At the age of age: 21y and few months :P :P :

FED
Rank: #6
Titles: 4
Finals: 6

Slams (best result)
AO: 4R
RG: QF
WM: QF
US: 4R

Masters Series (best result)
Hamburg: Won
Key Biscayne: Final

YEC: 2002

Record vs. #1 player (Hewitt): 2-6


---------
Gasquet (Birthdate: 18-Jun-86- 2007: 21y and few months) ;) ;)

Rank: #8
Titles: 5
Finals: 5

Slams (best result)
AO: 4R
RG: 3R
WM: SF
US: 4R

Masters Series (best result)
Hamburg: Final
Canadian Open: Final

YEC: 2007

Record vs. #1 player (Federer): 1-6

I really believe these two guys are pure Tennis artists: it would be great to see if after FED Gasquet would be able to take the lead at least on the fast surfaces (and in particular on grass).

Looking at their results they are very similar:

Could we expect a major breakthrough by Gasquet next year, i.e. Wimbledon final and might be a great fight with FED for the title?

I really believe This scenario is on the cards

Hi TV - Just mention Gasquet and you know I'll turn up! ;)

Unfortunately as much as I 'd like to see the comparison - and there is certainly one to make in the talent department - the mindset is very different. Gasquet, very simply put, is still a child, a big one admittedly but a child. It appeared to me that Federer losses in matches earlier in his career, especially slams, were hurting him. He hated losing and suffered. Gasquet seems simply happy to be where he is, while sincerely, he shoud lbe in the top 5 already if not top 3. His 2 encounters with Djoko were very close and in fact he shoudl probably have won both had he not mentally faltered like he almost did against Murray last week.

What I am hoping for however, is that his talent, will suddenly give him the confidence much needed in his game. This is where the comparison with Fed could hold. Fed in 2003 suddenly came out of the chasing pack cause his talent was simply to much and with Wimbledon it gave an extra boost of confidence which simply made him a player in a different league from then on. Gasquet seems simply too humble, too nice, too respectful and we saw that on many occasions. He has the game but has he got the guts? I doubt frankly.

Great post. :ok: .You pointed out the main difference between the two and I agree: The main problem for Gasquet is his lack of fight spirit and his "too nice" approach to the competition..

You are right FED was just so nervous so frustrated when he was unable to win on a regular basis, to express himself at the level of his talent (and his expectations)... :rolleyes:

This could be really the main difference between the two: On one side the hunger to be at the top, when on the other, the happiness to be near without the "hungry" factor.. :P

I think it will be interesting to see how Gasquet performs in Shanghai. From what I've seen of Gasquet he seems to have a nasty habit of losing to people he is expected to beat easily (not unlike poor old Marat in fact) but perhaps performs a bit better when he's the underdog :shrug: I think how he performs in Shanghai will say a lot about his mental state.

I really have come to like Gasquet (something to do with the Roddick match at Wimby ;) ) and I hope that he can continue his rise up the rankings and that Shanghai gives him some confidence :pray:

(ps. Tenez, you think your post count is bad....... :unsure: )

I know. There is "worse" than me! :D but I would have caught you up if I had been interested in the Heyup thread and all the other debates outside Tennis.

You are doing a great job of keeping this site entertaining Dinky....unfortunately, should I reiterate. ;)

Just realised you went through the 10k milestone!!!!

BtW, from now I 'll reedit a lot of my posts to keep the number low! :P

:blush: thank you, although i don't think i do much in the tennis section - you tennis bods keep the debates going here, I just read and learn :ok: and cheer on Mr Fed occasionally :unsure:

Btw, does anyone know when they decide on the groups for Shanghai? I assume that the first and second placed players are autotmatically in different groups, or is it all just random????

It would be really good to see Gasquet in Fed's group I think :ok: Or in Djoko's group actually. Just looking at Djoko and Gasquet's H2H and although Djoko leads 2-0, they've been very strange encounters :blink:

2007 Estoril
Djokovic 7-6(7) 0-6 6-1

2006 ATP Masters Series Madrid
R32 Djokovic 7-6(2) 1-6 6-1

As you guys know I'm also hoping Gasquet takes over from Federer one day. The players who have stayed number one the longest all have one handed backhands, McEnroe, then Lendl, then Sampras, now Federer. That's how I like to see mens Tennis played.

Tenez, I think I aksed this before, do you think the French lack a winning mentality? Mauresmo acquired one well into her late 20s and I suppose it can be argued she still suffers the demons even last year, getting bagled twice in a US Open semifinal. You've had very talented players over the years from Leconte to Grosjean etc. I remember Platini saying once he didn't become the best player in the world until he went to Juventus at the age of 27 in 1982 and the Italian winning mentality rubbed off on him - half of that Juventus side had the 1982 winning World cup team. Up until that point he was seen as a great player but unfullfilled talent.

Do you think Gasquet can get the winning mentality in France? Or does it come from within and it doesn't matter where he's located?

:ok:
Its a very interesting thought there laurie.Do the French lack the winning gene?I mean look at the Rugby World Cup :shrug: But in tennis terms yes,Amelie still has demons and yet she is a purple pin holder and she is part of the kangaroo club.Gasquet,as Tenez points out is a child.His mentality is that of a child and it comes through in his tennis.How you might ask?The guy has imagination.Watch his stroke play and angles he attempts,only a young mind would think of these consistantly in a professional environment.I suppose to some extent its a good thing but in his case it hampers his tennis!

I agree with you as well Laurie,a single handed backhand is the best and I wish I could have one but Im happy with my two hander. :ok:

Dinky - Number 1 and 2 will be in different groups, then I believe it is a draw.

Hi Laurie - There is clearly a pattern about the French. They perform their best when they have no pressure and facing the best players or teams. Gasquet playing unhibited v Fed in Monaco or Montreal and how many times have we sorted the Kiwis in Rugby world cup and then faltered in the last hurdle against weaker teams (sorry ;)). Momo is also a good example as you pointed out. Leconte losing to Wilander in the FO final and having the crowd behind the Swede was the icing on the cake.

But I don't expect this to be like this for ever. Mentality also evolve. I think our social welfare is a good reflection of this mindset. We expect a lot from the State and have this "secure" feeling which kills our hunger. The Eastern countries, so far, don't have this luxury and we can easily imagine the "positive" effect of the war on Djoko's mental approach and most Eastern players.

However, looking at Federer and many others, it seems some are simply born champions and have this natural hunger or pressure coming from within. France have a few of them in Sport but i agree that usually the talented ones are not the most successful unfortunately.

:ok:

Looking at the way Nalby has been playing recently, this is a wise decision Darky. ;). And Borg has shown that having a dble handed BH is no issue to become a great.

I really think that Fed might be the last great with shbh. The only way I could see a SHBH back at the very top is if SVing would be made possible again either through a change of technology or having an extremely talented player such as Fed but with Karlovic serve (nothing less).

I actually got tapes of Nalbandian and want to study his technique.I see to have the ability on my backhand to modify it at will.At the moment I hit it with Safins tecnique which really gives you more power.But Nalbandians is something else.I will study his! :ok:

As has been mentioned earlier, Gasquet clearly has the talent to do what Federer has done. There are several things holding him back, but as TV points out, Federer was at a similar point at the same age. Whether everything will "click" for Gasquet as it did Federer, I'm unconvinced.

I echo the sentiment that Gasquet's nationality could well be his main hindrance, since I honestly can't think of a French player or team which has been dominant in its field (although the football team of '98 - '00 could be mentioned here). In all likelihood, Gasquet will probably do no better than Safin - win a few Slams and always be touted as a threat, but generally flatter to deceive. Regardless, he'll always be my favourite player of the current crop no matter how many shock defeats he suffers.

I think France has one of the best DC record, including in the recent times. We could have had 2 football WCs hadn't Germany destroyed one of our stricker and had Schumaker (the goal keeper) been duly kicked out in Seville. Prost, The Musketeers, Anquetil, Hinault, Noah, Killy, in the most international sport and France very often ends up in the top 5 countries of Olympic medals. So though I agree that all in all we have have more talent than nerves, it is important to point out we also have champions and I am sure I have left out many in this short list.

That's fair enough, I obviously wasn't implying that France had a poor sporting history. What I meant was, although they have had lots of champions like the ones you state, I don't recall any truly dominant champions... something which I thought relevant given that we're talking about whether he can follow in Federer's footsteps. Certaine, la France a une histoire sportive beaucoup plus riche que la Colombie. ;)

I think in very modern times, there's been a bit of a sociological movement holding French sportsmen back, which wasn't the case 20 years ago. The French press in particular are quite negative and there seems to be an inate pessimism as a consequence of the lack of recent success. But like you said earlier, these things can change back just as soon as they start and I expect France's sporting hegemony to rise before too long.

I have to agree with Wise here.France havent had that special dominator across all sports.Amelie at least had a good year last year though and held the top spot for most of the year.Whether it was dominance or not she at least got there!

Parfait! I am sure you have better tango dancers than us ;)

I actually don't expect many, if any, player to follow in Fed's footsteps as Fed himself is starting to struggle. It will take someone more than special to beat the likes of Djoko, Nadal, Gasquet,, Fed and Nalby the way Fed was winning the last 4 years.

Spot on Wise :ok: :ok: ..Two great posts

I am leaving in GVA and working with plenty of French people...When sport is considered they are so "bold"...Generally specking they are always starting with unreal expectations seeing them already holding the title and ten suddenly discovering there was plenty of guys (girls) better than their athletes..And then they start to be negative until the next event..

It is important to notice that:

At the moment their only big champion is Laure Manaudou and I tell you she has such a bad time lower down the (excessive) expectations of the french media..

Richard is currently domicile in Switzerland - Neuchatel (quite near to Basel BTW roflmao )-

PS-Pour M. Wise-: Pour quelles raisons une personne qui est capable d'écrire des commentaires si intelligents comme ceux de Wise a, par ailleurs, besoin de se comporter comme un "bouffon" dans certain autre forums de discussion. Eh bien cela restera pour toujours un mystère pour moi.

TV

What Wise does or does not post in other forums is his choice - so long as he posts sensibly here it is of no concern to us :tsk:

:lmaao:

J'espere que les animateurs ne parlent pas le francais ici... si non, tu n'es pas si bete toi meme. ;)

EDIT: Turns out they do - unlucky TV :P

roflmao roflmao

Always try some new ways... roflmao roflmao

I am testing if they are paying attention :rolleyes:

ah, us mods, we're everywhere TV - you can't hide you know that :P

it was worth a try hun ;)

Never mind. :hug: Next week, we can try Spanish... and if that doesn't work I'm sure Italian will. :P

It's great that some of you think French athletes are not delivering because it means you have very high expectations for those athletes.

But just looking at the world most populous countries, and just the 2004 Olympic medal tables, France, Italy and the UK are actually amongst the best % of medals/inhabitants (France was even ranked 6th in 2000).

China - 1,313,973,713
India - 1,095,351,995
United States - 298,444,215 (as of Nov. 2006 - 300,176,035)
Indonesia - 245,452,739
Brazil - 188,078,227
Pakistan - 165,803,560
Bangladesh - 147,365,352
Russia - 142,893,540
Nigeria - 131,859,731
Japan - 127,463,611
Mexico - 107,449,525
Philippines - 89,468,677
Vietnam - 84,402,966
Germany - 82,422,299
Egypt - 78,887,007
Ethiopia - 74,777,981
Turkey - 70,413,958
Iran - 68,688,433
Thailand - 64,631,595
Democratic Republic of the Congo - 62,660,551
France - 60,876,136
United Kingdom - 60,609,153
Italy - 58,133,509

Medal count:
Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 United States (USA) 36 39 27 102
2 China (CHN) 32 17 14 63
3 Russia (RUS) 27 27 38 92
4 Australia (AUS) 17 16 16 49
5 Japan (JPN) 16 9 12 37
6 Germany (GER) 13 16 20 49
7 France (FRA) 11 9 13 33
8 Italy (ITA) 10 11 11 32
9 South Korea (KOR) 9 12 9 30
10 Great Britain (GBR) 9 9 12 30
11 Cuba (CUB) 9 7 11 27
12 Ukraine (UKR) 9 5 9 23
13 Hungary (HUN) 8 6 3 17
14 Romania (ROM) 8 5 6 19
15 Greece (GRE) 6 6 4 16
16 Brazil (BRA) 5 2 3 10
17 Norway (NOR) 5 0 1 6
18 Netherlands (NED) 4 9 9 22
19 Sweden (SWE) 4 2 1 7
20 Spain (ESP) 3 11 5 19

I must say the word "bouffon" really made me laugh, TV. The fact that you take WA words seriously on the other forums also makes me laugh., you clearly should not. I never took Wise seriously when he talked about your champion. I just sympathise. Imagine having a player you don't like (Brad Gilbert?) dominating the tour the way Fed has. :shrug: :phew: never gonna happen! :phew:

:yikes: :yikes: Brad Gilbert :sicky: :sicky: ..Not him please..I will start to appreciate Murray once he will move away from this clown roflmao ..

Nevertheless, if this man was at the top, I am sure, I would be able to pay some credit to him..

He would take a lot of efforts I agree but I really believe that you have always to recognize and pay the just credit to Tennis player performances even if their character are really :sicky: ...

This is why, Wise behaviour is beyond me..Come on!! Tennis class, great performances and results should always be recognized even if you do not like a player IMO.. :P :P

But ok it is my opinion.. :rolleyes:

if you want to try new ways TV, best you dont do french... bound to catch my attention at least :devil:

Now behave! ;)

Come on!! It is always a pleasure (and a challange) to capture your attention..Ciao

Behave..I will try as usual..but 100% sure..Is it possible..Come on!! :whistle: :peek:

:lmaao:

:lol: as long as you know I have my eye on you ;)

Moi aussi...! Trop marrant! On ne parle plus de lions equitables ;)

Interesting points raised on this thread - I wonder if Gasquets mentality is holding him back? If we remember back a few years, Federer was hardly the ice king he is now, he'd throw hissy fits everytime he lost and had emotions flying all over the place. I am not saying that behaviour was commendable - just that you could see his fury at losing. Gasquet appears to have a more que sera, sera attitude.

Regarding the sporting hunger of nations - this seems to be a problem endemic in the UK. I think it largely relates to the mediacracy we live in...I want it all, and I want it now (but please don't make me work for it) Gross generalisation on my part, but I do think it's a problem...and it's starting to sweep through parts of Europe.

Hi. Are you on Tenniswarehouse as well?

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=165408

Maybe that was Federer's way of growing up.He got it out of his system early and perhaps thats what Gasquet needs to do :shrug:

I just think that Richard will always be those players that will always be a round.He threatens big but may just never deliver :(

Sad though,he has got such a beautiful backhand! :ok:

Sure laurie I am following the debates on that board as well..There are plenty of good ideas and debates out there :ok: :ok: Is not a crime to bring some of them here?? Right :yikes: :yikes:

I honestly think he's on borrowed time to do something now - if he doesn't prove himself this season, I feel that could be it. There is only so long you can trade off a Federer win (note to BBC Murray commentary) and that Roddick Wimbledon win.

His backhand is a joy to behold - but even this gets marred with his apparent inability to close out big matches :angry:

it's a great idea, TV :ok:

Too true.And the BBC are know for riding waves of one small victory over a big name to the death.Richard doesnt have much left to ride on.

No no of course not TV. I suppose I'm one of the few people who use my real name so everyone knows who I am.

Still in many cases, a lot of people still think I'm a woman :yikes:

Oh well.

Gosh!!! DO you all speak French out there? Maybe we can all switch to it then, it'd be easier for me. ;)

I used to speak it a little, (as I should since my mothers from the French speaking part of Belguim ) but am totally out of practise now. So Im enjoying trying to translate some of your sentences, even though most of the time its 'Je ne comprends pas' :P

I wish I knew French! :(

Espanol is mejor ;)

Estoy in Madrid para WTA Championships. Tengo uno billete para final en Domingo!! Hoy vero tres partidos incluido Sharapova v Ivanovic y Kuznetsova v Hantuchova. Pero no Serena Williams :(

Hasta luego :D :P