Here is an interview from Richard. It makes interesting reading and will translate when I have a few moments.

Pour Richard Gasquet, la France ne part pas favorite contre la Russie en quart de finale de la Coupe Davis. Le Biterrois reconnaît aussi que, pour l'instant, il lui "manque un petit truc" par rapport aux joueurs du Top 10 mais il ne veut cependant pas brûler les étapes.

RICHARD GASQUET, comment gérez-vous la transition de la tournée américaine sur dur à la terre battue à Moscou?

R.G: Ca fait bizarre de se retrouver sur terre battue si vite. Les premiers matches sur cette surface sont toujours délicats et comme c'est la Coupe Davis, il va falloir être prêt d'entrée. Mais je m'habitue assez rapidement, plus vite que les Russes je pense, même si le terrain ici, ce n'est vraiment pas bon et qu'il y a des faux rebonds partout!

Sur le papier, ce quart de finale face à la Russie a des allures de mission impossible ?

R.G: Ils forment la meilleure équipe du monde. Ils ont gagné au Chili sans Davydenko et Youzhny. C'est énorme de se priver du 4e et du 17e mondial et d'aller gagner là-bas sur terre battue contre Gonzalez et Massu. On va devoir se battre. Je pense qu'on a 30% de chances de gagner, pas plus.

Ressentez-vous une pression particulière en tant que leader de cette équipe ?

R.G: Je n'ai pas l'impression d'être attendu au tournant, car on n'est pas favori et qu'on joue à l'extérieur. Vendredi, je pense que c'est Safin qui va jouer et je ne partirai pas favori contre lui. Sur terre battue et en Coupe Davis, il a toujours été là.

Alors que vous battez systématiquement les joueurs moins bien classés, vous coincez encore face aux meilleurs...

R.G: C'est vrai, je joue à ma place. Mais, franchement, je n'ai pas eu de chance ces derniers temps. J'ai fait des bons matches mais je suis tombé sur des joueurs en grande forme, comme Roddick à Indian Wells ou Canas à Miami.

A part la réussite, qu'est-ce qui vous manque par rapport à eux ?

R.G: Un tout petit truc, soit dans la tête, soit physiquement, soit par manque d'expérience dans les moments importants. Je perds souvent les tie-breaks sur des petites choses, une attaque mal négociée, une volée ratée. Mais je ne me sens pas inférieur à ces joueurs, je sais que si je continue à m'entraîner, à être sérieux, je vais les battre.

Vous n'êtes par inquiet ?

R.G: Non car je suis sur la bonne voie, je connais mes défauts et mes qualités, je sais comment travailler. Je pose pierre après pierre. Faire un coup de temps en temps ne veut rien dire. Je préfère battre régulièrement les joueurs en-dessous. Après je sais qu'il faudra viser plus haut mais il n'y a aucune raison que je n'y arrive pas.

Vous attaquez une période très intéressante puisque vous n'avez pratiquement aucun point à défendre d'ici la saison sur gazon...

R.G: Oui, je pense que sur terre battue je vais en battre quelques uns. J'espère juste ne pas me blesser comme l'année dernière où j'ai dû m'arrêter pendant six semaines avant Roland-Garros. Si je reste en bonne santé, j'ai tout pour bien jouer. J'ai trois Masters Series et un Grand Chelem pour grappiller des points et pourquoi pas intégrer le Top 10. Je ne suis pas loin.

Que vous inspirent les résultats récents de Djokovic et Murray, des jeunes comme vous ?

R.G: Murray, jusqu'à preuve du contraire, j'ai fait des meilleures résultats que lui, j'ai fait une finale d'un Masters Series, pas lui. J'ai quatre titres, lui deux. Il est 11e mondial, moi 15e, c'est pareil. Quant à Djokovic, il a effectivement bien joué dernièrement, mais je ne me sens pas en dessous. Autant Nadal je ne dis pas, il est vraiment très fort, autant Murray et Djokovic je me sens largement à leur niveau. On parle beaucoup d'eux en ce moment, mais il faut arrêter de surfer sur un phénomène de mode.

Que voulez-vous dire ?

R.G: A chaque fois on ressort un joueur. En 2005, Berdych gagne Bercy et c'est lui la star. Puis Gaël (Monfils) fait la finale à Doha et deux jours plus tard t'as un sondage qui dit qu'il va finir plus fort que Gasquet. Tout ça après seulement un tournoi! Sur ce Baghdatis va en finale de l'Open d'Australie... il faut arrêter de regarder les coups. Une carrière, c'est long et tu ne sais jamais ce qui peut se passer. Les comptes on les fera dans cinq ans, pas avant.

C'est vrai...it is quite interesting... I always thought he seemed like a boy with keen sense of his place in the large scheme of things....

He is indeed level headed... hopeful it will translate to longevity in his tennis career.... nice guy :)

Yes. I always liked the way he presented himself to the journalists and never sounded immature like some other players may have at times especially in their youth. However, there is a mixture of confidence and lack off that is intriguing.

Some of us dont read,speak or Understand French... :angry:

I'm starting to regret dropping it at school now! :blink:

I;m sure when Tenez gets the chance he'll translate it for those of us who never quite managed to get past learning how to say 'My name is......' :P

It's an interesting article and I think the beginning especially shows us why Gasquet isn't winning enough.


His attitude's all wrong.....he needs more confidence, you don't win GSs by claiming you only have a 30% chance of winning a tie.....

Here is "MY" English version.

Richard Gasquet, How do you handle the transition from the US HC to the Russian clay?

R.G: It’s strange to find yourself so suddenly on clay. The first matches on that surface are always delicate and as it is the DC we will have to be ready from the start. But I get used to it quite easily, probably more so than the Rusians even if the court is not good, uneven with bad bounces everywhere.

On paper, this encounter against Russia seems “mission impossible”.

R.G: They are the best team in the world. They won in Chile without Davydenko and Youshny. It’s quite impressive to be able to afford dropping the number 4 and 17th in the world and still win an away match against Gonzalez and Massu on clay! We will have to battle it it hard. We have 30% chance of winning, no more

Do you feel special pressure as leader of the French team?

R.G: I don’t think people are putting too much expectation as we are not favourite and playing away. Friday, I believe Safin will play first and I won’t be favourite against him. On clay and in DC he has always delivered.

Though you consistently beat lower ranked players, you are still struggling against the top players.

R.G: It is true that I play as well as my ranking (15). But frankly I have been unlucky those last weeks. I ve had some good matches but fell against in form players such as Roddick in IW or Canas in Miami.

Besides a bit of luck, what do you need to do to beat those top players?

R.G: A little something obviously, either in my head or physically, or lack of experience in the important moments. I often lose tie-breaks over little things such as a badly negotiated attack, missed volley. But I don’t feel I am inferior to those players, I know if I carry on training seriously, I will beat them.

Are you not worried?

R.G: No because I am on the right path. I know my weaknesses and strengths and how to work/improve. I lay stone by stone. Making a big run from time to time does not mean much. I prefer to beat consistently players below me then target those above me and there is no reason why I could not succeed.

You are entering an interesting period with very little points to defend before the grass season.

R.G: yes, I feel that on clay I am going to beat a few players. I only hope I won’t get injured like last year when I had to stop 6 weeks before the French Open. If I keep in good shape, I have every reason to do well. I have 3 TMSs and a slam where I can grab a few points and why not get into the top 10. I am not that far off.

In which way could recent results from Djokovic and Murray inspire you?

R.G. Until proven otherwise, I have had better results than Murray. I have a Masters finale (in fact 2), he has none, I have 4 titles, he has 2. he is 11th I am 15th so not much difference here. Regarding Djoko, he has played pretty well recently but I do not feel inferior. But with Nadal, it is different as he is really strong but against Noval and Andy I feel very much at the same level. We talk a lot about them at the moment but we should stop surfing the “fashion wave”.

What do you mean?

R.G: Every time we pick on a new player and hail him as the great new thing. In 2005 , it was Berdych after winning the Paris TMS, then it’s Gael who reaches the Doha’s final and 2 days later a survey says he will end up stronger than Gasquet. All this after one tournament only. Then comes Bagdhatis reaching the AO final. We shold stop looking at those big “coups” . A career is long and noone knows what will happen next. We will look at the balance statement in 5 years, not before.

woudl not read too much into this. Nadal is the master at playing down his chances and often delivers. It does not mean Gasquet is going to deliver but simply trying to release pressure.

Hi all (Thanks a lot Tenez :bow: ),

So, I will use the Tenez work ( I was doing my own translation but the man is quick :) ..)

Stupid answer by Richard here :yikes: : Come on!! To show that you are in the right track you have to beat in particular the players who are at their top form...Man, you cannot win if you are not able to beat the top players at least once during an important tourney...Gasquet please what a cr@p answer here...

Agree with you Gasquet man: You lack of experience and this is a problem..Nevertheless this is not an excuse that you will be able to use forever...You have to perform man: Move on!! Here :yikes: Darky is waiting for you (And Darky is not so patient roflmao )

And now this is the best part..

Gasquet is basically saying: It is pointless to compare us, young guns week after week: The real comparison need to be done when our career will be over only then we will see how is the best...Richard...Are you really discovering hot water Man roflmao ...

Nevertheless, I like him in these two last answers because he is pointing out that some hype on young guns are just ridiculous and depend on very few results..

In some sense, once again, he is saying to us: wait and see and you will see, that I have more Tennis than Murray and Djoko :whistle: ...

I agree with him concerning Murray I doubt concerning Djoko :rolleyes: ...

I actually fancy his chances against Safin in Moscow. He beat Haas convincingly in Germany. In DC he has always been strong as he feels part of a team. That is in my view he real weakness. Alone on a court, he wanders and feels vulnerable. WIth Forget next to him, he is a different animal.

You might be right TV but he reached 2 TMS finals and was unfortunate to meet in both occasions an in form Federer not a tired Canas!

Imagine if Djoko gets injured - God forbid - then it would be unfair to dismiss him in the furture, would he?

Besides a bit of luck, what do you need to do to beat those top players?

R.G: A little something obviously, either in my head or physically, or lack of experience in the important moments

The best part of this is that is shows Gasquet is at least aware of his misgivings.

He undoubtedly has the skill to do decent things, and reading that has confirmed to me he has the attitude. Now let's see him put the two together and do something great!

Quite an interesting article and thanks Tenez,my friend,for the translation.
It seems that he has his head screwed on right.I love the comments about Murray and they hype factor with Novak and Marcos but once off big wins in general.He is right on the money....

If only he could start playing like he has promised by the media....

Whilst I agree Gasquet is up there with the other two, he 'conveniently' forgot to mention that he's a year older than both of them, so whilst he has better results than Murray, he has had an extra year to get them (even if 4 months of that was spent injured).

Yes but Gasquet was ranked number 12 more than a year ago. Got to his TMS finals respectively 2 years and 7 months ago and got his 4 titles when he was Murray's age. So he has a point.

I'm a big fan of Gasquet but that response is just complacent.

He may have more titles than Murray and not be ranked too far behind either of them but his record against top 10 players is a terrible 2-18 (or thereabouts) while Murray's is 9-7 (again can't remember the excact number but it is very close to that).

So far Gasquet has shown himself capable of some occasional great weeks but until he starts showing his best form against the top 10 and actually winning some of those matches he's not going to be a major challenger on a consistent basis.

He may not like it but both Murray & Djokovic have left him behind at the moment.

Sorry but I feel like defending my compatriot here (I did not realise I was that nationalisitic until I joined a board) ;)

As discussed before, Murray played with the top 2 (Federer and Nadal) only 3 times, while Gasquet for instance played them 8 times. This makes a big impact on the stats versus the top 10 considering how dominant the top 2 are versus the rest of the top 10.

If you take the figures against the top 3 to 10 then Murray is 9/9 (including last match against Roddick injured). Gasquet is 5/6, so very similar.

There is always more to read in simple stats.

Perhaps but then you're playing fast & loose with stats as well aren't you?

Gasquet only has two wins over players who were in the top 10 when he played them - Blake last year & Federer in 2005.

Career wins over current top 10 players whether they were in the top 10 or not is a bit of a dubious stat.

I'm not saying he can't beat these people just that he doesn't have the consistency that Murray & Djokoivc have been showing this year.

1 semi final this year is hardly that impressive.

Ok - I was just using the stats Scotguy provided last week.

Make Murray 9/10 aginst the top 3-10 then as he lost last week against a top 10.... From what I saw over the last 2 weeks my money would still be on Gasquet.

Murray did well to save MPs against Haas and PHM in IW and Miami while Gasquet did badly to waste BPs against Roddick and Canas (5 in the first set alone), but we know that one point there and then can change the whole outcome of a match and is often down to a bit of luck....a 61/ 60 is not!