Perhaps the best thing for Richard Gasquet, as he prepares to face the defending champion, Novak Djokovic, for a place in the final here, is that almost nobody expects or believes he will win. For a man who has spent a large chunk of his career inside the top 20, and been as high as No7, that may sound harsh. But his record of one win in 12 meetings with the world No 1, back in 2007, and just one set to his name since that victory, means Gasquet knows that he is the underdog. And that is how he likes it.
It is 10 years since an 18-year-old Gasquet shot to prominence when he beat Roger Federer in Monte Carlo. A prodigiously gifted junior, he had long been tipped for the top and with his one-handed backhand one of the most elegant, effective strokes in the game, he seemed set for big things. A semi-final appearance here in 2007 promised much but eight years on, Friday’s match is his third grand slam semi-final. His other semi-final was in the 2013 US Open, when he lost to Rafael Nadal. His ability has never been in question and his backhand is a thing of beauty, able to create pace, spin and angles that few others can match.
Slighter of build than players such as Nadal, his physical strength has been the subject of some criticism, and at the crucial moments in big matches he has often been found wanting. Handling the pressure has never been considered his forte but the way he coped with the final set of his quarter-final with Stan Wawrinka, when he failed to serve out at 5-3 in the fifth but won it 11-9, bodes well. At 29, the road to this point has been a long one and despite his woeful record against Djokovic, he wants to relish it.
“Novak is the favourite,” said Gasquet, who described himself as “the worst” of the four semi-finalists. “Everybody knows that. But I want to take my chance and we will see what will happen. I want to play a big game, try to be very aggressive. I want to enjoy it. It’s important for me to think I can win this match. That’s the most important thing, to go on the court and think you can win, it’s something I need to do on my mental part, to be there to win.”
When he was in the semi-finals in 2007, Gasquet was easily beaten by Federer. That experience, he hopes, will stand him in good stead. “I’m 29 now,” he said. “I was 21. I have more experience. I know what it means to be in the semis. It’s a long time I didn’t do it.”
Djokovic, who won here in 2011 and last summer, looks strong again as he tries to bounce back from his defeat by Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final, just as he did 12 months ago, recovering from defeat to Nadal in Paris. “Definitely it wasn’t easy to digest this loss in the finals against Stan,” he said. “I thought it was a great chance for me to win Roland Garros for the first time. But you’ve got to keep going. If there’s one thing I learnt from tennis it is the fact you have to recover so quickly. Try to use these losses, these particular experiences, as a way of getting stronger, encouraging yourself to be better. Last year was a pretty similar situation. I lost another close Roland Garros final against Rafa. Came here, won the title.
“I try not to take things for granted. I worked very hard to get myself in position to fight for the big trophies. I want to keep on going.”
