Rolex Paris Masters | Richard Gasquet: “It’s hard to say goodbye”

From Gaston Gaudio in 2003 to Zizou Bergs, 21 years later, it was Richard Gasquet‘s odyssey at the Rolex Paris Masters. Thirty-two matches, as many successes as defeats (16), matches against Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer or Andy Murray, whom he had beaten in 2007 to reach the semi-finals, his best result at Bercy, then the Masters. In two decades, Gasquet could have prepared for the end. But even he, at 38 years old, was surprised by the way he approached this final “Bercy”.

We always hope these idols get in one last dance. Like Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for his last Roland-Garros, Richard Gasquet was a little short this Tuesday. Unlike his friend, the former “little Mozart of tennis” still stands firmly on his two legs but his body no longer allows him to play at the level he would like. “I find myself 130th in the worldhe notes. That’s why I’m stopping. Otherwise, I would continue“. Gasquet will do everything to play his best tennis, in Montpellier, Marseille, Monte-Carlo or Roland-Garros, but he has discovered the other obstacle that will stand before him by the end of his career.

“I was a little tense on the courthe admitted to our microphone. Knowing that it’s the last is a new experience. It’s not that easy.” He who loves tennis above all else cannot hide the fact that he will no longer play it as a professional in a few months and that wherever he goes, he does it for the last time. Bercy was the first stage, Roland-Garros the last.We wish this moment never came. We would like to play tennis all our lives“, he told the public in a small ceremony organized for him.

“It’s hard to say goodbyehe continued later at a press conference. I spent half my life playing professional matches on courts.” Bercy saw him arrive at 17, full of promise. The public was not always kind to the one we imagined even higher but they ended up understanding that it was necessary to take advantage of one of the most beautiful setbacks on the circuit.special“in the”most beautiful indoor room in the world“, Gasquet greeted him: “It’s all thanks to you. You have given me extraordinary sensations all my life, if I have been able to experience all of this, it is thanks to you. It’s a lot of emotion to find myself here again.”

Like a symbol which undoubtedly owes nothing to chance, Gasquet succeeded Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, the two heads currently standing out in the French succession. The future obviously belongs to them and, despite themselves, they remind Gasquet that a gap has opened up between him and the new generation. “It’s quite strange for me to be on the field after Arthur and Giovannihe said. They’re 21, I’m 38. Sometimes I lose track.”

And Gasquet recounts an anecdote which says a lot about his relationship with himself in the current world of tennis: “There are guys, I’m twice their age. Juncheng Shang, the Chinese guy who is going to be very, very strong, he says to me: ‘Fuck, you’re 38, I’m 19.’ When a guy says that to me… He doesn’t give me a straight shot, but it takes me five minutes to realize that he’s right. During my first Roland-Garros, I remember warming up with Cédric Pioline in 2002. Today, it’s me playing with guys aged 18-19-20, it’s special.“Yes, it’s special and it’s a sign that it will soon be the end. Until then, we must make the most of it.