Alcaraz made gentleman Gasquet 'look old' in straight-sets victory
When Richard Gasquet first played at the Australian Open as a 17-year-old, Carlos Alcaraz was not yet born.
When they met on court at the Australian Open the years were telling. As John McEnroe noted after the straight sets (7-6, 6-1, 6-2) victory, “you made him look old”.
Carlos Alcaraz is congratulated by Richard Gasquet following their first round match at the Australian Open.Credit: AP
He was not wishing to sound unkind or uncharitable to such an enduring talent as Gasquet, but some things could not be ignored.
As a teenager at the 2003 Australian Open, Gasquet was one of the faces of the new crop of players. He never became the face of that generation, staying in the shadows of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, but for an astonishing 843 weeks he remained in the top 100 players. On Monday, he dropped out.
Gasquet was a top ten player. He never won a grand slam, but three times made grand slam semi-finals. This was his 73rd grand slam event. Only two players – Federer and Feliciano Lopez with 81 – have played at more grand slams than him (and Djokovic) in the history of the game. Its doubtful he will be back in Melbourne next year.
Alcaraz is the next generation. No, he is this generation. He is ranked two in the world, beat Djokovic to win Wimbledon last year and already has two slam titles to his name. The query about him is only how many titles he might add in a year not if he might win one.
He didn’t get to the Australia Open last year; an injury saw to that. He comes here this year without a query on injury but a mild question on his preparation: he hasn’t played a warm-up tournament.
Gasquet was determined to try to make it hard for the smiling Spaniard to rediscover his rhythm again. The veteran played aggressively, with bold shot choice early and a punishing serve in the opening set, understanding that a longer match would not favour the older man.
It didn’t. One long first set was enough to undo him.
The saturated shirt after just four games in the first set suggested the work Gasquet needed to put in to take it to the athletic and younger Alcaraz. In his sleeveless shirt, last year’s muscular Wimbledon champion looked and played, well, cooler.
Carlos Alcaraz plays a backhand return to Richard Gasquet.Credit: AP
After 72 minutes and a set that had to go to a tie-break, Alcaraz finally prevailed.
The next set was less confronting; 6-1, it took just half an hour, he then closed it out 6-2, albeit labouring over match points.
As John McEnroe noted after the match, not unkindly though it might have sounded as much, “you made him look a little old there at the end, but he is a good player, no he has been a great player”.
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Alcaraz was just as appreciative of the Frenchman whose single-handed backhand is just behind Federer’s as the most elegant and damaging in the game.
“His backhand is crazy. It’s crazy,” Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz is a double-handed backhander but his game is not characterised by one shot. He has all the shots, and he likes to use them not just to win the point but to win the crowd.
“Sometimes I want to hit shots just to impress the crowd. Making unbelievable drop shots … it’s playing for myself but I just want to make people enjoy tennis watching my game hitting some shot people do not expect,” he said.
“Sometimes I do not see the score and try to make impossible shots just for the crowd.”
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