Italian posts businesslike victory over Richard Gasquet that speaks of more to come
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTFor a handful of games in his match against Jannik Sinner on Wednesday night on Court Philippe-Chatrier, 38-year-old Richard Gasquet showed that there’s still fight to be found in his veteran legs.
But the 22-year-old Italian had enough game, and guile, to overcome the Frenchman, a passionate evening-session crowd, and his own body, in a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win – avoiding a stunning second-round upset at Roland-Garros for the second year in a row.
Last year, Sinner lost a five-set, five-and-a-half-hour, second-round match to Germany’s Daniel Altmaier – his first loss to a player outside the top 10 at Roland-Garros in his young career. But as we now know, it was merely a blip on the road to the dizzying heights the Italian has reached since then.
If there was any scar tissue lingering for Sinner from that defeat, there was little to suggest so against Gasquet – even if over the first six games it was tough to tell which of the two players was the Australian Open champion and world No.1-in-waiting. The Frenchman, who last beat a top 10 player at a Grand Slam eight years ago, stuck with Sinner over the first six games with neither man facing a break point.
That changed at 3-3: Sinner broke Gasquet to love, saved a break point in the eighth game, and failed to convert two set points in the ninth before serving out a one-set lead in just under an hour.
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTThe tension quickly evaporated from under the Chatrier roof and stayed away for almost the duration of the match. Sinner denied Gasquet a game point in the first game of the second set and broke twice – losing just three points in the set on his own serve – en route to doubling his lead. A similar scene quickly emerged in the third as Sinner again broke in the first game and won eight of the first nine points.
But for the reprise, Gasquet had one last burst of energy in him, while Sinner suffered an uncharacteristic dip in his own.
The veteran broke back in the fourth game, but he wouldn’t stay even again for long: Sinner broke for a fifth and final time in the wildcard’s next service game, and was economical in exerting himself physically in between points from then on en route to getting over the finish line.
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTSinner improved to 3-0 against Gasquet all-time with the victory, and he now owns a win against the Frenchman on each of the three major surfaces.
Speaking of streaks: the Italian is now 9-0 at Grand Slams this year, and he dropped Gasquet to 0-13 all-time against top 2 players at the majors.
Eight aces and 38 winners were more than enough to aid Sinner on his path to victory, as Gasquet hit just 18 winners.
Sinner had glowing words for the veteran Gasquet – who played his first Roland-Garros in 2002, the year after the Italian was born.
“The atmosphere has been amazing. I know you guys were cheering for Richard, but it has been a very, very fair crowd,” he said. “He gave as a player, and still gives so much for tennis. It’s so nice to have him around … he’s still playing incredible tennis.”
But in the same breath, the Italian also delivered a veiled warning shot to his rivals. Though he hasn’t lost a set thus far, he thinks he can get even better. As he continues to rebound from a hip injury that affected his preparations for Roland-Garros, Sinner called the win “for sure, better” than his opening triumph against American Christopher Eubanks.
“We try to keep practising, keep trying to improve day-by-day,” he said. “I know I can still improve a couple of things, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Sinner will bid for a spot in the fourth round for the fourth time against Pavel Kotov, who beat Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday night.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
