GASQUET LOSES OUT

Richard Gasquet has been defeated by Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in the first round of Marseille Open. Muller won the match by 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(7/5).

This was a thriller of a match. Both the players kept fighting till the end, but, it was Muller who pulled it off eventually.

Gasquet was in a great position at one point of time. After coming back into the match by winning the second set, he was leading by 5-2 in the final set. But, suddenly, he lost the plot and let the game drift away from him.

Gasquet was going through a dream run before this tournament. Out of the last 17 matches that he had played, he had won 15. So, he was high on confidence coming into this match. But, he looked completely out of sorts in the opening set. He was thrashed by his opponent in the first set. But, the way he came back in the second set, it seemed that he has got back into rhythm now and he would dominate in the third set.

Gasquet started the third set in a dominating fashion, but, by playing some lose shots towards the end, he gave his opponent the opportunity to tie the scores. The set went into the tie breaker in which Gasquet again played some erratic shots and lost the match.

In the post match interview, Gasquet said, “I hadn’t expected to lose after getting ahead by 5-2 in the final set. But, it’s my fault. I really committed a lot of mistakes towards the end and that’s why, I am out of the tournament. It really hurts when you lose a match after getting into such a good position.”

In the second round, Muller will take on Marcel Granollers of Spain.