The Frenchman lost in three tight sets against Tommy Paul during the first round of the Masters 1000 at Paris-Bercy on Monday.
A stunning match. The first round of the Masters 1000 at Paris-Bercy began Monday October 30, with the entry into the running of several players from France, including Richard Gasquet. The 68th player in the world faced number 12 in the ATP rankings, Tommy Paul. At the end of a match full of twists and turns lasting more than two hours, the 37-year-old veteran fell to the American in three sets (0-6, 6-2, 7-6).
Richard Gasquet gave the semi-finalist of the last Australian Open a hard time. He was trailing 2-5 in the third set, but pushed by a boiling Bercy arena, the Biterrois took Tommy Paul to the tie-break. While he had three match points, the Tricolore, who were playing their 16th Bercy, finally lost in this decisive game (8-6), to end a day without success for the French.
Zero out of four for the French
Indeed, no French player has managed to make it past the first round. French number one Adrian Mannarino fell against qualifier Botic Van De Zandschulp (6-4, 7-5). Alexandre Muller, invited, also fell against another qualifier, the Russian Roman Safiullin (7-6, 6-3), while the young hopeful Luca Van Assche (19 years old, 69th in the world) lost in three sets against Laslo Djere (6-7, 6-4, 6-4).
In the other posters of the day, the number 13 seed, Australian Alex De Minaur, got the better of Andy Murray in three sets (7-6, 4-6, 7-5). The Americans, for their part, experienced a mixed evening. The 9th world player Taylor Fritz outclassed Sebastian Baez (6-1, 6-4). On the other hand, his compatriots Frances Tiafoe (n°14) and Ben Shelton (n°15) are already leaving the tournament. The first named fell to Alexander Bublik (6-3, 6-4) while Ben Shelton lost to Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (7-6, 5-7, 6-3).
Tuesday, Gaël Monfils, titled in Stockholm eight days ago, and Arthur Fils, will try to restore the French image respectively against Francisco Cerundolo (around 3:30 p.m.) and Daniel Altmaier (around 12:30 p.m.).