Early years
Gasquet was born in Béziers 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 Benhabilès for a short period. Since 2004, he has been coached
by ex-professional tennis player Éric Deblicker.
He made his debut on the ATP tour in April, 2002, at the Tennis Masters Series
tournament at Monte Carlo where he received a wildcard into qualifying and
became the youngest player ever to qualify for a Tennis Masters event. At the
age of 15 years, 10 months, he defeated Argentina's Franco Squillari in the
first round of that tournament to become the youngest player to win a tour-level
main draw match since Tommy Ho at Rye Brook in 1988.
Gasquet made his Grand Slam tournament debut at the 2002 French Open at the
age of 15 years, 11 months, nine days. He was the second-youngest player ever
to compete in the main draw there. Despite his lack of experience, he managed
to take a set off the eventual champion Albert Costa in the first round. Gasquet
finished 2002 as the no. 1 junior in the world and was named World Junior Champion,
having won the junior titles at the French Open and the US Open. He was also
the youngest player to finish in year-end ATP top 200.
Gasquet finished 2003 as the youngest player to finish a year inside the ATP
top 100. In 2004, he reached his first ATP tournament final at Metz, but lost
to fellow countryman Jérôme Haehnel 7–6, 6–4. He also
won the mixed doubles trophy at the French Open that year, partnering Tatiana
Golovin.
2005
Gasquet missed the first seven weeks of the 2005 season due to chickenpox.
Upon his recovery he won back to back challenger titles in March. In April,
riding the momentum of a 10 match winning streak, Gasquet reached the semifinals
of the Masters Series tournament at Monte Carlo, handing world number one Roger
Federer a shock 6–7, 6–2, 7–6 defeat in the quarterfinal.
He saved 3 match points before closing it out in a 10-8 tiebreak. As a result,
he became the youngest French player ever to defeat a world number one. However,
the eventual champion Rafael Nadal got the better of him in the semi beating
Gasquet 6–7, 6–4, 6–3.
Fresh off of his huge win over Federer and having just demolished Paradorn
Srichaphan in straight sets, the rising teen lost against Andre Agassi 6–2,
6–3 at Rome's Masters tennis tournament, possibly due to being overawed
at playing one of his childhood heroes. A month later, he reached the final
of the Hamburg Masters, where, this time, he was defeated by Roger Federer
in 3 sets.
In May, he won his first ever Grand Slam singles match at Roland Garros. On
June 18, his 19th birthday, he won his first ATP title, defeating Max Mirnyi
in the final of the grass court tournament at Nottingham, England. He then
made his Davis Cup debut against Russia in July where he won his first rubber
against Igor Andreev but lost his second against Nikolay Davydenko.
Gasquet had to miss the last 2 months of the season because of an elbow injury.
He finished the year as French number 1 for the first time.
2006
In 2006, Gasquet had a slow start after a first round defeat to Tommy Haas
at the Australian Open. He later avenged this defeat in the Davis Cup 1st round
tie against Germany where he beat Haas in 5 sets. However he lost both his
singles rubbers in the quarter-final tie versus Russia, and suffered an abdominal
injury in that tie which left him out of action for a month. Having struggled
to find any form after his comeback during the clay season, Gasquet went out
in the 2nd round of the French Open to David Nalbandian, 6–2, 3–6,
7–5 6–0.
Following on from a disappointing opening half to his season, in the space
of 3 weeks he successfully defended his title at Nottingham, lost in a first
round meeting with Roger Federer at Wimbledon, and won his 2nd title of the
year, on clay, in Gstaad. Gasquet's form continued to improve heading towards
the US Open, as he reached the final of the Masters Seriers event in Toronto,
again being halted by Federer, in 3 sets 2–6, 6–3, 6–2. He
reached the fourth round of the US Open for the 2nd year in a row where he
lost to Lleyton Hewitt in 5 sets.
In October he won his 3rd title of the year, this time on indoor carpet, in
Lyon, completing his achievement of reaching finals on all four surfaces during
the year. His season ended when he withdrew in the third round of the Paris
Masters due to illness. He ended the year as French number 1 for the second
straight year.
2007
Gasquet's 2007 started with a quarterfinal in Adelaide, followed by a semifinal
in Sydney. He went on to reach the fourth round of the 2007 Australian Open,
losing to Tommy Robredo in 4 sets. At the Monte Carlo Masters Series tournament,
he notched up his first win over a top 10 opponent of the year, winning his
3rd round match over Ivan Ljubicic, 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 Ðokovic got the better of him
in 3 sets.
He reached the doubles final of the 2007 Monte Carlo Masters with Nicolas
Mahut, where the French team lost to Bob and Mike Bryan. Despite losing in
round 2 of the 2007 French Open to Kristof Vliegen, he rose two spots to a
career high #11.
Gasquet then made his first grand slam semi-final at Wimbledon. He beat fellow
Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his way to a quarter-final
showdown with Andy Roddick. In 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 semifinals to Roger Federer (who beat him in the first round
of the same event the previous year), 7–5, 6–3, 6–4. He made
his top 10 debut, at #7, as a result. The following week in Gstaad, as defending
champion, he defeated Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo and avenged his Roland Garros loss
to Kristof Vliegen, but lost in the quarters to Igor Andreev 7–5 6–2.
He bowed out at the 2007 U.S Open because of a virus. Gasquet returned to action
in Mumbai, India winning his 5th career ATP title beating Olivier Rochus in
the final. He followed this up by reaching the final of the Tokyo ATP tournament,
losing to David Ferrer in straight sets.
He then took a few weeks break and then went to play in 2007 Grand Prix de
Tennis de Lyon where he was defending champion. He lost to fellow frenchman
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (who he beat at Wimbledon) in the 3rd round in straight
sets.
At the 2007 Paris Masters, Gasquet defeated Tsonga after his loss at Lyon
in the second round and sixth seed James Blake in the third round 6–4,
6–4. He beat Andy Murray in the quarterfinals, 6–3, 0–6,
6–4 to reach the semifinals, where he was stopped by David Nalbandian
in straight sets. With his performance in Paris, Gasquet qualified for the
Tennis Masters Cup, clinching 8th place.
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 Ðokovic
6–4, 6–2, but lost to David Ferrer, 6–1, 6–1. Gasquet
failed to qualify for the semifinals, 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 exist to eventual champion Dmitry Tursunov,
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.
Gasquet's first round match in the Australian Open was against Australian
Nick Lindahl. He won 6–0 6–1 3–6 6–2. Gasquet's second
round match in the Australian Open was against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. He
got through to the fourth round after defeating 31st seed Igor Andreev in four
sets (6–3,6–2, 4–6,6–4). In the round of 16 at the
Australian Open, Gasquet lost in 4 sets to eventual finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
(6–4, 6–7, 7–6, 6–3).
At his next two tournaments, the Open 13 at Marseille, France, and the Barclays
Dubai Tennis Championships, Gasquet suffered second round defeats to Robin
Soderling (Sweden) 6-4, 3-6, 2-6; and Igor Andreev (Russia) 3-6, 4-6. At the
ATP Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California, Gasquet avenged
his loss to Robin Soderling in the first round 6-3, 6-2. However, in the fourth
round, he lost in straight sets to James Blake (U.S.A.) 4-6, 2-6.
At the ATP Masters Series tournament in Key Biscayne, Florida, he lost his
opening round match to Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(5). And at
the U.S.A. v. France World Group Quaterfinal Davis Cup match, Gasquet lost
in three sets to American James Blake 7-6(4), 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
begins at the end of the summer hardcourt season in August. He joins 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 have all opted out of this year's Olympic games.
At the new tennis rankings posted on June 9, 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 Ancic of Croatia 7-6 (5), 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 (3).
This was Gasquet's first Quarterfinal appearance in a tournament this year.
At the Ordina Open in Den Bosch, Netherlands Gasquet was the second seed and
defeated Olivier Rochus of Belgium 6-2, 7-6 (3) in the first round but then
lost his second round match to Frenchman Marc Gicquel 7-5, 7-6 (6).
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 Sebastian Grosjean 6-2, 6-2 ret.
in the second round; and Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (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 (7-3),
6-2, 6-4; despite being two sets up and serving for the match at 5-4 in the
third.
At the new tennis rankings posted on Monday, July 07, 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 has
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 Lukas Rosol 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-2 in the first round; and then defeated
Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-3, 7-6(5) in the quarterfinals. Gasquet beat sixth-seeded
Argentine Agustin Calleri in the semifinals 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3; to reach his
first final of the year[1]. Favourite to win the tournament, Gasquet suffered
a surprise defeat in the finals to Argentine teenager Juan Martin Del Potro
in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5.
As of Monday 14 July 2008, Gasquet improved his ranking to four places at
world number 11. His ranking dropped to world number 12 one week later.
Gasquet overcame compatriot and friend Michael Llodra in the first round of
the Canada Masters, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. He defeated Russian qualifier Alexandre
Kudryavtsev in straight sets, 7-5 6-3. He advanced to the quarter finals after
defeating 5th seeded David Ferrer, 6-3 6-3. He then lost to Rafael Nadal in
three sets, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1. Gasquet also played doubles with training partner
Nicolas Mahut against Andy Murray and Jamie Murray, losing 7-6, 6-2.
Gasquet began with a first round win over Frenchman Michael 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(8), 6-0.
Playing style
Gasquet is noted for his powerful and precise one-handed backhand, for his
flair and shot-making ability and is also known for his speed around the court.
He is an all-court player. Gasquet's one-handed backhand features a high take
back, utilising gravity, coils up (very low to the ground), and slowly unwinds,
and unleashes one of the best backhands on the ATP tour. However, his forehand
can be considered a weak 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 talent." 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 Frenchman.
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