Rolandgarros.com
by By Guillaume Baraise and David Tutton
May 27, 2024
Fourth seed Rafael Nadal brushed aside French hope Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 Friday to march into the fourth round. In this much-awaited, but eventually one-sided clash between two of the rising stars of the game, Nadal was power personified and Gasquet inconsistency itself. With his contemporary's challenge safely negotiated, the imposing Spaniard can now eye the rest of the tournament with bullish confidence.
The French press had hyped this match to the hilt, and Philippe-Chatrier Court was abuzz with feverish excitement as the two prodigious 18-year-olds strode onto the court under a blazing mid-afternoon sun. Back from the Champions League final, football legend Michel Platini was in the stands, but just like the quipster in the stands who shouted "come on Liverpool!" deep into the third set, he was hoping for an impossible comeback by the end.
Local hype aside, Rafael Nadal was the outstanding favourite coming into the match. Five titles so far this season, including the ATP Masters Series events in Monte-Carlo and Rome, were ample proof of his dominance on clay. The young Mallorcan is feared by virtually everyone on the circuit, except, possibly, by Richard Gasquet. The boy from S�rignan has been mentioned in the same breath as Nadal for years now, and has been reaching his potential big time in recent months. A semi-final in Monte-Carlo followed by a run to the final in Hamburg gave the home crowd belief that their man could circumvent the Nadal battering ram.
The burning heat on centre court was never going to help the Frenchman though, as Nadal's topspin drives immediately began to bounce high and wide off the baking clay. Nerves were always going to be an issue too, and a tight Gasquet let the first game slip to hand his rival the initiative. Nadal the Gladiator was pumped up coming into the arena. Imagine his excitement now as, up already, he began punching the air in characteristic style.
That break was to prove decisive as Nadal served out to take the opening set 6-4 in 43 minutes. Gasquet held his own, hitting some sweet forehands to lift the crowd, but his backhand, fatally, was misfiring under Nadal's wicked spin that often sent the ball above shoulder height.
Crumbling challenge
Gasquet was having trouble choosing the right time to attack. Patience should have been the key, but the French kid was already beginning to wilt in the crippling heat. Two tired double faults at the start of the second set handed Nadal a break, and although Gasquet fought back to 1-1 with a flying backhand volley, he was soon in trouble again.
He was broken again in the fifth game, and even though he valiantly attempted to mix it up with serve and volley, Nadal responded with thumping drives at his feet. Broken again to 5-3. Gasquet conceded the second set when the Iberian hit an improbable backhand pass from three metres behind the baseline. After just 1 hour 19 minutes, the darling of the Parisian tennis scene found himself 2 sets down.
Gasquet's body language told the whole story now. Even when he scraped back to 2-2 from 2-0 down, any casual observer could see the man in white was all at sea. A barrage of unforced errors in the last four games (46 in all) handed the match to Nadal, who looked far Gasquet's senior today. Few would now bet against him on this form. As for Gasquet, providing he can add some stamina and bite to his undeniably brilliant natural game, he will be back, and way beyond the third round too.
Speaking afterwards, Gasquet picked out Nadal's fitness as the major difference between the two: "What really bothered me is that he is physically stronger than I am. For instance, he resisted much better than I could with the heat and long rallies. I think he's much more mature than I am physically."
Nadal was more than happy to accept that the conditions had helped his cause: "The fact that the clay was very dry today, the bounce was rather high, this might have been a problem for him. Because of these high shots, he might have lost a few points. That might have helped me dominate in this match, make him run around. This favored me."
The young Spaniard also sounded a cautionary note: "It's not because I've won this match that everything is done. I'm very happy with my game, but I'm very aware of the fact that I can lose any time." Such modesty becomes him, but losing is evidently the furthest thing from Nadal's mind these days.
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