Roger Federer lashes out at Richard Gasquet in round three – BNP Paribas Masters 2011
Swiss maestro, Roger Federer, continues his ballistic run at the BNP Paribas Masters, in Paris, France, on Thursday evening, defeating the 16th seed Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, in the third round clash. The world number
four wrapped up victory in straight sets 6-2, 6-4, to move into the quarter-finals of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 1000 event.
Third seed Federer took just 66 minutes of play to dispose of the world number 20 in a convincing fashion. It was the 799th victory of his career and the Swiss will be looking to become just the seventh player in the
history of the game to reach 800 career wins on Friday evening.
30-year-old Swiss veteran came to Paris after successfully defending his Swiss Open Basel title last Sunday and has carried on his winning impetus in the Masters Series event since then. He suffered a narrow defeat at the hands
of Gasquet at the Rome Masters earlier this year but gave absolutely no chance to the Frenchman in Thursday’s contest, improving his record to 9-2 against him.
Federer fully capitalised on Gasquet’s sloppy start and raced through the opening set with the utmost ease to get one up early in the match. The 16th seed French posed some resistance to his opponent in the following
set but Federer proved too good for him in the end, wrapping up victory in straight sets to advance further in the tournament. Federer took off the match with a break point and nailed three more in the rest of the contest to come out as the winner in just
about an hour.
“I thought him coming back in the second set was something somewhat normal,” said Federer. “He had some great shot making there, but unfortunate for me. Those were some incredible forehands he hit there, and he deserved to come
back into the match then. For me it was key to stay calm and wait for my chance, and I was able to bounce right back. I think I made him work hard today and had good offensive plays, and I think that's what got me through today.”
Up next for Federer in the quarter-finals is the Valencia finalist, Juan Monaco of Argentina, for a place in the semis. The unseeded Argentine got a berth in the round of eight after the world number nine, Mardy Fish of the United
States, pulled out of the final set of the third round clash against him.
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