Gasquet: "When you're younger, it's easier to come back ..."

From our special correspondent in Marseille,

Returned two weeks ago to Montpellier at the Open South of France, after having zapped the Australian tour due to an injury in the left knee, the former world 7th had thrown in the towel, in quarters against Vasek Pospisil, in due to abdominal pain. At Open 13, he dropped out and clearly lacked pace against the 57th player in the world. "I stopped 5, 6 days after Montpellier," he said at a press conference. I did not train last week. I had only done one leg training set since. And so I had no rhythm at the start of the match. ”

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Led 5-0 in the first set, he had a catastrophic start to the game, before pushing his 21-year-old opponent in a third set. The Habs did not go far from a refit in the final round where he was led 5-2 before picking up at 5-5, then breaking in 11th game. With only 50% of first ball, four service games conceded on the seven break points provided by the Swede, Gasquet was very inconsistent on his face-offs.

Falling back in 57th place, the Biterrois will not win the Open 13 for the first time, he who has never passed the semi-finals stage in Marseille. The 33-year-old player continues a long and difficult rehabilitation. Physical glitches have accumulated in recent years. Operated with an inguinal hernia on January 17, 2019, Gasquet had missed more than six months on the circuit. In March 2017, he also underwent appendicitis surgery ... "I'm far from my best level. It's normal. I have no frustration. I have no time and ranking goals. I try to do my best until it stops. When you're younger, it's easier to come back. But there there was a lot of pain. It weighs. ”

“When it's a recovery, it's always complicated. But I'm not physically “massacred” like in Montpellier. ”

The good news is that he was not let go by his body this time. “I was a little apprehensive. I was not moving well at the start of the match. When it's a recovery, it's always complicated. But I am not “massacred” physically like in Montpellier. But the main thing is that I am 100% physically and the level of play will be there. I have no doubt. I'm going to play in Dubai next week and training by then to ramp up. ”

Semi-finalist at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati last August, a level he had not reached in this category of tournament since 2013 in Miami, he had indeed proved that he still had beautiful leftovers.

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