GLORIOUS GASQUET FOILS STAN SLAM PLAN
Richard Gasquet won an epic fivesetter on court No 1 to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal since 2007, holding his nerve to eliminate French Open champion stan Wawrinka in a battle of the single-handed backhanders.
By prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11- 9, the world No 20 denied Wawrinka the chance of a calendar year slam double in Paris and London achieved in the Open era only by rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, rafael Nadal and roger Federer.
Wawrinka was also hoping to become the only swiss man besides Federer to reach a Wimbledon semi-final. But he made 14 unforced errors in a poor first set, and even after going ahead 2-1 in sets as Gasquet wobbled, he could not keep hold of the lead. Wawrinka’s first double fault of the match handed Gasquet the fourth set.
the 20-game decider took 83 minutes, and Gasquet was never behind, eventually setting up three match points and converting the third of them when Wawrinka smacked a forehand long.
‘i wanted to win,’ said Gasquet, sweat still dripping off his face. ‘But it was tough for me. i made some mistakes. he had big confidence after Paris and i had to fight. i really wanted to win. it’s a great feeling as it’s a big match.’
at times in the past, there have been question marks over the Frenchman’s mental toughness, and accusations that he has been, on occasion, a choker.
When he arrived on the scene he was heralded as his country’s brightest talent in generations. But more than a decade on, his best Grand slam results have been two semi-finals, here eight years ago and then at the us Open in 2013.
any suggestion he lacks bottle now was shredded dded last night as he remained ed fiercely competitive to o the last. ‘it came down to mental strength,’ he said.
‘i was aggressive and it was a great battle.’ at almost every change of end he altered the strapping on his racket. t. ‘Maybe it’s a bit of supererstition,’ he explained.
World No 4 Wawrinkaa was exhausted by the end. ‘the fifth set was a good level of play but before that it was up and down,’ he said.
‘i wasn’t playing my best and missing some shots. the fifth set was better but there was tension on both sides.’
Gasquet’s previous semi- final here ended in a straight-sets defeat by Federer. his only other slam semi-final went the same way — a 3- 0 hammering by eventual us Open champion Nadal.
Gasquet now faces top seed Novak djokovic for a place in the final. ‘it will be tough but i’m happy with how i’ve played today and i’ll try to play my best again against the best player in the world,’ Gasquet said.
his record against opponents ranked in the top 10 did not suggest he stood a huge chance of upsetting Wawrinka. Gasquet had lost 15 of his last 16 matches against leading players, his only win being against world No 6 tomas Berdych in the davis cup last year.
Gasquet’s all- time 1- 6 record against top-10 players on grass hardly gave reason for optimism, either. that said, his one such win before yesterday was an epic five-setter against andy roddick in the quarter-finals here in 2007.
Whatever happens this week, he will be playing on grass in London for a few more days yet. he is part of the French davis cup team to face Great Britain at queen’s club next week. the backhands of both these men can be devastating when on beautiful, brutal form. But Wawrinka was out of sorts in the first set and Gasquet punished his string of unforced errors. the second set was decided in the 10th game with Gasquet serving at 30-all. he contributed his first double fault of the match to hand Wawrinka a set point.
the swiss did not take that chance but a few points later a Gasquet error handed him another, and then a second double fault gifted Wawrinka the set.
a single break of serve in the third set gave Wawrinka the lead as he took control, volleying assuredly at the net with Gasquet taking his turn to falter. But in the fourth set the momentum changed, Wawrinka’s double fault sending the match to a fifth set, and a night to remember for the Frenchman.