Looking back on his magnificent career in an interview given to our colleagues atEurosportRichard Gasquet inevitably returned to what he seems to consider as a small trauma, namely his presence on the cover of Tennis Magazine at only 9 years old. Excerpts.
You are often described as humble, thoughtful, logical, tactical, with a real knowledge of the game, of your opponents, of the world around you. Do you think that with a form of carelessness, almost unconsciousness, that would have allowed you to overcome milestones, to break a glass ceiling or…
Richard Gasquet: (He cuts) Yes, but I couldn't be careless about it, it's impossible. With the history I've had, with everything I've had on my shoulders, my precociousness, that kind of thing, carelessness cannot exist. I think I was the most followed guy in history between 10 and 20 years. So you can't be careless, it's not possible. I had a bit of it when I was young, obviously, I played very well, everything was going well. But I still had to struggle with it. When you are young, when you are a teenager… Maybe it is specific to France but Roland-Garros, the media… So I couldn't live with carelessness. If there was one guy who really couldn't, it's me. And I actually find that I didn't do too badly in relation to that. Afterwards, humility, yes, I think I could have had a little more, perhaps, a certain form of natural confidence, a bit American. It sure would have helped me…
Published on Wednesday January 8, 2025 at 3:53 p.m.
France
Tennis
