Richard Gasquet dismisses Florian Mayer in the first round – Rogers Cup 2011
Tenth seed Richard Gasquet of France outclassed world number 23 Florian Mayer of Germany in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 64 at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Tuesday. The French needed just an hour and nine minutes to overpower his opponent in a one-sided clash.
Gasquet took off to a very good start as he broke Mayer in the second game of the first set, winning his next service game to take a 3-0 lead. The Frenchman did not allow his opponent to break back and capitalised on the break of serve to clinch the set 6-3.
The right-handed kept his first serve percentage at 58 percent and smacked four aces in the first set. The French converted sixteen of the 21 first serves and eight of the fifteen second serves into points. In comparison, Mayer delivered a meagre 39 percent of the first serves and a single ace in the opening set. The German, however, had a decent conversion rate, winning seven of the nine points on the first serve and seven of the fourteen points on the second serve in the first set. The Bayreuth resident availed one of the three break point chances he received and saved the two breaks points he faced in the opening set.
With winning momentum on his side, Gasquet bulldozed his opponent as he broke the German in the third and fifth game of the second set, racing to a 5-1 lead. Mayer succeeded in holding his serve in the seventh game to reduce the trail to 2-5 but he could not break Gasquet in the next game, losing the set 2-6.
The French delivered 46 percent of the first serves, hitting two aces and committing a single double fault in the second set. The six feet and one inch tall captured most of the points on the serve, winning eleven of the twelve first service points and seven of the fourteen second service points. Gasquet managed to save the three break points he faced on his own serve and capitalised two of the three break point opportunities he created on Mayer’s serve in the second set.
After the match, the Frenchman said, "I went through a period when I was losing matches, but I still practised a lot. Little by little I started playing better and winning matches. The victories added up and I became more and more confident."
Gasquet is slated to take on world number 36 Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil in the second round.
Tags: