After being sidelined from the tour since October, Richard Gasquet made a winning return at the Madrid Open on Monday evening.
The 32-year-old had missed the first five months of the season due to surgery on his groin earlier this year. During his absence, Gasquet has dropped to 39th in the world rankings. His lowest position since 2009.
Gasquet’s first challenge of his latest comeback came in the form of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. A former Wimbledon boys’ champion who reached the semi-finals of the Estoril Open last week. It was by no means a straightforward task for Gasquet, who prevailed 7-5, 7-6(5), after almost two hours of play. Overcoming a series of thunderous forehand winners from across the court. In total, he hit 18 winners to 27 unforced errors and converted three out of nine break point opportunities.
“I’m very happy. It was a great and tough match for me to win. It has been a long time since I played, so it’s great.” Gasquet told Ubitennis shortly after his victory.
“He’s a very good player. He will play good in the future, but I am happy with how I won.”
Injury has become an unwelcome aspect in recent years for Gasquet. Besides his groin, he has also endured issues with his back, knee, thigh and abdominal areas. Against Davidovich, he wore two black strips of kinetic tape on his back.
“I’m a little bit tired now, but it’s normal for me.” He assured. “I haven’t played for many months and it is nice to be here (in Madrid) and I hope to recover well (for the next match).”
Next up for Gasquet will be a high-profile clash with Roger Federer on Tuesday. The clash will mark Federer’s first competitive match on the clay since the 2016 Italian Masters. The Swiss player has skipped playing on the surface in recent time due to either injury or wanting to spend more time resting his body.
“It will be tough, Roger Federer is the best player in the world.” Said Gasquet. “I will just try to recover and play my best against him.”
In their head-to-head, Gasquet trails his Swiss rival 17-2 and hasn’t beaten him in almost eight years.
