Opposed to Stan Wawrinka in the first round of the Antwerp tournament, Richard Gasquet won in three sets, saving three match points in the second set.
As incredible as it may seem, Stan Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet, who are now over 35, had only faced each other three times in their career before Monday. The Biterrois had won their first match, at Bercy in… 2006, then the Swiss had won an epic battle (8-6 in the fifth set) at Roland-Garros in 2013, before Gasquet also won after a huge suspense (11-9 in the fifth set) at Wimbledon in 2015. Today, the two players are in the twilight of their careers and far in the standings, and they were opposed for the fourth time, in the first round in Antwerp. And it was the Frenchman (82nd) who beat the Swiss (193rd), after saving three match points: 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in 2h06.
Wawrinka (37), who remained on an abandonment in the semi-finals in Metz and an entry defeat in Astana against Adrian Mannarino, started the match perfectly by winning the first set thanks to breaks at 3-2 and 5- 2. In the second set, neither player got a break point, until 6-5 in favor of Wawrinka, on Gasquet’s serve. The Biterrois then had to defend three match points, and he succeeded, to push his opponent to the tie-break. A decisive game won 7-4 without shaking. Broken from the start of the third set, the Frenchman managed to equalize at 3-3, then take the service of the Swiss at the best moment, at 5-4, to clinch this great victory, the 585th of his career on the circuit. ATP! His next opponent will be the Dutchman van de Zandschulp or the Swiss Stricker. A good shot to play.
Four other French in the running
Also note this Monday the qualification of the seeded n ° 5 Dan Evans at the expense of the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor on the score of 6-3, 6-4 in 1:20 without losing his service. Four other French are competing in this Belgian tournament: Lucas Van Assche, Constant Lestienne, Manuel Guinard and Arthur Rinderknech.
