Richard Gasquet downs Marcel Granollers in the round of 64 – French Open 2011
French number two Richard Gasquet, placed at 16th spot in the 2011 ATP Rankings, came back from a set down to battle past world number 47, Spanish Marcel Granollers in four sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the second round
of French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Wednesday. The match lasted for two hours and 59 minutes.
Granollers broke Gasquet in the opening game of the first set but the French broke back immediately to level the score at 1-1. The Spaniard broke the home favourite again in the fifth game and this time he did not allow the French
to break back, serving out the set at 5-4.
In the second set, Gasquet took the lead straightaway as he broke Granollers in the second game, taking a 3-0 lead. The French capitalized on the single break of serve and won the set 6-3.
The 24-year-old broke the Spaniard in the first game of the third set and held his serve in the next game to take a 2-0 lead. Gasquet broke again in the seventh game and serve out the set in the next game, clinching it 6-2.
Just like the third set, the French broke his opponent in the very first game of the fourth set. Backed by his home crowd, Gasquet forced Granollers to trail throughout the set as he did not allow the Spaniard to break back. The
six feet and one inch tall held his serve at 5-4 to clinch the fourth set and match. The French hit 44 winners and committed 23 unforced errors in total.
Gasquet recently altered his style of play and the change paid dividends as the he beat Swiss Maestro Roger Federer in three sets 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in the third round at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia last month.
The French said, at the start of the French Open, "Sometimes I play less well, so I play behind the baseline. It's not really my best type of tennis, but sometimes I don't feel my shots are good enough. It's not the best solution,
so I try to move forward to the net so that I can have more winners."
Gasquet has brought more aggression in his game under his newly hired coach Sebastian Grosjean, who is a former French top player.
In his interview, the right-handed said, "With Sebastien as well I feel good. And I play better, I think. Now time is flying by and I've gained experience. I'll try and continue on the same tracks. In the future, this is the type
of style I need to have. To move forward is what I need to do, to move into the court."
Gasquet is slated to take on Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, ranked 25th in the world, in the third round.
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