Richard Gasquet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Country |  France |
|
| Residence | Neuchâtel, Switzerland | |
| Date of birth | June 18, 1986 | |
| Place of birth | Béziers, France | |
| Height | 6'1" (185 cm) | |
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg) | |
| Turned Pro | 2002 | |
| Plays | Right; One-handed backhand | |
| Career Prize Money | $1,946,467 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 96-66 | |
| Career titles: | 4 | |
| Highest ranking: | 12 (September 12, 2005) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | 4th (2007) | |
| French Open | 3rd (2005) | |
| Wimbledon | 4th (2005) | |
| U.S. Open | 4th (2005, 2006) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 17-14 | |
| Career titles: | 1 | |
| Highest ranking: | 94 (January 15, 2007) | |
Richard Gasquet (born 18 June 1986) is a French tennis player. He has reached as high as #12 in the world in both 2005 and 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Gasquet was born in Béziers in the (Languedoc-Roussillon) region. He made his debut on the ATP tour in April, 2002, at the Tennis Masters Series tournament at Monte Carlo where he received a wild card 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 clay ace and eventual champion Albert Costa. 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, Gasquet reached his first ATP tournament final at Metz. He also won the mixed doubles trophy at the French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin.
In April, 2005, Gasquet reached the semifinals of the Masters Series tournament at Monte Carlo, handing world number one Roger Federer a shock quarterfinal defeat in the process. As a result, he became the youngest French player ever to defeat a world number one. 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. 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.
In 2006, Gasquet had a slow start after a first round defeat to Tommy Haas at the Australian Open. Gasquet's first title of the year came when he defended his trophy at Nottingham. However a first round meeting with Roger Federer at Wimbledon saw him make a premature exit from the 3rd Grand Slam of the year. Gasquet's form improved heading into the US Open as he reached the final of the Masters Seriers event in Toronto, again being halted by Federer. He reached the fourth round of the US Open before losing to Lleyton Hewitt in 5 sets. His 2006 year ended with another title in Lyon, before his withdrawal in the third round of the Paris Masters due to illness.
Gasquet is noted for his fine one-handed backhand and for his astounding shot-making ability and is also known for his speed around the court. He is based in Paris, and is coached by Eric Deblicker. Gasquet's one-handed backhand features a high take back, utilising gravity, coils up (very low to the ground), and slowly unwinds, and unleashes one of the most beautiful and lethal shots seen these days in tennis.
Gasquet has earned much praise for his "natural ability." One of the accolades he has received is recognition of his natural ability to play all-round complete tennis. During a Davis cup match against Marat Safin British TV presenter Barry Cowan described him as "naturally more talented than Federer." Many, including Peter Fleming, have sung similar praises upon the young Frenchman.
[edit] Masters Series singles finals
[edit] Runner-ups (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 2005 | Hamburg |  Roger Federer |
6-3, 7-5, 7-6 |
| 2006 | Toronto | Roger Federer |
2-6, 6-3, 6-2 |
[edit] ATP Tour titles (4)
| Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (4) |
[edit] Singles (4)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 19 June 2005 | Nottingham, England | Grass |  Max Mirnyi |
6-2 6-3 |
| 2. | 24 June 2006 | Nottingham, England | Grass |  Jonas Björkman |
6-4 6-3 |
| 3. | 16 July 2006 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay |  Feliciano Lopez |
7-6 6-7 6-3 6-3 |
| 4. | 29 October 2006 | Lyon, France | Carpet | Marc Gicquel |
6-3 6-1 |
[edit] Singles finalist (3)
- 2004: Metz (lost to Jérôme Haehnel)
- 2005: Hamburg AMS (lost to Roger Federer)
- 2006: Toronto AMS (lost to Roger Federer)
[edit] Doubles (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents in the final | Score |
| 1. | 8 May 2006 | Metz, France | Hard (I) | Fabrice Santoro |
 Julian Knowle Jürgen Melzer |
3-6 6-1 11-9 (Match TB) |
[edit] Performance timeline
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. Davis Cup matches are included in the statistics. This table is current through to the Miami Masters, which concluded on April 1, 2007.
| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | Career SR | Career win-loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 4R | 0 / 4 | 3-4 |
| French Open | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 0 / 5 | 3-5 | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 4R | 1R | 0 / 3 | 3-3 | |
| U.S. Open | A | A | A | 4R | 4R | 0 / 2 | 6-2 | |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 13 | N/A | |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 8-3 | 4-4 | N/A | 12-13 | |
| Tennis Masters Cup | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0-0 | |
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | A | A | 4R | 4R | 0 / 2 | 4-2 |
| Miami Masters | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | 3R | 0 / 3 | 1-3 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | 2R | 1R | A | SF | A | 0 / 3 | 5-3 | |
| Rome Masters | A | A | A | 2R | A | 0 / 1 | 1-1 | |
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | F | 1R | 0 / 2 | 5-2 | |
| Canada Masters | A | A | A | 2R | F | 0 / 2 | 6-2 | |
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 1-2 | |
| Madrid Masters (Stuttgart) | A | A | A | A | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1-1 | |
| Paris Masters | A | 1R | A | A | 3R | 0 / 2 | 1-2 | |
| Total Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | N/A | 4 | |
| Hardcourt Win-Loss | 0-0 | 2-5 | 4-4 | 8-4 | 14-12 | 15-6 | N/A | 43-31 |
| Grass Win-Loss | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 11-2 | 6-2 | N/A | 17-7 | |
| Carpet Win-Loss | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 6-3 | N/A | 6-5 | |
| Clay Win-Loss | 1-3 | 0-2 | 9-9 | 13-5 | 7-4 | 0-1 | N/A | 30-24 |
| Overall Win-Loss | 1-5 | 2-8 | 13-15 | 32-11 | 33-21 | 15-6 | N/A | 96-67 |
| Year End Ranking | 161 | 93 | 107 | 16 | 18 | N/A | N/A |
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
