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2011 Internazionali BNL d’Italia: Roger Federer vs. Richard Gasquet – Preview

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2011 Internazionali BNL d’Italia: Roger Federer vs. Richard Gasquet – Preview

World number three, Roger Federer of Switzerland, is labouring hard to get back his vintage form and will compete against the 16th seed Richard Gasquet of France in the third round the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The
much awaited contest will take place at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, on Thursday afternoon, as the both competitors will battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 1000 tournament.
The former world number one has been pushed to the third spot in world rankings this year, as the magnificent performances form Novak Djokovic elevated him to the second position. It is said by many that Federer has lost his vintage
class over the past few months but the Swiss Maestro is still considered to be one of the most lethal opponent of all. Federer had a brilliant start to his campaign at Rome, winning his second round clash against the world number 18, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of
France, in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, to qualify for the third round of the tournament.
The other French competitor, Gasquet, crushed his second round opponent Igor Andreev of Russia 6-1, 6-2, to meet Federer in the next round. Gasquet also registered an assertive victory in the opening round at Rome, defeating Albert
Montanes of Spain 6-2, 6-3. The Frenchman looks in a great form and will certainly like to carry on his winning momentum in the third round as well.
The 29-year-old Swiss veteran has beaten Gasquet a number of times in the past and leads the head-to-head record against him by 8-1. The French registered his only victory against the Swiss Maestro way back in 2005, when he faced
Federer for the first time and outplayed him in a three-set-thriller. Federer has never lost to Gasquet after that and is running eight-match winning streak against him. The most recent encounter they had was in Dubai earlier this year, with Federer accomplishing
a hard-fought victory over the French at 6-2, 7-5.
Federer and Gasquet have played against each other only two times on clay surface, with both men winning one match a piece. The Swiss was stretched a bit in their last matchup at Dubai and had to work hard to conclude straight
sets victory in the semi-finals. Gasquet might get some hope from their last encounter, when he gave a tough time to Federer but failed to cash in his opportunities to lose the game.
The world number three took off the current year by winning an ATP championship title at the Qatar Open but his form has deteriorated significantly thereafter. Federer hasn’t reached the final of any ATP tournament since the Qatar
Open and has suffered a number of defeats against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic this year. The typical aggression is missing from Federer’s game these days but he still is among the most difficult opponent to beat on any surface. Gasquet might not be successful
against the world number three player but one thing is for sure that Federer will have to work hard for victory.

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