Basel 2013: Richard Gasquet is latest victim in frantic race for London

Home favourites Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka have, not surprisingly been very much the centre of attention in the opening stages of the Swiss Indoors in Basel this week.

But as the final stages of Round 1 got under way, all eyes turned firmly on a Frenchman with the single-handed backhand and a touch with a racket that are the envy of many a tennis player. It was Richard Gasquet’s turn to brighten up a gloomy Wednesday in Basel but, more importantly, to press onwards with his challenge for a place at the ATP World Tour Finals.

It has been along time since the popular Gasquet has posed such a threat: Five years since he reached a career-high No7 and qualified for his only season-ending finale.

2013 has proved to be his best season since then, rising close to the level he first revealed as a precociously talented 20-year-old. The Gasquet flair first made headlines with a string of titles and two Masters finals at the age of 20, though the overture came a year before, at Monte Carlo in 2005. There, he played charismatic tennis to score a shock victory over No1 Federer, taking the third set in a tie-break, 10-8.

And so he became one of a succession of players—especially with that single-handed backhand—to be dubbed ‘the next Federer’ and he would go on to struggle with the pressure of fame and expectation.

A more serious and mature Gasquet gradually began the climb back up the rankings from some darker days at a ranking in the 80s, back inside 20 by 2011, closing in on the top 10 by the end of 2012 and, this year, arguably his best since 2007, he is closing in on London’s O2.

His 2013 started with titles in Doha and Montpellier. Then he beat Tomas Berdych to reach the semis of the Miami Masters, and David Ferrer to reach his first US Open semi-final. To firmly assert his intentions for London, he finally won the Moscow title last week, taking him past compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to No9 in the race.

He put his steady improvement down to greater consistency and physical condition, as he revealed the ATP website:

“I’ve worked a lot this year, especially physically. It’s important to do that because the season is very long, so you need to be strong physically. The improvement showed at the US Open, playing in three big matches in a row…I took big confidence from that because I beat big guys in five sets, two in a row (against Milos Raonic and Ferrer). So, for sure I took a lot of confidence after this tournament. It’s very difficult to say if I am better now [than in 2007]. I think so. I’m better physically and have more experience than before.”

That physical improvement has taken him to 48 match wins this season so far—and the only time he won more, 49, was in 2007. But it was a prescient comment, too: His heavy and successful schedule took their toll in Basel.

As luck would have it, Gasquet opened against another Frenchman, the 33-year-old Michael Llodra, and another man with a single-handed backhand, this time played on the left wing. And though the Llodra style of play is well known—one of the dying breed of serve-and-volley players on the tour—Gasquet had not played him for several years.

There should have been no surprises, but it appeared that the weariness from a packed autumn run—semis in Bangkok and Beijing before his Moscow win—and the pressure of London calling, had caught up with Gasquet, and Llodra’s fast game capitalised very quickly.

Gasquet survived a break point in the opening game, but watched a cracking backhand pass him down the line in the third for a break that and he never recovered. Llodra led, 6-4.

It was the elder Frenchman who looked more fragile at the start of the second set, two double faults offering a break point on his opener. But he held and drew two volley errors from Gasquet in the third game as the younger man looked to take control of the net. Llodra converted at the fourth attempt, and broke again to lead 5-2. An ace sealed the match and Gasquet was left to walk dejectedly from Basel with no points than he arrived with.

He afterwards admitted both to fatigue and disappointment:

“Sure I am feeling a little tired. To play well against Michael, with new conditions, new court and balls [and after a] hard flight too from Moscow, it’s not very easy. For sure a little bit tired.”

So it is to Paris that he turns for those precious points at the last Masters, the last qualifying tournament, of the year. And he must hold on to the confidence that has characterised his 2013 run thus far:

“Of course it is always disappointing when you lose but I played well since the US Open. I won one tournament, played well in Asia, and we will see now in Paris. Of course it is an important tournament, so I now need to recover and prepare.”

So Basel began, just three days ago, with four contenders playing for the four remaining London places. Three have gone with no extra points—Gasquet, Berdych, Wawrinka—leaving Federer a chance to make hay if he can.

Meanwhile top seed Juan Martin del Potro, already sure of his place in London, must feel increasingly comfortable about the prospects of defending his Basel title. All three seeds in his half—Wawrinka, Gasquet and also No7 Andreas Seppi—are gone. It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good.