Richard Gasquet overwhelms Olivier Rochus in second round – Moselle Open 2011
Rated at number 15 in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Rankings, Richard Gasquet of France proved absolutely merciless in disposing of the 80th ranked Belgian, Olivier Rochus, in the second round of
the Moselle open on Thursday night.
The contest was staged on the indoor hard courts of the Arenes de Metz, in Metz, France, with the second seeded French native registering a belligerent 6-2, 6-1, victory against the unseeded Belgian. Gasquet took just 65 minutes
to wrap up his straight sets victory and booked a berth in the quarter-rounds of the ATP World Tour 250 event.
“I started well which put me in great conditions in the match right away,” Gasquet reflected in his post match reviews. “I think I served really well and did very few unforced errors. This is a great first round for me and I expect
a very difficult match tomorrow against Gilles Muller.”
It was a completely one-sided affair, with the Gasquet dominating every bit of the contest. The second seed banged in 10 thudding aces in the matchup and dropped just three points on his serve to outplay the bleak Belgian in the
competition. Gasquet reeled off 28 out of 31 first serve points en route to victory, while Rochus lagged far behind with merely 11 out of 27 points to finish on the losing side in the end.
The Frenchman extended his three-match winning streak against Rochus with his 33rd victory in the running ATP season on Thursday. Gasquet leads the all-time head-to-head series against the Belgian by 6-2 and earned a
place in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final since early May this year.
The second seed converted four of his six break opportunities in the matchup to come out as the winner, with his Belgian opponent utterly failing to register a single one. Rochus had a vital break opportunity in the second set
but he squandered it away to remain on the back foot in the game. Gasquet nailed two serve breaks in each set to outplay Rochus from the competition with the utmost ease and marched into the round of eight at the Moselle Open.
Gasquet will take on the eighth seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in his next round clash to fight for a place in the semi-final draws. Muller registered a straight sets victory, 7-6(5), 6-4, against the French wildcard, Benoit
Paire, in the second round to meet Gasquet in the quarter-finals.
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