in the
first round of that tournament to become the youngest player to win a tour-level
main draw match since Tommy Ho at Rye Brook in 1988.
Gasquet made his Grand Slam tournament debut at the 2002 French Open at the age
of 15 years, 11 months, nine days. He was the second-youngest player ever to
compete in the main draw there. Despite his lack of experience, he managed to
take a set off the eventual champion Albert Costa in the first round. Gasquet
finished 2002 as the no. 1 junior in the world and was named World Junior
Champion, having won the junior titles at the French Open and the US Open. He
was also the youngest player to finish in year-end ATP top 200.
Gasquet finished 2003 as the youngest player to finish a year inside the ATP top
100. In 2004, he reached his first ATP tournament final at Metz, but lost to
fellow countryman Jerame Haehnel 7-6, 6-4. He also won the mixed doubles trophy
at the French Open that year, partnering Tatiana Golovin.
Gasquet missed the first seven weeks of the 2005 season due to chickenpox. Upon
his recovery he won back to back challenger titles in March. In April, riding
the momentum of a 10 match winning streak, Gasquet reached the semifinals of the
Masters Series tournament at Monte Carlo, handing world number one Roger Federer
a shock 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 defeat in the quarterfinal. He saved 3 match points before
closing it out in a 10-8 tiebreak. As a result, he became the youngest French
player ever to defeat a world number one. However, the eventual champion Rafael
Nadal got the better of him in the semi beating Gasquet 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Fresh off of his huge win over Federer and having just demolished Paradorn
Srichaphan in straight sets, the rising teen lost against Andre Agassi 6-2, 6-3
at Rome's Masters tennis tournament, possibly due to being overawed at playing
one of his childhood heroes. A month later, he reached the final of the Hamburg
Masters, where, this time, he was defeated by Roger Federer in 3 straight sets.
In May, he won his first ever Grand Slam singles match at Roland Garros. On June
18, his 19th birthday, he won his first ATP title, defeating Max Mirnyi in the
final of the grass court tournament at Nottingham, England. He then made his
Davis Cup debut against Russia in July where he won his first rubber against
Igor Andreev but lost his second against Nikolay Davydenko.
Gasquet had to miss the last 2 months of the season because of an elbow injury.
He finished the year as French number 1 for the first time.
In 2006, Gasquet had a slow start after a first round defeat to Tommy Haas at
the Australian Open. He later avenged this defeat in the Davis Cup 1st round tie
against Germany where he beat Haas in 5 sets. However he lost both his singles
rubbers in the quarter-final tie versus Russia, and suffered an abdominal injury
in that tie which left him out of action for a month. Having struggled to find
any form after his comeback during the clay season, Gasquet went out in the 2nd
round of the French Open to David Nalbandian, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 6-0.
Following on from a disappointing opening half to his season, in the space of 3
weeks he successfully defended his title at Nottingham, lost in a first round
meeting with Roger Federer at Wimbledon, and won his 2nd title of the year, on
clay, in Gstaad. Gasquet's form continued to improve heading towards the US Open,
as he reached the final of the Masters Seriers event in Toronto, again being
halted by Federer, in 3 sets 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. He reached the fourth round of the
US Open for the 2nd year in a row where he lost to Lleyton Hewitt in 5 sets.
In October he won his 3rd title of the year, this time on indoor carpet, in Lyon,
completing his achievement of reaching finals on all four surfaces during the
year. His season ended when he withdrew in the third round of the Paris Masters
due to illness. He ended the year as French number 1 for the second straight
year.
Gasquet's 2007 started with a quarterfinal in Adelaide, followed by a semifinal
in Sydney. He went on to reach the fourth round of the 2007 Australian Open,
losing to Tommy Robredo in 4 sets. At the Monte Carlo Masters Series tournament,
he notched up his first win over a top 10 opponent of the year, winning his 3rd
round match over Ivan Ljubičić, ranked 8 at the time. However he then lost his
quarter-final to twice former Monte Carlo champion Juan Carlos Ferrero. Gasquet
reached his first final of the season two weeks later, at Estoril, but the up
and coming Serbian player Novak rokovian got the better of him in 3 sets.
He reached the doubles final of the 2007 Monte Carlo Masters with Nicolas Mahut,
where the French team lost to Bob and Mike Bryan. Despite losing in round 2 of
the 2007 French Open to Kristof Vliegen, he rose two spots to a career high #11.
Gasquet then made his first grand slam semi-final at Wimbledon. He beat fellow
Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his way to a quarter-final
showdown with Andy Roddick. In a tremendous contest, Gasquet recovered from a
sluggish start and a deficit of two sets and a break in the third, to upset the
two-time finalist by a scoreline of 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 8-6. Gasquet managed to
score an amazing 93 winners, most of which were with his almost 'trademark'
backhand down the line.
He lost in the semifinals to Roger Federer (who beat him in the first round of
the same event the previous year), 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. He made his top 10 debut, at #7,
as a result. The following week in Gstaad, as defending champion, he defeated
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo and avenged his Roland Garros loss to Kristof Vliegen, but
lost in the quarters to Igor Andreev 7-5 6-2. He bowed out at the 2007 U.S Open
because of a virus. Gasquet returned to action in Mumbai, India winning his 5th
career ATP title beating Olivier Rochus in the final. He followed this up by
reaching the final of the Tokyo ATP tournament, losing to David Ferrer in
straight sets.
He then took a few weeks break and then went to play in 2007 Grand Prix de
Tennis de Lyon where he was defending champion. He lost to fellow frenchman Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga (who he beat at Wimbledon) in the 3rd round in straight sets.
At the 2007 Paris Masters, Gasquet defeated Tsonga after his loss at Lyon in the
second round and sixth seed James Blake in the third round 6-4, 6-4. He beat
Andy Murray in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 to reach the semifinals, where
he was stopped by David Nalbandian in straight sets. With his performance in
Paris, Gasquet qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup, clinching 8th place.
Gasquet had some bad luck at the Tennis Masters Cup and was defeated by Rafael
Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in his first round-robin match. He then beat Novak rokovian
6-4, 6-2, but lost to David Ferrer, 6-1, 6-1. Gasquet didn't qualify for the
semifinals, coming in at third place.
Gasquet played with compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the doubles final of the
Sydney Medibank International, scoring a major upset over world number one duo
Bob and Mike Bryan (4-6, 6-4, 11-9). The French combination came back from two
match points down to win the championship and deny the Bryan brothers ever
winning the tournament.
The Australian Open, 14-27 January 2008.
Gasquet's first round match in the Australian Open was against Australian Nick
Lindahl. He won 6-0 6-1 3-6 6-2.
Gasquet's second round match in the Australian Open was against Spaniard
Feliciano Lopez. He is through to the fourth round after defeating 31st seed
Igor Andreev in four sets (6-3,6-2, 4-6,6-4).
In the round of 16 at the Australian Open, Gasquet lost in 4 sets to compatriot
and friend Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3). Gasquet is currently No.7 in
the world.
Name: Richard Gasquet
Nickname(s) Richie, Richou, Baby Federer
Born: 18 June 1986 Beziers, France
Richard Gasquet (born 18 June 1986) is a French tennis player. He has reached a
career high of World Number 7 in the world on July, 2007 after making it to the
semi-finals of Wimbledon 2007, defeating Roddick in 5 sets, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6,
8-6. Later this year, Gasquet qualified for the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup.
Gasquet was born in Beziers in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. He began playing
tennis at the age of 4 under the guidance of his father, Francis, who ran a
tennis club, the TC Serignan, along with his mother Maryse. He appeared on the
cover of French Tennis Magazine aged only 9, and was touted as an extremely
promising prospect even at such an early age. He was coached by his father
during his junior career, and by Tarik Benhabilas for a short period. Since 2004,
he has been coached by ex-professional tennis player Éric Deblicker.
He made his debut on the ATP tour in April, 2002, at the Tennis Masters Series
tournament at Monte Carlo where he received a wildcard into qualifying and
became the youngest player ever to qualify for a Tennis Masters event. At the
age of 15 years, 10 months, he defeated Argentina's Franco Squillari in the
first round of that tournament to become the youngest player to win a tour-level
main draw match since Tommy Ho at Rye Brook in 1988.
Gasquet made his Grand Slam tournament debut at the 2002 French Open at the age
of 15 years, 11 months, nine days. He was the second-youngest player ever to
compete in the main draw there. Despite his lack of experience, he managed to
take a set off the eventual champion Albert Costa in the first round. Gasquet
finished 2002 as the no. 1 junior in the world and was named World Junior
Champion, having won the junior titles at the French Open and the US Open. He
was also the youngest player to finish in year-end ATP top 200.
Gasquet finished 2003 as the youngest player to finish a year inside the ATP top
100. In 2004, he reached his first ATP tournament final at Metz, but lost to
fellow countryman Jerame Haehnel 7-6, 6-4. He also won the mixed doubles trophy
at the French Open that year, partnering Tatiana Golovin.
Gasquet missed the first seven weeks of the 2005 season due to chickenpox. Upon
his recovery he won back to back challenger titles in March. In April, riding
the momentum of a 10 match winning streak, Gasquet reached the semifinals of the
Masters Series tournament at Monte Carlo, handing world number one Roger Federer
a shock 6-7, 6-2, 7-6 defeat in the quarterfinal. He saved 3 match points before
closing it out in a 10-8 tiebreak. As a result, he became the youngest French
player ever to defeat a world number one. However, the eventual champion Rafael
Nadal got the better of him in the semi beating Gasquet 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Fresh off of his huge win over Federer and having just demolished Paradorn
Srichaphan in straight sets, the rising teen lost against Andre Agassi 6-2, 6-3
at Rome's Masters tennis tournament, possibly due to being overawed at playing
one of his childhood heroes. A month later, he reached the final of the Hamburg
Masters, where, this time, he was defeated by Roger Federer in 3 straight sets.
In May, he won his first ever Grand Slam singles match at Roland Garros. On June
18, his 19th birthday, he won his first ATP title, defeating Max Mirnyi in the
final of the grass court tournament at Nottingham, England. He then made his
Davis Cup debut against Russia in July where he won his first rubber against
Igor Andreev but lost his second against Nikolay Davydenko.
Gasquet had to miss the last 2 months of the season because of an elbow injury.
He finished the year as French number 1 for the first time.
In 2006, Gasquet had a slow start after a first round defeat to Tommy Haas at
the Australian Open. He later avenged this defeat in the Davis Cup 1st round tie
against Germany where he beat Haas in 5 sets. However he lost both his singles
rubbers in the quarter-final tie versus Russia, and suffered an abdominal injury
in that tie which left him out of action for a month. Having struggled to find
any form after his comeback during the clay season, Gasquet went out in the 2nd
round of the French Open to David Nalbandian, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 6-0.
Following on from a disappointing opening half to his season, in the space of 3
weeks he successfully defended his title at Nottingham, lost in a first round
meeting with Roger Federer at Wimbledon, and won his 2nd title of the year, on
clay, in Gstaad. Gasquet's form continued to improve heading towards the US Open,
as he reached the final of the Masters Seriers event in Toronto, again being
halted by Federer, in 3 sets 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. He reached the fourth round of the
US Open for the 2nd year in a row where he lost to Lleyton Hewitt in 5 sets.
In October he won his 3rd title of the year, this time on indoor carpet, in Lyon,
completing his achievement of reaching finals on all four surfaces during the
year. His season ended when he withdrew in the third round of the Paris Masters
due to illness. He ended the year as French number 1 for the second straight
year.
Gasquet's 2007 started with a quarterfinal in Adelaide, followed by a semifinal
in Sydney. He went on to reach the fourth round of the 2007 Australian Open,
losing to Tommy Robredo in 4 sets. At the Monte Carlo Masters Series tournament,
he notched up his first win over a top 10 opponent of the year, winning his 3rd
round match over Ivan Ljubičić, ranked 8 at the time. However he then lost his
quarter-final to twice former Monte Carlo champion Juan Carlos Ferrero. Gasquet
reached his first final of the season two weeks later, at Estoril, but the up
and coming Serbian player Novak rokovian got the better of him in 3 sets.
He reached the doubles final of the 2007 Monte Carlo Masters with Nicolas Mahut,
where the French team lost to Bob and Mike Bryan. Despite losing in round 2 of
the 2007 French Open to Kristof Vliegen, he rose two spots to a career high #11.
Gasquet then made his first grand slam semi-final at Wimbledon. He beat fellow
Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his way to a quarter-final
showdown with Andy Roddick. In a tremendous contest, Gasquet recovered from a
sluggish start and a deficit of two sets and a break in the third, to upset the
two-time finalist by a scoreline of 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 8-6. Gasquet managed to
score an amazing 93 winners, most of which were with his almost 'trademark'
backhand down the line.
He lost in the semifinals to Roger Federer (who beat him in the first round of
the same event the previous year), 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. He made his top 10 debut, at #7,
as a result. The following week in Gstaad, as defending champion, he defeated
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo and avenged his Roland Garros loss to Kristof Vliegen, but
lost in the quarters to Igor Andreev 7-5 6-2. He bowed out at the 2007 U.S Open
because of a virus. Gasquet returned to action in Mumbai, India winning his 5th
career ATP title beating Olivier Rochus in the final. He followed this up by
reaching the final of the Tokyo ATP tournament, losing to David Ferrer in
straight sets.
He then took a few weeks break and then went to play in 2007 Grand Prix de
Tennis de Lyon where he was defending champion. He lost to fellow frenchman Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga (who he beat at Wimbledon) in the 3rd round in straight sets.
At the 2007 Paris Masters, Gasquet defeated Tsonga after his loss at Lyon in the
second round and sixth seed James Blake in the third round 6-4, 6-4. He beat
Andy Murray in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 to reach the semifinals, where
he was stopped by David Nalbandian in straight sets. With his performance in
Paris, Gasquet qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup, clinching 8th place.
Gasquet had some bad luck at the Tennis Masters Cup and was defeated by Rafael
Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in his first round-robin match. He then beat Novak rokovian
6-4, 6-2, but lost to David Ferrer, 6-1, 6-1. Gasquet didn't qualify for the
semifinals, coming in at third place.
Gasquet played with compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the doubles final of the
Sydney Medibank International, scoring a major upset over world number one duo
Bob and Mike Bryan (4-6, 6-4, 11-9). The French combination came back from two
match points down to win the championship and deny the Bryan brothers ever
winning the tournament.
The Australian Open, 14-27 January 2008.
Gasquet's first round match in the Australian Open was against Australian Nick
Lindahl. He won 6-0 6-1 3-6 6-2.
Gasquet's second round match in the Australian Open was against Spaniard
Feliciano Lopez. He is through to the fourth round after defeating 31st seed
Igor Andreev in four sets (6-3,6-2, 4-6,6-4).
In the round of 16 at the Australian Open, Gasquet lost in 4 sets to compatriot
and friend Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6-4, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3). Gasquet is currently No.7 in
the world.