Richard Gasquet
Encyclopedia
Richard Gasquet (born 18 June 1986) is a French
professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam
title at the 2004 French Open
, partnering Tatiana Golovin
. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year qualifying for the Tennis Masters Cup. Gasquet is best known for his long winding groundstrokes and his one-handed backhand.
in the Languedoc-Roussillon
region. He is the only child in the family. He began playing tennis at the age of 4 under the guidance of his father, Francis, who ran a tennis club, the TC Sérignan
, 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 Benhabiles
for a short period. Since turning professional he has been coached by Eric Deblicker
and Guillame Peyre. In February 2010, he hired coach Gabriel Markus, who has worked with Marat Safin
and David Nalbandian
in the past.
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 Jérôme Haehnel
7–6, 6–4. He also won the mixed doubles trophy at the French Open that year, partnering Tatiana Golovin
.
. 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 surprise 7–6, 2–6, 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 win over world No. 1 Federer and having just beaten Paradorn Srichaphan
in straight sets, the rising teen disappointingly lost against Andre Agassi
6–2, 6–3 at Rome's Masters tennis tournament. A month later, he reached the final of the Hamburg Masters
, where, this time, he was defeated by Roger Federer in 3 sets.
In May, he won his first Grand Slam
singles match at Roland Garros
. On 18 June, 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.
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
owing to illness.
He ended the year as French number 1 for the second straight year.
, 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 Đoković got the better of him in 3 sets.
He reached the doubles final of the 2007 Monte Carlo Masters
with Julien Benneteau
, 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 one of the great Wimbledon quarter-finals, 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, many of which were with his almost 'trademark' backhand down the line. He lost in the semi-finals 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 Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo
and avenged his Roland Garros loss to Kristof Vliegen
, but lost in the quarter-finals 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 (whom 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 quarter-finals, 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.
At the Tennis Masters Cup
, Gasquet was defeated by Rafael Nadal
3–6, 6–3, 6–4, in his first round-robin
match. He then defeated Novak Ðoković 6–4, 6–2, but lost to David Ferrer
6–1, 6–1. Gasquet failed to qualify for the semi-finals, finishing in third place in his group.
, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4. 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.
After defeating Nick Lindahl
, Feliciano López
and Igor Andreev
, Gasquet lost in 4 sets in the round of 16 at the 2008 Australian Open
to eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
At his next two tournaments, the Open 13 at Marseille
, France, and the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Gasquet suffered second round defeats to Robin Söderling
and Igor Andreev
. At the ATP Masters Series
tournament in Indian Wells, California
, Gasquet lost in straight sets in the fourth round to James Blake
.
At the ATP Masters Series
tournament in Key Biscayne
, Florida
, he lost his opening round match to Dmitry Tursunov
(Russia) 3–6, 7–6, 6–7. And at the U.S.A. v. France World Group Quarterfinal Davis Cup
match, Gasquet lost in three sets to American James Blake 7–6, 4–6, 4–6 in his opening round match. Then in a controversial move, he later told French Davis Cup Captain, Guy Forget
that he was opting out of his key match against Andy Roddick
(U.S.A.) in their reverse singles matchup.
After winning his first round match at the Monte Carlo Masters tournament, Gasquet's poor form continued as he lost his second round match to Sam Querrey
(U.S.A.) 6–2, 4–6, 3–6 and then both of his opening round matches at the ATP Masters Series
events in Rome and Hamburg
to Luis Horna
(Peru) 4–6, 1–6 and to Andreas Seppi
(Italy) 3–6, 2–6 respectively.
With a string of disappointing results behind him, Gasquet admitted to feeling burned out, in dire need of a concerted rest from tennis and admitted a reluctance to play the French Open, the year's second Grand Slam
. However he changed coaches immediately ahead of the French Open, and then later decided to pull out of his first round match against Florent Serra
, (France) citing a left knee injury problem.
Gasquet, later announced his decision to not take part in the upcoming Summer Olympic games in Beijing
, preferring instead to prepare for the US Open which began at the end of the summer hardcourt season in August. He joined fellow world top 10 player Andy Roddick
, American Mardy Fish
and former top 10 player Tommy Haas
of Germany, a silver medalist in 2000 at the Sydney Olympic Games, who all opted out of that year's Olympic Games.
At the new tennis rankings posted on 9 June 2008, Gasquet fell one place from world number 9 to world number 10 in the world.
Gasquet began the grass court season at the The Artois Championships at Queen's Club
, London where he defeated Mario Ančić
of Croatia 7–6, 6–4 in the second round, and Italian Simone Bolelli
6–3, 6–3 in the third round. However in his quarterfinal match he fell to David Nalbandian
of Argentina 4–6, 6–3, 6–7 . This was Gasquet's first Quarterfinal appearance in a tournament this year.
At the Wimbledon Championships, Gasquet was the eight seed and defeated American Mardy Fish
in the first round 6–3, 6–4, 6–2. In his next two matches he defeated a pair of his French compatriots, beating Sébastien Grosjean
6–2, 6–2 ret. in the second round; and Gilles Simon
6–3, 6–3, 6–7, 6–3 in the third round. He went out to Britain's Andy Murray in the fourth round 5–7, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4 despite serving for the match at 5–4 in the third.
At the new tennis rankings posted on Monday, 7 July 2008, Gasquet fell five places from world number 10 to world number 15, making it the first time in nine months since his ranking fell outside the top 10, and the lowest he had been ranked since April '07.
At the Mercedes Cup
in Stuttgart, Germany, Gasquet was the second seed and reached his first ATP tour semifinal and final of the year when he defeated Czech qualifier Lukáš Rosol
6–7, 6–2, 6–2 in the first round; and then defeated Spaniard Albert Montañés
6–3, 7–6 in the quarterfinals. Gasquet beat sixth-seeded Argentine Agustín Calleri
in the semifinals 6–7, 6–2, 6–3 to reach his first final of the year http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=AmySpEw0ol9ygO3achDLetk4v7YF?slug=txstuttgarttennis&prov=st&type=lgns. Favourite to win the tournament, Gasquet suffered a surprise defeat in the finals to Argentine teenager Juan Martín del Potro
in straight sets, 6–4, 7–5.
Gasquet began with a first round win over Frenchman Michaël Llodra in Cincinnati Masters
, after Llodra retired, 3–6, 6–1, 1–0. He then lost in the second round to Dmitry Tursunov
in straight sets 7–6, 6–0.
Gasquet made an early first round exit from US Open, losing against Tommy Haas
6–7, 6–4, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2.
in Brisbane, Australia. Gasquet came back from a set down to defeat Marc Gicquel
in the first round, 4–6 6–2 6–2. Richard then had a straight-sets win over American Taylor Dent
in the second round, 7–5, 6–4. Richard then pulled off an upset by defeating number 2 seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals, 1–6, 6–4, 6–2. Richard lost to Radek Štěpánek
in the semifinals, 6–2, 2–6, 4–6.
Richard then traveled to Sydney, Australia for the Medibank International. He defeated defending champion Dmitry Tursunov
in the first round, 7–6, 6–4. He then defeated second seed and compatriot, Gilles Simon
in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4. Gasquet then defeated countryman Jérémy Chardy
, 6–2, 7–6, before losing to David Nalbandian
in the semifinal 4-6, 3-6.
At the Australian Open
, he won his first round match against Argentine Diego Junqueira
, 6–7, 7–6, 6–3, 6–4. He defeated Denis Istomin
in the second round, 6–3 6–4 6–4. In the third round, he lost to Fernando González
, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 2-6, 10-12, in a match that lasted over four hours. He held a match point in the third-set tiebreak, but was unable to convert it.
Richard had to pull out of the tournament in Marseille because of a right shoulder injury.
His next tournament was scheduled to be Dubai. In the first round, he managed to defeat Marat Safin
, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3. He then defeated Italian Simone Bolelli
, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6, and received a bye to the semifinal following Andy Murray's withdrawal because of illness. Richard was then defeated by David Ferrer
, 2–6, 2–6.
He then participated in the Davis Cup
to represent France with compatriots Gilles Simon
, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Gaël Monfils
against the Czech Republic in the first round. Gasquet teamed up with Michaël Llodra
(who replaced Monfils) to play the doubles rubber on day two, but lost in four sets against Radek Štěpánek
and Tomáš Berdych
. France then went on to lose the tie 2–3, the first time they had exited in the first round since 2000.
His next tournament at the BNP Paribas Open Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, he received a bye in the first round, and then breezed past compatriot Michaël Llodra
, 6–4, 6–0. But he was dumped out by Fernando Verdasco
, 3–6, 2–6, in the third round.
On 9 May 2009, French sports daily L'Équipe reported that he had tested positive for cocaine in March 2009, following his withdrawal from a tournament in Miami. http://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/breves2009/20090509_195949_gasquet-positif-a-la-cocaine.html On 5 June 2009, in an interview with the same newspaper, Richard Gasquet denies having taken cocaine, notably quoting the fact that the amount found accounts for 1/10 of a rail line. http://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/breves2009/20090604_210641_gasquet-je-reviendrai.html Gasquet was provisionally suspended, but was later cleared as a result of his explanation that he had inadvertently consumed the drug after kissing a woman who had consumed it at a party. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8152674.stm As of 16 July 2009, he is thus able to compete again. Gasquet warmly praised Rafael Nadal for his support during the period of his ban: "Rafa supported me more than anyone in the last few months and if he ever needs me to help him, I will do what I can. I'll never forget what he's done for me. Now I just want to get out and play."
After months of being sidelined, Gasquet made his return to the tour at the Pilot Pen championship in New Haven to qualify for the main draw, but lost in the second round of qualifying.
Playing in his first Grand Slam since January, Gasquet faced Rafael Nadal
in the first round of the US Open, but lost, 2-6, 2-6, 3-6. Despite the obvious signs of rustiness, Gasquet played well, considering his three month absence but was unable to overcome Nadal.
He played in his next tournament at the Open de Moselle
in Metz
. He made a solid run, beating Michael Berrer
, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6, Christophe Rochus
, 7–5, 4–6, 6–2, and Philipp Petzschner
, 6–7, 6–1, 6–3 to reach his first ATP semifinals since January. Unfortunately, his run ended at the hands of compatriot and eventual champion of the tournament, Gaël Monfils
, 4–6, 3–6.
He also made a quarterfinal run in the Kuala Lumpur Open
250 tournament in Malaysia, losing to Fernando Verdasco
, 5–7 4–6, (despite holding a 3–0 lead in the first set). His season came to a conclusion after this tournament.
. He defeated Jarkko Nieminen
, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, and Australian qualifer Matthew Edben, 6–3, 6–4, but he lost to Andy Roddick
in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 6–7. He then entered the Medibank International in Sydney. There, he beat Feliciano López
, 6–1, 6–4, in the first round. In the second round, he defeated Benjamin Becker
, 6–2, 7–6. In the quarterfinals, Gasquet defeated Potito Starace
, 6–3, 7–6, and Julien Benneteau
, 6–4, 7–5, in the semifinals. However, he lost in the final to Marcos Baghdatis
, 4–6, 6–7.
At the Australian Open
, he lost to Mikhail Youzhny
, 7–6, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 4–6, in the first round, despite having match point several times in the third and fourth sets. He was also a break up in the fifth set, but in the end he couldn't close out the opportunities.
Gasquet withdrew from both the Movistar Open
and the 2010 Brasil Open
because of a recurring injury, but returned at the 2010 Copa Telmex
, where he lost in the first round to Juan Ignacio Chela
, 6–7, 5–7. Next, Gasquet played at Abierto Mexicano Telcel
, where he defeated Carlos Moyá
, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, in the first round. In the second round, however, he lost to defending champion Nicolás Almagro
, 6–3, 5–7, 6–7.
He lost in the first round of both the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
to Simon Greul
, 6–7, 6–7, and the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open
to Olivier Rochus
, 6–7, 6–1, 4–6. In April, he played at the 2010 Grand Prix Hassan II
, where he defeated, Olivier Rochus
and Andrey Golubev
with the same scoreline, 6–1, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, he lost to Romanian Victor Hănescu
in a tough three-set match, 6–7, 6–4, 3–6.
Next, he played at the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
. He advanced to the second round after a three-set win over Spain's Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6–2, 4–6, 6–2. Unfortunately, he was soundly beaten in the second round by 10th seed Tomáš Berdych
, 2–6, 0–6.
He lost to Fernando Verdasco
, 7–5, 6–3, in the second round of the 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell
after defeating Igor Andreev
, 7–6, 6–4, in the first round.
Gasquet defeated Olivier Rochus
for the second time this year, 6–0, 6–1, in the Serbian Open and survived against Andreas Seppi
, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5, in over two hours. Gasquet then lost in a tough two hour and twenty minute match against John Isner
, 6–2, 6–7, 3–6, while being two points away from victory and a break up in the final set. After this upsetting loss, Richard then played in the ATP Tour Challenger event in the 2010 BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux
, where he defeated Thierry Ascione
, Alex Bogdanovic
, Olivier Rochus
, and Florent Serra
in straight sets, and then in the final he defeated Michaël Llodra
of France a tough encounter, 4–6, 6–1, 6–4.
Gasquet then came in with good form and confidence as he entered the 2010 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur as preparation for the French Open. He won his opening match against the Slovak Lukáš Lacko
, 6–3, 6–0, before advancing to the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 6–0, 2–6, 6–3 victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. He then defeated Belgian Olivier Rochus
(for the third time this year), 6–4, 6–2, and Potito Starace
, 7–6, 7–6, to reach his third final (but his second in ATP-level) this year. In the final against no. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco
, Gasquet blew a 6–3, 5–4 lead (while serving for the match), but eventually prevailed, 6–3, 5–7, 7–6, to end his two and a half year title drought. As a result, he brought his head-to-head series against Verdasco to 5–5, while snapping a five-match losing streak against him.
Richard lost his first-round match of the 2010 French Open
against the fourth seed Andy Murray. According to the South African Airways Rankings, Gasquet had moved 23 places from no. 68 to no. 45. Gasquet played well throughout the match; he was two sets up against the number 4 seed Andy Murray, but lost three consecutive sets, and lost the match, 6–4, 7–6, 4–6, 2–6, 1–6, due to his lack of fitness.
Gasquet then played the AEGON Championships in preparation for Wimbledon. He won his first match against Japan's Kei Nishikori
, 6–3, 6–3. He then won in the second round against Rajeev Ram, 6–3, 7–5, but in the third round, he withdrew against Rainer Schüttler
of Germany due to a back injury. He withdrew from the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
as a result.
After being sidelined for a lengthy period, Richard then appeared at the 2010 Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad
in Switzerland. Seeded seventh, he had victories over Farrukh Dustov
, Daniel Brands
and fourth seed Albert Montañés
to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, he defeated Yuri Schukin
for a place in the final. There, he lost to Nicolás Almagro
, 5-7, 1-6.
At the Cincinnati Masters, he reached the third round, beating Mikhail Youzhny
in the process before falling to Mardy Fish
. Then at the US Open he brushed aside sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko
in the second round, the Russian winning a mere nine games. He lost in the fourth round to fellow Frenchman Gaël Monfils
in straight sets, despite having held set points in both the second and third sets
At the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000
, Gasquet advanced to the third round, defeating Ernests Gulbis
and compatriot Gaël Monfils
, before losing to Novak Djokovic
, 1–6, 1–6. He reached the quarterfinals in Basel before falling to Victor Troicki in a lacklustre display, 4-6, 2-6. At the Paris Masters, he outlasted Nicolas Mahut
in a marathon, winning 9–7 in the third set tiebreak, before falling to Roger Federer
in straight sets in the second round. He made the Davis Cup team for France in the final against Serbia.
m losing to Björn Phau
, 6-1, 6-7, 6-7. He then headed to Australia to play in the 2011 Medibank International Sydney
, losing to Viktor Troicki
, 4-6, 4-6. He then played in the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open
, losing in the third round to Tomáš Berdych
, 2-6, 6-7, 3-7, 2-6. He then competed at the 2011 PBZ Zagreb Indoors
, where he reached the quarterfinals after a bye and the withdrawal of Arnaud Clément
. However, he retired against Michael Berrer
, 2-5 down due to a shoulder injury. After a short break, he played in the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
, where he defeated qualifiers Grigor Dimitrov
and Sergei Bubka
, as well as compatriot Gilles Simon
, before he lost to top seed Roger Federer
in the semifinals in straight sets, despite serving for the second set. At the BNP Paribas Open, he defeated top-10 players Jürgen Melzer
and Andy Roddick
back to back. It was the first time in his career that he had defeated two top-10 players consecutively. He lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic
in the quarterfinals. With the result, he made his return to the top 20 of the rankings. In Miami
, he played Paolo Lorenzi
, who upset Ivan Ljubičić
, in the second round. He won that match, but fell to Mardy Fish
, 4–6, 3–6. Gasquet then played in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he had a tough first-round victory over Denis Istomin
, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4. He then breezed through his second-round match, 6–2, 6–1 against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, before falling to Rafael Nadal
in the third round, 2–6, 4–6.
At the Mutua Madrid Open, Gasquet was defeated in the first round by the Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6–3, 4–6, 3–6.
At the Italian Open, he played Roger Federer
in the third round, and came from behind to claim a spectacular victory, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6. He was defeated by Rafael Nadal
in the semifinals, 5–7, 1–6.
At the French Open, Gasquet cruised through his first two rounds before impressively defeating Thomaz Bellucci
in four sets in front of an animated Parisian crowd. He, however, lost to Novak Djokovic
in straight sets in round four and rose to world no. 13 as a result.
At Wimbledon
, he was defeated in the fourth round by Andy Murray, 6-73-7, 3-6, 2-6. He reached the third rounds of the Rogers Cup
in Canada and the Southern & Western Open
in Cincinnati, where he was defeated by Nicolás Almagro
and Mardy Fish
, respectively.
In the US Open
, he lost in the second round to Ivo Karlović
, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-74-7.
alongside top 10 WTA pro Marion Bartoli
.
, his flair and shot-making ability and is also known for his speed around the court. He is an all-court player. Gasquet's single-handed backhand features a high take back, utilising gravity, coils up (very low to the ground), and slowly unwinds, unleashing one of the best backhands on the ATP tour. However, his forehand can be considered a weaker shot. He is capable of hitting big winners with his forehand, but in general, his rally forehand lacks consistent depth.
Gasquet has earned much praise for his "natural ability". One of the accolades he has received is recognition of his 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 of the young Frenchman's talent.
Liquidmetal Instinct Tour XL racquet painted as YouTek IG Extreme Pro with Tourna Grip and 2009 Team series bag from Head. His racquet is strung with Luxilon Big Banger Original 16 String. He wears clothing by Lacoste. His shoe of choice is Asics
. He also has Lagardère Tags on his sleeves.
Wins (2)
Runner-ups (2)
.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
title at the 2004 French Open
2004 French Open
The 2004 French Open was the 103rd edition of the tournament. Gastón Gaudio became the first men's Open Era Grand Slam title winner to save match points in the final; the last time that had happened was 70 years earlier. Gaudio also became the first Argentine man since Guillermo Vilas to win a...
, partnering Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S....
. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year qualifying for the Tennis Masters Cup. Gasquet is best known for his long winding groundstrokes and his one-handed backhand.
Early years
Richard Gasquet was born in BéziersBéziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
in the Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the 27 regions of France. It comprises five departments, and borders the other French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées on the one side, and Spain, Andorra and the Mediterranean sea on the other side.-Geography:The region is...
region. He is the only child in the family. He began playing tennis at the age of 4 under the guidance of his father, Francis, who ran a tennis club, the TC Sérignan
Sérignan
Sérignan is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France....
, 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 Benhabiles
Tarik Benhabiles
Tarik Benhabiles is a former French tennis player. He achieved his highest ATP-ranking on June 8, 1987, when the right-hander was listed as the number 22 player in the world....
for a short period. Since turning professional he has been coached by Eric Deblicker
Eric Deblicker
Éric Deblicker is a former French tennis player and coach.Deblicker reached a career-high world tour singles ranking of World No. 76, in June 1976....
and Guillame Peyre. In February 2010, he hired coach Gabriel Markus, who has worked with Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
and David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
in the past.
He made his debut on the ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
tour in April 2002, at the Tennis Masters Series tournament at Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
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
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
's Franco Squillari
Franco Squillari
Franco Squillari is a former professional male tennis player from Argentina.In his career he has won 3 ATP Tour singles titles and he has reached the semi-finals at the 2000 French Open. He stopped his career in 2005...
in the first round of that tournament to become the youngest player to win a tour-level main draw match since Tommy Ho
Tommy Ho
Thomas "Tommy" Ho is a former professional tennis player from the United States.Ho first came to the tennis world's attention as an exceptionally successful junior player...
at Rye Brook in 1988.
Gasquet made his Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
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
Albert Costa
Albert Costa i Casals is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at the French Open in 2002.-Tennis career:...
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
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
top 100. In 2004, he reached his first ATP tournament final at Metz
Open de Moselle
The Open de Moselle is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour. It has been held annually since 2003. The venue for the tournament was the Arènes until 2010 and is now the Parc des Expositions since 2011...
, but lost to fellow countryman Jérôme Haehnel
Jérôme Haehnel
Jérôme Haehnel is a tennis player who defeated Andre Agassi in the first round of the French Open in 2004. Haehnel's career-high singles ranking is no. 78, which he reached on February 21, 2005. Recently he has been competing in various ATP Challenger Series tournaments around Europe...
7–6, 6–4. He also won the mixed doubles trophy at the French Open that year, partnering Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S....
.
2005
Gasquet missed the first seven weeks of the 2005 season because of chickenpoxChickenpox
Chickenpox or chicken pox is a highly contagious illness caused by primary infection with varicella zoster virus . It usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and becomes itchy, raw pockmarks, which mostly heal without scarring...
. Upon his recovery he won back to back challenger
ATP Challenger Series
The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments...
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
2005 Monte Carlo Masters
The 2005 Monte Carlo Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 99th edition of the event and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2005 ATP Tour. It took place from April 11 through April 17, 2005....
, handing world number one Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
a surprise 7–6, 2–6, 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
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
got the better of him in the semi beating Gasquet 6–7, 6–4, 6–3.
Fresh off of his win over world No. 1 Federer and having just beaten Paradorn Srichaphan
Paradorn Srichaphan
Paradorn Srichaphan is a retired professional tennis player from Thailand. He is the highest ranked men's singles player from Thailand and Asia in history, reaching a career high World No. 9. His nickname is "Ball".-Career:...
in straight sets, the rising teen disappointingly lost against Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
6–2, 6–3 at Rome's Masters tennis tournament. A month later, he reached the final of the Hamburg Masters
2005 Hamburg Masters
The 2005 Hamburg Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 98th edition of the Hamburg Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2005 ATP Tour. It took place at the Rothenbaum Tennis Center in Hamburg, Germany, from May 9 through May 16, 2005.The men's...
, where, this time, he was defeated by Roger Federer in 3 sets.
In May, he won his first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles match at Roland Garros
French Open (tennis)
The French Open |Roland Garros]]) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are...
. On 18 June, his 19th birthday, he won his first ATP title, defeating Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a...
in the final of the grass court tournament at Nottingham
Nottingham Open
The Slazenger Nottingham Open was a tennis tournament on the ATP Tour that was held in Nottingham, Great Britain...
, England. He then made his Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
debut against Russia
Russia Davis Cup team
The Russia Davis Cup team represents Russia in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Russian Tennis Federation. The team started playing in 1993....
in July where he won his first rubber against Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
but lost his second against Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
.
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.
2006
In 2006, Gasquet had a slow start after a first round defeat to Tommy HaasTommy Haas
Tommy Haas is a German and recently naturalized American professional tennis player. He has competed on the ATP Tour since 1996. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high ranking of world no...
at the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
. He later avenged this defeat in the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
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
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
, 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
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, and won his 2nd title of the year, on clay, in Gstaad
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
. Gasquet's form continued to improve heading towards the US Open, as he reached the final of the Masters Seriers event in Toronto
Canada Masters
The Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour...
, 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
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
in 5 sets.
In October he won his 3rd title of the year, this time on indoor carpet, in Lyon
Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
The Open Sud de France is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour. It was held annually at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon, France, in October, from 1987 through to 2009, before being relocated to...
, 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
Paris Masters
The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour...
owing to illness.
He ended the year as French number 1 for the second straight year.
2007
Gasquet's 2007 started with a quarterfinal in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, followed by a semifinal in Sydney. He went on to reach the fourth round of the 2007 Australian Open
2007 Australian Open
The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007.The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competition each receiving A$1,281,000. Over 500 players...
, losing to Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
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
Ivan Ljubicic
----Ivan Ljubičić is a Croatian tennis player born in Bosnia and Herzegovina . His career-high ATP ranking to date has been no. 3, and he stands at no. 37....
, ranked 8 at the time. However he then lost his quarter-final to twice former Monte Carlo champion Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
. Gasquet reached his first final of the season two weeks later, at Estoril, but the up and coming Serbian player Novak Đoković got the better of him in 3 sets.
He reached the doubles final of the 2007 Monte Carlo Masters
2007 Monte Carlo Masters
The 2007 Monte Carlo Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 101st edition of the Monte Carlo Masters and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2007 ATP Tour. It took place at the Monte Carlo Country Club from April 14 through April 22, 2007.-Review:Rafael...
with Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau is a professional male tennis player from France. His career-best singles ranking is ATP world no. 32, which he reached in July 2010. He formerly resided in Boulogne Billancourt and now lives in Geneva...
, where the French team lost to Bob and Mike Bryan
Bob and Mike Bryan
Twin brothers Robert Charles Bryan and Michael Carl Bryan are American professional tennis double players. They have been the World No. 1 doubles player for over 270 weeks and have finished the ATP year-end number 1 doubles team a record 7 times...
. Despite losing in round 2 of the 2007 French Open
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...
to Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen is a former Belgian tennis player. He plays right-handed and he turned professional in 2001.He was a semi-finalist in Chennai in 2006 and in May of the same year, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against...
, he rose two spots to a career high #11.
Gasquet then made his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
. He beat fellow Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut is a French tennis player. Mahut is right-handed and has previously won the Orange Bowl in 1999, becoming professional in 2000. He is a good serve and volleyer and a doubles expert, having won many tournaments with his doubles partner Julien Benneteau. His career high...
and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his way to a quarter-final showdown with Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
. In one of the great Wimbledon quarter-finals, 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, many of which were with his almost 'trademark' backhand down the line. He lost in the semi-finals to Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
(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 Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo
Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo
Rubén Ramírez Hidalgo is a professional male tennis player from Spain. His career-high ATP entry ranking is #50 , and his current ranking is #84 . He turned pro in 1998...
and avenged his Roland Garros loss to Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen
Kristof Vliegen is a former Belgian tennis player. He plays right-handed and he turned professional in 2001.He was a semi-finalist in Chennai in 2006 and in May of the same year, he reached the final of the ATP tournament in Munich, setting up the first ever all-Belgian men's singles final against...
, but lost in the quarter-finals to Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
7–5 6–2. He bowed out at the 2007 U.S Open because of a virus. Gasquet returned to action in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India winning his 5th career ATP title beating Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
in the final. He followed this up by reaching the final of the Tokyo ATP tournament, losing to David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
in straight sets.
He then took a few weeks break and then went to play in 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
The 2007 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 21st edition of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour. It took place at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon, France, from October...
where he was defending champion. He lost to fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (whom he beat at Wimbledon) in the 3rd round in straight sets.
At the 2007 Paris Masters
2007 Paris Masters
The 2007 Paris Masters was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 33rd edition of the Paris Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2007 ATP Tour...
, Gasquet defeated Tsonga after his loss at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
in the second round and sixth seed James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
in the third round 6–4, 6–4. He beat Andy Murray in the quarter-finals, 6–3, 0–6, 6–4 to reach the semifinals, where he was stopped by David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
in straight sets. With his performance in Paris, Gasquet qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup, clinching 8th place.
At the Tennis Masters Cup
Tennis Masters Cup
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is a tennis tournament played at the end of each year, involving the top eight players in the men's tennis world rankings....
, Gasquet was defeated by Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
3–6, 6–3, 6–4, in his first round-robin
Round-robin
The term round-robin was originally used to describe a document signed by multiple parties in a circle to make it more difficult to determine the order in which it was signed, thus preventing a ringleader from being identified...
match. He then defeated Novak Ðoković 6–4, 6–2, but lost to David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
6–1, 6–1. Gasquet failed to qualify for the semi-finals, finishing in third place in his group.
2008
Gasquet started out the year as the top seed of the Sydney Medibank International but made an early second round exit to eventual champion Dmitry TursunovDmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4. 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
Bob and Mike Bryan
Twin brothers Robert Charles Bryan and Michael Carl Bryan are American professional tennis double players. They have been the World No. 1 doubles player for over 270 weeks and have finished the ATP year-end number 1 doubles team a record 7 times...
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.
After defeating Nick Lindahl
Nick Lindahl
Nick Lindahl is a professional Australian tennis player.-Personal Life:Although he was born in Australia he has Swedish father and Indonesian mother. He has one older brother, David Lindahl.-Early career:...
, Feliciano López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
and Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
, Gasquet lost in 4 sets in the round of 16 at the 2008 Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
to eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
At his next two tournaments, the Open 13 at Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, France, and the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Gasquet suffered second round defeats to Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
and Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
. At the ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
tournament in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, Gasquet lost in straight sets in the fourth round to James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
.
At the ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
tournament in Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and southeast of Miami...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, he lost his opening round match to Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
(Russia) 3–6, 7–6, 6–7. And at the U.S.A. v. France World Group Quarterfinal Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
match, Gasquet lost in three sets to American James Blake 7–6, 4–6, 4–6 in his opening round match. Then in a controversial move, he later told French Davis Cup Captain, Guy Forget
Guy Forget
Guy Forget is a former French professional tennis player. During his career, he helped France win the Davis Cup in both 1991 and 1996. Since retiring as a player, he has served as France's Davis Cup team captain.-Career:...
that he was opting out of his key match against Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
(U.S.A.) in their reverse singles matchup.
After winning his first round match at the Monte Carlo Masters tournament, Gasquet's poor form continued as he lost his second round match to Sam Querrey
Sam Querrey
Sam Austin Querrey is a professional American tennis player from Thousand Oaks, California currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of August 2010, he is the fourth-highest ranked American. His career high rank was #17, achieved on January 31, 2011. His height allows him to play with a strong...
(U.S.A.) 6–2, 4–6, 3–6 and then both of his opening round matches at the ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
events in Rome and Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
to Luis Horna
Luis Horna
Luis Horna Biscari is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Horna plays right-handed, he has a strong serve for a relatively short player and the forehand is his best stroke. He uses a single-handed backhand and his favourite surface is clay...
(Peru) 4–6, 1–6 and to Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi is a professional tennis player from South Tyrol, northern Italy, who turned professional in 2000. He considers clay and hard courts his favourite surfaces. and is coached by Massimo Sartori....
(Italy) 3–6, 2–6 respectively.
With a string of disappointing results behind him, Gasquet admitted to feeling burned out, in dire need of a concerted rest from tennis and admitted a reluctance to play the French Open, the year's second Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
. However he changed coaches immediately ahead of the French Open, and then later decided to pull out of his first round match against Florent Serra
Florent Serra
Florent Lucien Serra is a French male tennis player. A right-hander, he has won two ATP titles during his career and is coached by Pierre Cherret.-Early life and junior career:...
, (France) citing a left knee injury problem.
Gasquet, later announced his decision to not take part in the upcoming Summer Olympic games in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, preferring instead to prepare for the US Open which began at the end of the summer hardcourt season in August. He joined fellow world top 10 player Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
, American Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
and former top 10 player Tommy Haas
Tommy Haas
Tommy Haas is a German and recently naturalized American professional tennis player. He has competed on the ATP Tour since 1996. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high ranking of world no...
of Germany, a silver medalist in 2000 at the Sydney Olympic Games, who all opted out of that year's Olympic Games.
At the new tennis rankings posted on 9 June 2008, Gasquet fell one place from world number 9 to world number 10 in the world.
Gasquet began the grass court season at the The Artois Championships at Queen's Club
Queen's Club
The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. Founded in 1886, the Queen's Club was the world's first multipurpose sports complex and named after Queen Victoria, its first patron...
, London where he defeated Mario Ančić
Mario Ancic
Mario Ančić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His highest international ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached no. 7 in singles...
of Croatia 7–6, 6–4 in the second round, and Italian Simone Bolelli
Simone Bolelli
Simone Bolelli is a professional Italian tennis player.- 2003 :In 2003, Bolelli reached his first ITF Futures tournament semifinal at Egypt F1, losing to 485th-ranked Jaroslav Pospíšil. He played entirely Futures events except for one Challenger tournament in Brindisi, losing to Galo Blanco in the...
6–3, 6–3 in the third round. However in his quarterfinal match he fell to David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
of Argentina 4–6, 6–3, 6–7 . This was Gasquet's first Quarterfinal appearance in a tournament this year.
At the Wimbledon Championships, Gasquet was the eight seed and defeated American Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
in the first round 6–3, 6–4, 6–2. In his next two matches he defeated a pair of his French compatriots, beating Sébastien Grosjean
Sébastien Grosjean
Sébastien René Grosjean is a retired tennis player from France. His career-high ATP Entry ranking is No. 4 . He retired from tennis on May 27, 2010.-Career:...
6–2, 6–2 ret. in the second round; and Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
6–3, 6–3, 6–7, 6–3 in the third round. He went out to Britain's Andy Murray in the fourth round 5–7, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–4 despite serving for the match at 5–4 in the third.
At the new tennis rankings posted on Monday, 7 July 2008, Gasquet fell five places from world number 10 to world number 15, making it the first time in nine months since his ranking fell outside the top 10, and the lowest he had been ranked since April '07.
At the Mercedes Cup
Mercedes Cup
The Mercedes Cup is an ATP World Tour 250 series tennis tournament on the ATP Tour. Held since 1916 in Stuttgart, Germany, the Mercedes Cup is played on clay courts...
in Stuttgart, Germany, Gasquet was the second seed and reached his first ATP tour semifinal and final of the year when he defeated Czech qualifier Lukáš Rosol
Lukáš Rosol
Lukáš Rosol is a Czech professional tennis player. Rosol competes on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP World Tour, both in singles and doubles. Rosol was coached by former Czech player, 1999 US Open quarterfinalist Ctislav Doseděl.-Singles: 19 :-Doubles: 34 :-External links:...
6–7, 6–2, 6–2 in the first round; and then defeated Spaniard Albert Montañés
Álbert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca is a professional tennis player from Spain.He first entered the top-100 in 2001 and has been in the top-100 for all but 20 weeks since then...
6–3, 7–6 in the quarterfinals. Gasquet beat sixth-seeded Argentine Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri Shaal is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is Gordo which means Fat in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay....
in the semifinals 6–7, 6–2, 6–3 to reach his first final of the year http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=AmySpEw0ol9ygO3achDLetk4v7YF?slug=txstuttgarttennis&prov=st&type=lgns. Favourite to win the tournament, Gasquet suffered a surprise defeat in the finals to Argentine teenager Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martin Del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4...
in straight sets, 6–4, 7–5.
Gasquet began with a first round win over Frenchman Michaël Llodra in Cincinnati Masters
Cincinnati Masters
The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between...
, after Llodra retired, 3–6, 6–1, 1–0. He then lost in the second round to Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
in straight sets 7–6, 6–0.
Gasquet made an early first round exit from US Open, losing against Tommy Haas
Tommy Haas
Tommy Haas is a German and recently naturalized American professional tennis player. He has competed on the ATP Tour since 1996. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high ranking of world no...
6–7, 6–4, 5–7, 7–5, 6–2.
2009
Richard started his 2009 tour season at the Brisbane InternationalBrisbane International
The Brisbane International is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the Women's Tennis Association Tour...
in Brisbane, Australia. Gasquet came back from a set down to defeat Marc Gicquel
Marc Gicquel
Marc Gicquel is a professional male tennis player from France. He turned pro in 1999.-Tennis career:...
in the first round, 4–6 6–2 6–2. Richard then had a straight-sets win over American Taylor Dent
Taylor Dent
Taylor Phillip Dent is a retired professional tennis player from the United States.-Early career and back injury:He won 4 ATP singles titles during his career: Newport , Bangkok , Memphis , and Moscow , and reached the finals of three other events on tour...
in the second round, 7–5, 6–4. Richard then pulled off an upset by defeating number 2 seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals, 1–6, 6–4, 6–2. Richard lost to Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
in the semifinals, 6–2, 2–6, 4–6.
Richard then traveled to Sydney, Australia for the Medibank International. He defeated defending champion Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
in the first round, 7–6, 6–4. He then defeated second seed and compatriot, Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4. Gasquet then defeated countryman Jérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy
Jérémy Chardy is a French professional tennis player. He won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships Boys' Singles title, and finished as the runner-up at the 2005 US Open Boys' Singles, losing to Ryan Sweeting. His career high rank is no...
, 6–2, 7–6, before losing to David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
in the semifinal 4-6, 3-6.
At the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
, he won his first round match against Argentine Diego Junqueira
Diego Junqueira
Diego Junqueira is a professional tennis player who plays left-handed from Argentina...
, 6–7, 7–6, 6–3, 6–4. He defeated Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin is a professional Uzbek tennis player. His career high rank is #39, achieved on August 30, 2010. He is coached by his mother.- 2006 :...
in the second round, 6–3 6–4 6–4. In the third round, he lost to Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7, 2-6, 10-12, in a match that lasted over four hours. He held a match point in the third-set tiebreak, but was unable to convert it.
Richard had to pull out of the tournament in Marseille because of a right shoulder injury.
His next tournament was scheduled to be Dubai. In the first round, he managed to defeat Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3. He then defeated Italian Simone Bolelli
Simone Bolelli
Simone Bolelli is a professional Italian tennis player.- 2003 :In 2003, Bolelli reached his first ITF Futures tournament semifinal at Egypt F1, losing to 485th-ranked Jaroslav Pospíšil. He played entirely Futures events except for one Challenger tournament in Brindisi, losing to Galo Blanco in the...
, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6, and received a bye to the semifinal following Andy Murray's withdrawal because of illness. Richard was then defeated by David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
, 2–6, 2–6.
He then participated in the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
to represent France with compatriots Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Gaël Monfils
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
against the Czech Republic in the first round. Gasquet teamed up with Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
(who replaced Monfils) to play the doubles rubber on day two, but lost in four sets against Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
and Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
. France then went on to lose the tie 2–3, the first time they had exited in the first round since 2000.
His next tournament at the BNP Paribas Open Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, he received a bye in the first round, and then breezed past compatriot Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
, 6–4, 6–0. But he was dumped out by Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
, 3–6, 2–6, in the third round.
On 9 May 2009, French sports daily L'Équipe reported that he had tested positive for cocaine in March 2009, following his withdrawal from a tournament in Miami. http://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/breves2009/20090509_195949_gasquet-positif-a-la-cocaine.html On 5 June 2009, in an interview with the same newspaper, Richard Gasquet denies having taken cocaine, notably quoting the fact that the amount found accounts for 1/10 of a rail line. http://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/breves2009/20090604_210641_gasquet-je-reviendrai.html Gasquet was provisionally suspended, but was later cleared as a result of his explanation that he had inadvertently consumed the drug after kissing a woman who had consumed it at a party. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8152674.stm As of 16 July 2009, he is thus able to compete again. Gasquet warmly praised Rafael Nadal for his support during the period of his ban: "Rafa supported me more than anyone in the last few months and if he ever needs me to help him, I will do what I can. I'll never forget what he's done for me. Now I just want to get out and play."
After months of being sidelined, Gasquet made his return to the tour at the Pilot Pen championship in New Haven to qualify for the main draw, but lost in the second round of qualifying.
Playing in his first Grand Slam since January, Gasquet faced Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
in the first round of the US Open, but lost, 2-6, 2-6, 3-6. Despite the obvious signs of rustiness, Gasquet played well, considering his three month absence but was unable to overcome Nadal.
He played in his next tournament at the Open de Moselle
Open de Moselle
The Open de Moselle is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour. It has been held annually since 2003. The venue for the tournament was the Arènes until 2010 and is now the Parc des Expositions since 2011...
in Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
. He made a solid run, beating Michael Berrer
Michael Berrer
Michael Berrer is a German professional tennis player. He reached his career high in singles with No. 42 on May 2010 and his high in doubles in March 2009 with No...
, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6, Christophe Rochus
Christophe Rochus
Christophe Rochus is a retired professional male tennis player from Belgium.Rochus is the older brother of Olivier Rochus, also a tennis player who has been slightly more successful than Christophe. He reached the singles finals of two ATP tournaments: Valencia and Rotterdam but lost them both...
, 7–5, 4–6, 6–2, and Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner
Philipp Petzschner is a professional German tennis player. He is known for his hard-hitting and incredible bursts of speed around the court, and now for controversy in the US Open Men's Doubles Final which he won partnered with Jurgen Melzer against the Polish team of Fystenberg/Matkowski...
, 6–7, 6–1, 6–3 to reach his first ATP semifinals since January. Unfortunately, his run ended at the hands of compatriot and eventual champion of the tournament, Gaël Monfils
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
, 4–6, 3–6.
He also made a quarterfinal run in the Kuala Lumpur Open
Kuala Lumpur Open
The Kuala Lumpur Open is a defunct, ATP Tour affiliated tennis tournament. It was played from 1993–1995 and held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was played on hard court in 1993 and on indoor carpet courts from 1994 to 1995...
250 tournament in Malaysia, losing to Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
, 5–7 4–6, (despite holding a 3–0 lead in the first set). His season came to a conclusion after this tournament.
2010
Gasquet began the season at the Brisbane InternationalBrisbane International
The Brisbane International is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the Women's Tennis Association Tour...
. He defeated Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen is a professional tennis player from Finland.His highest ranking is 13th, which was achieved on July 10, 2006. He has won one ATP singles title and two doubles titles in his career so far. His best performances in Grand Slam tournaments have been reaching the quarter-finals...
, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, and Australian qualifer Matthew Edben, 6–3, 6–4, but he lost to Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 6–7. He then entered the Medibank International in Sydney. There, he beat Feliciano López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
, 6–1, 6–4, in the first round. In the second round, he defeated Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker is a German professional tennis player. Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit at up to 220km/h, along with powerful groundstrokes....
, 6–2, 7–6. In the quarterfinals, Gasquet defeated Potito Starace
Potito Starace
Potito Starace is an Italian professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He achieved his career-high ranking of 27th on October 15, 2007 and prefers to play on red clay...
, 6–3, 7–6, and Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau
Julien Benneteau is a professional male tennis player from France. His career-best singles ranking is ATP world no. 32, which he reached in July 2010. He formerly resided in Boulogne Billancourt and now lives in Geneva...
, 6–4, 7–5, in the semifinals. However, he lost in the final to Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...
, 4–6, 6–7.
At the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
, he lost to Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
, 7–6, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 4–6, in the first round, despite having match point several times in the third and fourth sets. He was also a break up in the fifth set, but in the end he couldn't close out the opportunities.
Gasquet withdrew from both the Movistar Open
Movistar Open
The Movistar Open is an ATP International Series men's tennis tournament held in February 2010 in Las Condes commune, and it's played on clay. It was previously played in Viña del Mar.-History:In 1992, Brazil suspended its three ATP tournaments...
and the 2010 Brasil Open
2010 Brasil Open
The 2010 Brasil Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 10th edition of the event known as the Brasil Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour...
because of a recurring injury, but returned at the 2010 Copa Telmex
2010 Copa Telmex
The 2010 Copa Telmex was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 13th edition of the Copa Telmex, and was part of the International Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour...
, where he lost in the first round to Juan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like most Argentine players he is comfortable on Clay courts and owns all six of his career titles on the surface...
, 6–7, 5–7. Next, Gasquet played at Abierto Mexicano Telcel
Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is a tennis tournament held in Acapulco, Mexico. It is an event on both the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour...
, where he defeated Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...
, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, in the first round. In the second round, however, he lost to defending champion Nicolás Almagro
Nicolás Almagro
Nicolas Almagro Sanchez Rolle is a professional Spanish tennis player, ranked 10 on the ATP World Tour.-2005:...
, 6–3, 5–7, 6–7.
He lost in the first round of both the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
2010 BNP Paribas Open
The 2010 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2010. It was the 36th edition of the event, known this year as the BNP Paribas Open, and is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on...
to Simon Greul
Simon Greul
Simon Greul is a German male tennis player born April 13, 1981. He is 6'1" tall and weighs 176 lbs . His career high rank was #55, achieved on March 22, 2010.-Career:...
, 6–7, 6–7, and the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
to Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
, 6–7, 6–1, 4–6. In April, he played at the 2010 Grand Prix Hassan II
2010 Grand Prix Hassan II
The 2010 Grand Prix Hassan II was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 26th edition of the Grand Prix Hassan II, and an ATP Tour World 250 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour...
, where he defeated, Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
and Andrey Golubev
Andrey Golubev
Andrey Golubev is a Kazakhstani professional tennis playercurrently living in Italy. His career high rank is #33, achieved on October 4, 2010. He has participated in all Grand Slam tournaments, the first being the 2008 US Open, as well in the main draw of ATP Masters Series and ATP International...
with the same scoreline, 6–1, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, he lost to Romanian Victor Hănescu
Victor Hanescu
Victor Hănescu is a Romanian tennis player. He achieved his career high rank of no. 26 on July 6, 2009.- Professional career :...
in a tough three-set match, 6–7, 6–4, 3–6.
Next, he played at the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
The 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, a tennis tournament for male professional players, was played from April 10 through April 18, 2010, on outdoor clay courts. It was the 104th edition of the annual Monte Carlo Masters tournament, which is sponsored by Rolex for the second time...
. He advanced to the second round after a three-set win over Spain's Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6–2, 4–6, 6–2. Unfortunately, he was soundly beaten in the second round by 10th seed Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
, 2–6, 0–6.
He lost to Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
, 7–5, 6–3, in the second round of the 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell
2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell
The 2010 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 58th edition of the event known this year as the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell, and was part of the ATP World Tour 500 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour...
after defeating Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
, 7–6, 6–4, in the first round.
Gasquet defeated Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
for the second time this year, 6–0, 6–1, in the Serbian Open and survived against Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi is a professional tennis player from South Tyrol, northern Italy, who turned professional in 2000. He considers clay and hard courts his favourite surfaces. and is coached by Massimo Sartori....
, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5, in over two hours. Gasquet then lost in a tough two hour and twenty minute match against John Isner
John Isner
John Robert Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick...
, 6–2, 6–7, 3–6, while being two points away from victory and a break up in the final set. After this upsetting loss, Richard then played in the ATP Tour Challenger event in the 2010 BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux
2010 BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux
The 2010 BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It was part of the 2010 ATP Challenger Tour...
, where he defeated Thierry Ascione
Thierry Ascione
Thierry Ascione is a retired professional tour male tennis player from France. He is 6'2" and weighs just under . He turned pro in 2000 and retired in September, 2010....
, Alex Bogdanovic
Alex Bogdanovic
Aleksa Bogdanovic , also known as his British nickname Alex, is a Serbian-British tennis player born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Alex was brought to England by his parents Dušan and Amelija when he was seven and took up tennis as a means of making new friends.Bogdanovic turned professional in 2002...
, Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
, and Florent Serra
Florent Serra
Florent Lucien Serra is a French male tennis player. A right-hander, he has won two ATP titles during his career and is coached by Pierre Cherret.-Early life and junior career:...
in straight sets, and then in the final he defeated Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
of France a tough encounter, 4–6, 6–1, 6–4.
Gasquet then came in with good form and confidence as he entered the 2010 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur as preparation for the French Open. He won his opening match against the Slovak Lukáš Lacko
Lukáš Lacko
Lukáš Lacko is a professional Slovak tennis player. His highest ATP singles ranking was 60, which he reached on February 22, 2010. His career high doubles ranking was 213 on November 30, 2009.- Tennis career :...
, 6–3, 6–0, before advancing to the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 6–0, 2–6, 6–3 victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine. He then defeated Belgian Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
(for the third time this year), 6–4, 6–2, and Potito Starace
Potito Starace
Potito Starace is an Italian professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He achieved his career-high ranking of 27th on October 15, 2007 and prefers to play on red clay...
, 7–6, 7–6, to reach his third final (but his second in ATP-level) this year. In the final against no. 2 seed Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
, Gasquet blew a 6–3, 5–4 lead (while serving for the match), but eventually prevailed, 6–3, 5–7, 7–6, to end his two and a half year title drought. As a result, he brought his head-to-head series against Verdasco to 5–5, while snapping a five-match losing streak against him.
Richard lost his first-round match of the 2010 French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
against the fourth seed Andy Murray. According to the South African Airways Rankings, Gasquet had moved 23 places from no. 68 to no. 45. Gasquet played well throughout the match; he was two sets up against the number 4 seed Andy Murray, but lost three consecutive sets, and lost the match, 6–4, 7–6, 4–6, 2–6, 1–6, due to his lack of fitness.
Gasquet then played the AEGON Championships in preparation for Wimbledon. He won his first match against Japan's Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori
is a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked 25th in the world, as of 10 October 2011. He began playing tennis at the age of five, and on 17 July 2007 he qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California at the age of 17.-Junior career:Nishikori won...
, 6–3, 6–3. He then won in the second round against Rajeev Ram, 6–3, 7–5, but in the third round, he withdrew against Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler
Rainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament....
of Germany due to a back injury. He withdrew from the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
as a result.
After being sidelined for a lengthy period, Richard then appeared at the 2010 Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad
2010 Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad
The 2010 Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 42nd edition of the Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2009 ATP Tour...
in Switzerland. Seeded seventh, he had victories over Farrukh Dustov
Farrukh Dustov
Farrukh Dustov is an Uzbek tennis player playing on the ITF Futures Tour and ATP Challenger Tour. On April 30, 2007, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of 173. He is coached by Manuel Gasbarri.-Singles: 6 :...
, Daniel Brands
Daniel Brands
Daniel Brands is a German professional tennis player. His career high rank was No. 66, achieved on July 5, 2010.- 2008 :...
and fourth seed Albert Montañés
Álbert Montañés
Albert Montañés Roca is a professional tennis player from Spain.He first entered the top-100 in 2001 and has been in the top-100 for all but 20 weeks since then...
to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, he defeated Yuri Schukin
Yuri Schukin
-2008:The 6 ft 2 inch 181 pound Russian began the 2008 tour season by losing in the first round to Rajeev Ram at the Chennai Open 6–7 , 6–7 .-References:...
for a place in the final. There, he lost to Nicolás Almagro
Nicolás Almagro
Nicolas Almagro Sanchez Rolle is a professional Spanish tennis player, ranked 10 on the ATP World Tour.-2005:...
, 5-7, 1-6.
At the Cincinnati Masters, he reached the third round, beating Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
in the process before falling to Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
. Then at the US Open he brushed aside sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
in the second round, the Russian winning a mere nine games. He lost in the fourth round to fellow Frenchman Gaël Monfils
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
in straight sets, despite having held set points in both the second and third sets
At the 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000
2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters 1000
The 2010 Shanghai Rolex Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the second edition of the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour. It took place at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, People's...
, Gasquet advanced to the third round, defeating Ernests Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis is a Latvian professional tennis player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, teaming with Rainer Schüttler, and in 2010 won his first ATP Tour singles title in the Delray Beach, defeating Ivo Karlović in the final...
and compatriot Gaël Monfils
Gaël Monfils
Gaël Sébastien Monfils is a French professional tennis player. he was the highest-ranked French tennis player, ranked no. 7 in the world ATP rankings. He was the runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2009 and 2010 and a semifinalist at the 2008 French Open.-2002:In 2002, Monfils finished 24th at the...
, before losing to Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, 1–6, 1–6. He reached the quarterfinals in Basel before falling to Victor Troicki in a lacklustre display, 4-6, 2-6. At the Paris Masters, he outlasted Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut is a French tennis player. Mahut is right-handed and has previously won the Orange Bowl in 1999, becoming professional in 2000. He is a good serve and volleyer and a doubles expert, having won many tournaments with his doubles partner Julien Benneteau. His career high...
in a marathon, winning 9–7 in the third set tiebreak, before falling to Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in straight sets in the second round. He made the Davis Cup team for France in the final against Serbia.
2011
Gasquet began 2011 at the 2011 Aircel Chennai Open2011 Aircel Chennai Open
The 2011 Aircel Chennai Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Chennai Open, and part of the 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour. It took place at the SDAT Tennis Stadium in Chennai, India, from January 3 through January 9, 2011.-Seeds:*...
m losing to Björn Phau
Bjorn Phau
Björn Phau is a German tennis player and the son of a German mother and an Indonesian father. He reached a singles ranking of 59 in the world on 19 June 2006. He defeated Andre Agassi 7–5, 7–5 at the 2006 Dubai Tennis Championships. In an interview, Agassi cited Phau as one of the quickest tennis...
, 6-1, 6-7, 6-7. He then headed to Australia to play in the 2011 Medibank International Sydney
2011 Medibank International Sydney
The 2011 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Medibank International Sydney, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, losing to Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has Serb and Russian ethnic roots. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Tver and Rostov-on-Don to Serbia in 1917. His career-high ranking is no. 12, achieved on 6 June 2011. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup,...
, 4-6, 4-6. He then played in the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, losing in the third round to Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
, 2-6, 6-7, 3-7, 2-6. He then competed at the 2011 PBZ Zagreb Indoors
2011 PBZ Zagreb Indoors
The 2011 PBZ Zagreb Indoors was an ATP tennis tournament played on hard courts indoors. It was the 7th edition of the PBZ Zagreb Indoors, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour...
, where he reached the quarterfinals after a bye and the withdrawal of Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément is a professional tennis player from France. His best achievement is reaching the final of the 2001 Australian Open.-Career:Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence, and currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland...
. However, he retired against Michael Berrer
Michael Berrer
Michael Berrer is a German professional tennis player. He reached his career high in singles with No. 42 on May 2010 and his high in doubles in March 2009 with No...
, 2-5 down due to a shoulder injury. After a short break, he played in the 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour. The tournament was known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons...
, where he defeated qualifiers Grigor Dimitrov
Grigor Dimitrov
Grigor Dimitrov is a tennis player from Bulgaria. He achieved a career high ranking of World No. 52 on August 22, 2011. Dimitrov also enjoyed a very successful junior career, in which he held the World No...
and Sergei Bubka
Sergei Bubka (tennis)
Sergei Bubka is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. He is a member of the Ukraine Davis Cup team and is coached by Tibor Toth, who is also the coach of Sergiy Stakhovsky...
, as well as compatriot Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
, before he lost to top seed Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in the semifinals in straight sets, despite serving for the second set. At the BNP Paribas Open, he defeated top-10 players Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...
and Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
back to back. It was the first time in his career that he had defeated two top-10 players consecutively. He lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
in the quarterfinals. With the result, he made his return to the top 20 of the rankings. In Miami
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
, he played Paolo Lorenzi
Paolo Lorenzi
Paolo Lorenzi is an Italian professional tennis player. Lorenzi competes on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP World Tour, both in singles and doubles. He reached his highest ATP singles ranking, No. 83, on November 9, 2009, and his highest ATP doubles ranking, No. 241, on January 12, 2009...
, who upset Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubicic
----Ivan Ljubičić is a Croatian tennis player born in Bosnia and Herzegovina . His career-high ATP ranking to date has been no. 3, and he stands at no. 37....
, in the second round. He won that match, but fell to Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
, 4–6, 3–6. Gasquet then played in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he had a tough first-round victory over Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin
Denis Istomin is a professional Uzbek tennis player. His career high rank is #39, achieved on August 30, 2010. He is coached by his mother.- 2006 :...
, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4. He then breezed through his second-round match, 6–2, 6–1 against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, before falling to Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
in the third round, 2–6, 4–6.
At the Mutua Madrid Open, Gasquet was defeated in the first round by the Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 6–3, 4–6, 3–6.
At the Italian Open, he played Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in the third round, and came from behind to claim a spectacular victory, 4–6, 7–6, 7–6. He was defeated by Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
in the semifinals, 5–7, 1–6.
At the French Open, Gasquet cruised through his first two rounds before impressively defeating Thomaz Bellucci
Thomaz Bellucci
Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci , a professional tennis player, is the top ranked Brazilian tennis player. He achieved a career high ranking of #21 on July 26, 2010....
in four sets in front of an animated Parisian crowd. He, however, lost to Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
in straight sets in round four and rose to world no. 13 as a result.
At Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
, he was defeated in the fourth round by Andy Murray, 6-73-7, 3-6, 2-6. He reached the third rounds of the Rogers Cup
2011 Rogers Cup
The 2011 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament to be played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 122nd edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
in Canada and the Southern & Western Open
2011 Western & Southern Open
The 2011 Cincinnati Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati, United States. The tournament was a joint men's and women's event, with six new courts being built for the tournament...
in Cincinnati, where he was defeated by Nicolás Almagro
Nicolás Almagro
Nicolas Almagro Sanchez Rolle is a professional Spanish tennis player, ranked 10 on the ATP World Tour.-2005:...
and Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
, respectively.
In the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
, he lost in the second round to Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-74-7.
2012
Gasquet will kick off his 2012 season by competing at the 2012 Hopman Cup2012 Hopman Cup
-USA vs. Denmark: -Denmark vs. Bulgaria: -Czech Republic vs. USA: -Czech Republic vs. Denmark: -USA vs. Bulgaria: -Standings:-France vs. China: -Australia vs. Spain: -Spain vs. China: -Australia vs. France: -Australia vs. China:...
alongside top 10 WTA pro Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
.
Playing style
Gasquet is noted for his powerful and precise single-handed backhandBackhand
The backhand is a tennis shot in which one swings the racquet around one's body in the direction where one wants the ball to go, usually performed from the baseline or as an approach shot. The term is also used in other racquet sports, and other areas where a similar motion is employed...
, his flair and shot-making ability and is also known for his speed around the court. He is an all-court player. Gasquet's single-handed backhand features a high take back, utilising gravity, coils up (very low to the ground), and slowly unwinds, unleashing one of the best backhands on the ATP tour. However, his forehand can be considered a weaker shot. He is capable of hitting big winners with his forehand, but in general, his rally forehand lacks consistent depth.
Gasquet has earned much praise for his "natural ability". One of the accolades he has received is recognition of his ability to play all-round complete tennis. During a Davis cup match against Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
, British TV presenter Barry Cowan
Barry Cowan (tennis)
Barry Cowan is a former British tennis player, best known for taking Pete Sampras to five sets at Wimbledon in 2001.-Early years:Cowan attended the LTA Rover School at Bisham Abbey...
described him as "naturally more talented than Federer".
Many, including Peter Fleming, have sung similar praises of the young Frenchman's talent.
Equipment
Gasquet uses the HeadHead (company)
Head N.V. is a sports equipment and clothing company, known mainly for their alpine skis and tennis racquets. Founded as a ski company in Baltimore, Maryland, the company is currently headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Kennelbach, Austria...
Liquidmetal Instinct Tour XL racquet painted as YouTek IG Extreme Pro with Tourna Grip and 2009 Team series bag from Head. His racquet is strung with Luxilon Big Banger Original 16 String. He wears clothing by Lacoste. His shoe of choice is Asics
ASICS
ASICS is a Japanese athletic equipment company. ASICS produces professional footwear and sports equipment designed for football, running, netball, tennis, badminton, squash, martial arts, cricket, golf, wrestling, track & field, cross-training, volleyball, cheerleading, lacrosse, and for many other...
. He also has Lagardère Tags on his sleeves.
Mixed doubles: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 2004 | French Open | Clay |  Tatiana GolovinTatiana Golovin Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S.... |
 Cara BlackCara Black Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles... Wayne BlackWayne Black Wayne Hamilton Black is a former professional male tennis player from Zimbabwe.Black is the son of Don and Velia Black and the brother of Cara Black and Byron Black, also professional tennis players. He attended the University of Southern California and was an All-American in singles and doubles... |
6–3, 6–4 |
Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2005 | Hamburg Hamburg Masters The German Open Hamburg, established in 1892, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Originally a Grand Prix Tennis Tour event between 1978 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Championship... |
Clay |  Roger FedererRoger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles... |
3–6, 5–7, 6–7(4–7) |
| Runner-up | 2006 | Toronto Canada Masters The Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour... |
Hard | Roger Federer |
6–2, 3–6, 2–6 |
Doubles: 1 (0–1)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2007 2007 Monte Carlo Masters – Doubles Jonas Björkman and Max Mirnyi were the defending champions, but lost in quarterfinals to Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet.Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won in the final 6–2, 6–1, against Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet.-Seeds:... |
Monte Carlo | Clay | Julien Benneteau Julien Benneteau Julien Benneteau is a professional male tennis player from France. His career-best singles ranking is ATP world no. 32, which he reached in July 2010. He formerly resided in Boulogne Billancourt and now lives in Geneva... |
 Bob BryanBob Bryan Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998... Mike BryanMike Bryan Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No... |
2–6, 1–6 |
Singles: 14 (6–8)
EWLINE
|
EWLINE
|
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 11 October 2004 | Metz Open de Moselle The Open de Moselle is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour. It has been held annually since 2003. The venue for the tournament was the Arènes until 2010 and is now the Parc des Expositions since 2011... , France |
Hard (i) | Jérôme Haehnel Jérôme Haehnel Jérôme Haehnel is a tennis player who defeated Andre Agassi in the first round of the French Open in 2004. Haehnel's career-high singles ranking is no. 78, which he reached on February 21, 2005. Recently he has been competing in various ATP Challenger Series tournaments around Europe... |
6–7(9–11), 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 9 May 2005 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Roger Federer Roger Federer Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles... |
3–6, 5–7, 6–7(4–7) |
| Winner | 1. | 13 June 2005 | Nottingham Nottingham Open The Slazenger Nottingham Open was a tennis tournament on the ATP Tour that was held in Nottingham, Great Britain... , UK |
Grass |  Max MirnyiMax Mirnyi Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a... |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2. | 19 June 2006 | Nottingham, UK | Grass |  Jonas BjörkmanJonas Björkman Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships.... |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 3. | 10 July 2006 | Gstaad Allianz Suisse Open Gstaad The Swiss Open is a tennis tournament held in Gstaad, Switzerland. Held since 1915, the tournament is played on outdoor clay courts... , Switzerland |
Clay |  Feliciano LópezFeliciano López Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid.... |
7–6(7–4), 6–7(3–7), 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 7 August 2006 | Toronto Canada Masters The Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour... , Canada |
Hard | Roger Federer |
6–2, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 4. | 23 October 2006 | Lyon Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon The Open Sud de France is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour. It was held annually at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon, France, in October, from 1987 through to 2009, before being relocated to... , France |
Carpet (i) | Marc Gicquel Marc Gicquel Marc Gicquel is a professional male tennis player from France. He turned pro in 1999.-Tennis career:... |
6–3, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 29 April 2007 | Estoril Estoril Open The Estoril Open is an ATP and WTA clay court tournament held in Jamor, Oeiras, Portugal . The men's tournament was created in 1990 and since its inception, every champion except 2004 champion Juan Ignacio Chela and 2009–2010 champion Albert Montañés has been in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings,... , Portugal |
Clay |  Novak DjokovicNovak Djokovic Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open... |
6–77, 6–0, 1–6 |
| Winner | 5. | 30 September 2007 | Mumbai, India | Hard |  Olivier RochusOlivier Rochus Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:... |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 1 October 2007 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | David Ferrer David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000... |
1–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 13 July 2008 | Stuttgart Mercedes Cup The Mercedes Cup is an ATP World Tour 250 series tennis tournament on the ATP Tour. Held since 1916 in Stuttgart, Germany, the Mercedes Cup is played on clay courts... , Germany |
Clay |  Juan Martín del PotroJuan Martin Del Potro Juan Martín del Potro is an Argentine professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4... |
4–6, 5–7 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 16 January 2010 | Sydney, Australia | Hard |  Marcos BaghdatisMarcos Baghdatis At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1... |
4–6, 6–7(2–7) |
| Winner | 6. | 22 May 2010 | Nice, France | Clay | Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight... |
6–3, 5–7, 7–6(7–5) |
| Runner-up | 8. | 1 August 2010 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Nicolas Almagro Sanchez Rolle is a professional Spanish tennis player, ranked 10 on the ATP World Tour.-2005:... |
5–7, 1–6 |
Doubles: 2 (2–2)
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour Finals (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–1) |
| ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour 250 Series (2–1) |
Wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 8 May 2006 | Metz Open de Moselle The Open de Moselle is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour. It has been held annually since 2003. The venue for the tournament was the Arènes until 2010 and is now the Parc des Expositions since 2011... , France |
Hard (i) | Fabrice Santoro Fabrice Santoro Fabrice Vetea Santoro is a retired French professional male tennis player from Tahiti. Though not counted among the top ranked players, he had an unusually long professional career – with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career – and he is popular among spectators and other... |
 Julian KnowleJulian Knowle ----Julian Knowle is an Austrian male professional tennis player. Being a born left-hander Knowle is one of now only few on the ATP Tour who plays his forehand, backhand and even volleys double-handed. He is Austria's most successful doubles player in history by reaching no... Jürgen MelzerJürgen Melzer Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but... |
3–6, 6–1, [11–9] |
| 2. | 7 January 2008 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
Bob Bryan Bob Bryan Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998... Mike BryanMike Bryan Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No... |
4–6, 6–4, [11–9] |
Runner-ups (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 14 April 2007 | Monte Carlo, Monaco Monaco Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the... |
Clay | Julien Benneteau Julien Benneteau Julien Benneteau is a professional male tennis player from France. His career-best singles ranking is ATP world no. 32, which he reached in July 2010. He formerly resided in Boulogne Billancourt and now lives in Geneva... |
Bob Bryan Bob Bryan Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998... Mike BryanMike Bryan Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No... |
2–6, 1–6 |
| 2. | 1 November 2009 | St. Petersburg St. Petersburg Open The St. Petersburg Open is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour. It has been held annually at the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex in St. Petersburg, Russia,... , Russia |
Hard (i) | Jérémy Chardy Jérémy Chardy Jérémy Chardy is a French professional tennis player. He won the 2005 Wimbledon Championships Boys' Singles title, and finished as the runner-up at the 2005 US Open Boys' Singles, losing to Ryan Sweeting. His career high rank is no... |
Colin Fleming Colin Fleming Colin Fleming is a British professional tennis player who lives in Linlithgow.He was selected for 2009 Great Britain Davis Cup team....  Ken SkupskiKen Skupski Ken Skupski is a professional tennis player who lives in Liverpool, England. He is best known as a doubles player, most successfully partnering Colin Fleming. Having played college tennis at the Louisiana State University, he turned professional in 2007... |
6–2, 5–7, [4–10] |
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 end of the 2011 BNP Paribas Masters2011 BNP Paribas Masters
The 2011 BNP Paribas Masters was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2011 ATP World Tour...
.
| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |SR | |W–L | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments Grand Slam (tennis) The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and... |
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| Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
A | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 4R | 4R | 3R | 1R 2010 Australian Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but retired due to a right knee injury trailing 3–6, 6–7, 0–3 in the quarterfinals against Andy Murray.Roger Federer met Andy Murray in the final of this event... |
3R 2011 Australian Open – Men's Singles Roger Federer was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic, who went on to win the tournament by defeating Andy Murray 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 in the final. It was Djokovic's 2nd title at the Australian Open, with this title bearing many resemblances to his title in 2008. Djokovic... |
0 / 8 | 10–8 | |||||||
| French Open French Open (tennis) The French Open |Roland Garros]]) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are... |
1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | A | 1R 2010 French Open – Men's Singles Roger Federer was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Robin Söderling, which allowed him to make a second-successive final here. This was the first time since the 2004 French Open that Federer did not reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.Rafael Nadal won his fifth... |
4R 2011 French Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal, the defending champion and, after this tournament, six-time winner of this event defended his title by beating long-time rival Roger Federer for his sixth French Open title, tying him with Björn Borg for most all-time in the open era. Notably, the Spaniard played his first ever... |
0 / 7 | 7–7 | |||||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 4R | 1R | SF | 4R | A | A | 4R 2011 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion but lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title. Upon reaching the final, he gained the World No.1 ranking as a result. This marks the first time that neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal is ranked No... |
0 / 6 | 14–6 | |||||||
| US Open | LQ | A | LQ | 4R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 4R 2010 US Open – Men's Singles Juan Martín del Potro was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, after undergoing a wrist operation in May and only starting to practice again in August... |
2R 2011 US Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but was defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic with a score of 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1. Djokovic claimed his first US Open title, his third Grand Slam of the year, and his fourth Grand Slam overall.-Seeds:... |
0 / 7 | 11–6 | |||||||
| Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 8–3 | 4–4 | 10–3 | 6–3 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 9–4 | 0 / 28 | 42–28 | |||||||
| Year-End Championship | |||||||||||||||||||
| ATP World Tour Finals | A | A | A | A | A | RR | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–2 | |||||||
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia... |
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| Indian Wells Masters Indian Wells Masters The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California.... |
A | A | A | A | 4R | 4R | 4R | 3R | 1R 2010 BNP Paribas Open – Men's Singles The Men's singles tournament of this event started in the week of March 8. It was the year's first of nine tournaments in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series.Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but he lost to Ivan Ljubičić in the semifinals.... |
QF 2011 BNP Paribas Open – Men's Singles The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 37th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011... |
0 / 6 | 10–6 | |||||||
| Miami Masters Miami Masters The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park... |
A | 1R | A | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | A | 1R 2010 Sony Ericsson Open – Men's Singles Andy Murray was the defending champion, but lost to Mardy Fish in the second round.Andy Roddick beat Tomáš Berdych 7-5, 6-4 to win his first Masters 1000 event since 2006... |
3R 2011 Sony Ericsson Open – Men's Singles Andy Roddick was the defending champion, but lost to Pablo Cuevas in the second round.Novak Djokovic won the title, defeating Rafael Nadal 4–6, 6–3, 7–6 in the final for the second week in a row after also beating him in the Indian Wells final the previous week... |
0 / 6 | 2–6 | |||||||
| Monte Carlo Masters | 2R | 1R | LQ | SF | A | QF | 3R | A | 2R 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Singles Rafael Nadal defended the 2009 title by defeating his compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6–0, 6–1 to break an 11-month title drought, and to win a historic 6th consecutive title here in Monte-Carlo.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.... |
3R 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters – Singles Rafael Nadal was the six-time defending champion and defended his title by beating compatriot David Ferrer 6–4, 7–5. This was Nadal's 7th consecutive title in Monte-Carlo, which is the all-time record both for consecutive titles at any tournament and the most titles at this tournament.-Seeds:The... |
0 / 7 | 12–7 | |||||||
| Rome Masters Rome Masters The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's... |
A | A | A | 2R | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | SF 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, however he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final. Djokovic defeated him 6–4, 6–4 to win his 39th consecutive match and his 7th title of 2011... |
0 / 5 | 8–5 | |||||||
| Madrid Masters Madrid Masters There are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:*Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open — a men's and women's tennis tournament*Madrid Masters... |
A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 3R | A | A | 1R 2011 Mutua Madrid Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the defending champion but lost to world No. 2 Novak Djokovic 7–5, 6–4 in the final. It was the second win for Djokovic on a ATP Master 1000 Tournament played on clay courts, the 6th title of the year and 24th of his career... |
0 / 4 | 2–4 | |||||||
| Hamburg Masters Hamburg Masters The German Open Hamburg, established in 1892, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Originally a Grand Prix Tennis Tour event between 1978 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Championship... |
A | A | A | F | 1R | 2R | 2R | NMS | 0 / 4 | 6–4 | |||||||||
| Canada Masters Canada Masters The Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour... |
A | A | A | 2R | F | 2R | QF | A | 1R | 3R 2011 Rogers Cup – Men's Singles Andy Murray was the two-time defending champion, but lost to Kevin Anderson in the second round.World No.1 Novak Djokovic won his 10th Masters 1000 title of his career and his 9th title of the year, beating Mardy Fish in the final 6–2, 3–6, 6–4... |
0 / 6 | 11–6 | |||||||
| Cincinnati Masters Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between... |
A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 3R 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters – Singles Roger Federer became the first player since Andre Agassi in 1996 to have successfully defended the title. He defeated Mardy Fish in the final 6–7, 7–6, 6–4. It was his 4th win at the event also winning in 2005, 2007, and 2009... |
3R 2011 Western & Southern Open – Men's Singles Roger Federer was the two-time defending champion, but lost to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals.Andy Murray won the tournament beating No.1 seed Novak Djokovic in the final, 6–4, 3–0 ret. It was the 7th ATP Masters 1000 title of Murray's career, and his first in 2011... |
0 / 6 | 6–6 | |||||||
| Shanghai Masters Shanghai Masters (tennis) The Shanghai Masters is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour. It is held annually in October at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena in Shanghai, People's... |
Not Masters Series | 1R | 3R | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | |||||||||||||
| Paris Masters Paris Masters The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour... |
LQ | 1R | LQ | A | 3R | SF | A | A | 2R 2010 BNP Paribas Masters – Singles Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Michaël Llodra.Robin Söderling won the title, defeating Gaël Monfils 6–1, 7–6 in the final.-Seeds:All seeds received a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer ... |
3R 2011 BNP Paribas Masters – Singles Robin Söderling was the defending champion, but could not participate due to mononucleosis.Roger Federer won the title, defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6–1, 7–6 in the final.-Seeds:All seeds received a bye into the second round.... |
0 / 5 | 6–4 | |||||||
| Win–Loss | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 12–5 | 9–6 | 11–9 | 8–8 | 3–3 | 6–7 | 15–8 | 0 / 51 | 65–50 | |||||||
| Career Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| Finals Reached | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | ||||||||
| Hardcourt Win–Loss | 0–0 | 2–5 | 4–4 | 7–4 | 14–12 | 29–13 | 18–13 | 19–13 | 20–14 | 19–12 | 1 / 91 | 132–90 | |||||||
| Grass Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 11–2 | 6–2 | 7–3 | 6–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2 / 17 | 35–14 | |||||||
| Carpet Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 7–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1 / 7 | 9–7 | |||||||
| Clay Win–Loss | 1–3 | 0–2 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 7–4 | 12–7 | 7–5 | 3–2 | 16–8 | 12–7 | 2 / 50 | 80–52 | |||||||
| Overall Win–Loss | 1–5 | 2–8 | 13–15 | 33–11 | 34–21 | 49–24 | 32–22 | 22–15 | 38–22 | 34–20 | 6 / 165 | 256–163 | |||||||
| Win % | 17% | 25% | 46% | 74% | 61% | 67% | 59% | 47% | 63% | % | |||||||||
| Year End Ranking | 161 | 93 | 107 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 24 | 52 | 30 | 19 | $5,427,112 | ||||||||