Petits As tournament in Tarbes, in 1999. This competition, known for revealing the talents of tomorrow, saw Richard Gasquet play against Rafael Nadal. The two men were only 13 years old and the Biterrois was awaited as the Messiah by French tennis, perpetually in search of the “new Yannick Noah” – as he always was of the “future Zinédine Zidane” -, last of his country to have won a Grand Slam, and at Roland Garros please.
“It was probably the most special confrontation,” Nadal recalled a few years ago. Because it was the first time and Gasquet was incredible. I stood out at that age in Spain, but I hadn’t played much outside of it. It was an exciting match: 6-4 in the 3rd set, a very good experience. Even though I lost, I remember it with great affection.”
Four years before, the Blue had already made the front page of Tennis Magazinewith the question: “Richard G., the champion that France is waiting for?” Four years later, Gasquet once again claimed the scalp of “Rafa” during a Future tournament in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. His last victory over the Mallorcan, whom he never beat on the main circuit afterwards. The almost final result is crazy: 18 to 0 and only three sets left on the way.
At the start of all this among the pros, there was the 2005 Monte Carlo tournament. The time for the revelation to the general public. Richard Gasquet has been panicking tennis fans for several years now. But this time, it was serious. Against Nadal, on Monegasque Central, in the semi-final. The Frenchman started well, before breaking down at the end: game, set and match Rafael Nadal: 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
All these memories and this endless series of defeats will accompany Gasquet all his life, much more than the fourth match of the 2014 Davis Cup final, when he was atomized “four, two and two” by a Roger Federer on a mission .
The story is definitely a tease. Because on Thursday, when the press agencies began to announce the retirement of the 38-year-old Frenchman after the next Roland-Garros at 7:05 a.m., he made the front page of the French media and specialized sites for a time. Only a few hours, because at 11 hours and 44 minutes, the height of irony, a certain Rafael Nadal announced the end of his sporting career, after the next Davis Cup final.
The alerts on smartphones keep coming, all the media in the world are talking about the subject and… out of the window Richard Gasquet. We should have suspected that. It was almost written in fact.
