Stunning Nadal blows Gasquet away
By Guillaume Baraise and David Tutton
Friday, May 27, 2005
Fourth seed Rafael Nadal brushed aside French hope Richard Gasquet
6-4, 6-3, 6-2 Friday to march into the fourth round. In this much-awaited,
but eventually one-sided clash between two of the rising stars of the game,
Nadal was power personified and Gasquet inconsistency itself. With his
contemporary's challenge safely negotiated, the imposing Spaniard can now
eye the rest of the tournament with bullish confidence.
The French press had hyped this match to the hilt, and Philippe-Chatrier
Court was abuzz with feverish excitement as the two prodigious 18-year-olds
stride onto the court under a blazing mid-afternoon sun. Back from the
Champions League final, football legend Michel Platini was in the stands,
but just like the quipster in the stands who shouted "come on Liverpool!"
deep into the third set, he was hoping for a similarly improbable comeback
by the end.
Local hype aside, Rafael Nadal was the outstanding favourite coming into the
match. Five titles so far this season, including the ATP Masters Series
events in Monte-Carlo and Rome, were ample proof of his dominance on clay.
The young Mallorcan is feared by virtually everyone on the circuit, except,
possibly, by Richard Gasquet. The boy from Serignan has been mentioned in
the same breath as Nadal for years now, and has been reaching his potential
big time in recent months. A semi-final in Monte-Carlo followed by a run to
the final in Hamburg gave the home crowd belief that their man could
circumvent the Nadal battering ram.
The burning heat on centre court was never going to help the Frenchman
though, as Nadal's topspin drives immediately began to bounce high and
wide off the baking clay. Nerves were always going to be an issue too,
and a tight Gasquet let the first game slip to hand his rival the initiative.
Nadal the Gladiator was pumped up coming into the arena. Imagine his
excitement now as, up already, he began punching the air in characteristic
style.
That break was to prove decisive as Nadal served out to take the opening
set 6-4 in 43 minutes. Gasquet held his own, hitting some sweet forehands
to lift the crowd, but his backhand, fatally, was misfiring under Nadal's
wicked spin that often sent the ball above shoulder height.
Crumbling challenge
Gasquet was having trouble choosing the right time to attack. Patience should
have been the key, but the French kid was already beginning to wilt in the
crippling heat. Two tired double faults at the start of the second set
handed Nadal a break, and although Gasquet fought back to 1-1 with a
flying backhand volley, he was soon in trouble again.
He was broken again in the fifth game, and even though he valiantly attempted
to mix it up with serve and volley, Nadal responded with thumping drives at
his feet. Broken again to 5-3. Gasquet conceded the second set when the
Iberian hit an improbable backhand pass from three metres behind the
baseline. After just 1 hour 19 minutes, the darling of the Parisian tennis
scene found himself 2 sets down.
Gasquet's body language told the whole story now. Even when he scraped back
to 2-2 from 2-0 down, any casual observer could see the man in white was all
at sea. A barrage of unforced errors in the last four games (46 in all)
handed the match to Nadal, who looked far Gasquet's senior today. Few would
now bet against him on this form. As for Gasquet, providing he can add some
stamina and bite to his undeniably brilliant natural game, he will be back,
and way beyond the third round too.
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