urgh 2 sets down. He's playing terribly to be honest. His serve has eluded him since the first set, he's tight with his groundstrokes, returning horribly. He's only been close because Murray's also been tight at times.
Apart from tight first set, I gotta say Richard has looked like he was content with losing. Sad, but I guess 4th round in slams is all he wants for now. This is the reason he is not getting enough respect for his heart apart from his fan base.
True, it's the same old story, he has the talent and potential but not the drive and desire that's needed to win slams and compete with the best... onto the next one..........
Richard needs to build on this good week, hopefully winning the DC tie will give him more confidence leading into Stuttgart and the US Hard court season. He played well last year in the States, 3rd round in Cincy and 4th in New York.
A weeks rest and back into training for tie v Germany, the selection is tomorrow and I guess Gasquet should be there, if he isn't and is the 5th man again!
He played well in the first set, but could not make the difference. From the second set onwards, his serve lost quite some penetration and the confidence went down with it. In the third set, Murray was a class of his own for large parts and served so much better than in his last matches.
I had hoped for more to be honest, but I won't join the moaners. Winning or losing, I will always support him.
I think his tactic of just getting the first serve in hurt him. I can see why he chose the tactic because he afraid of Murray's returns, but the first serve became really ineffective.
Oh well, I guess I should be used to this by now, having followed Richie for almost a decade, but I'll still hold out hope that one day the pieces will fall into place.
I think that tactic was ok before Murray adjusted to it and then Richard had to go for more on serves. The big difference is that Richard played horrible on 2nd serve returns. It is his biggest weakness right now, and perhaps it is weakest of all top 20 players. Richard simply can not hit aggressive returns of consistent basis, and you can't beat top 5 on grass without that. Mentally and physically this performance was simply horrendous. It seems he still has hangover from clay court tennis, but Murray has reached semis at RG and looked 10 times fresher.
well , thanks to the shit coverage of tennis in the US , I did not see much of this match
sounds like that is ok that I missed it
I am thrilled he made it to the second week, but had hoped he would have exacted some revenge against Murray - but it was not to be
good luck going forward in the rest of the year, Richard
Gasquet played very well in the 1st set but just couldn't get the break, Gasquet didn't fade away in the 2nd, he was there with Murray but he got broken at the wrong time which meant Murray had the chance to serve it out and which he did. 3rd set Murray really stepped up and took control.
I'm angry that Richard was too passive on Murray's 2nd serves, he didn't seem to attack the 2nd serve, he kept just hitting the ball back in court with not much pace!
Credit to Murray, he served great and played the big points well!
« Si j'avais gagné le premier set, ça aurait été un autre match. Ce set m'a fait mal, il a presque duré une heure, je l'ai perdu et j'ai pris un coup. Après il a très bien servi et c'est devenu plus difficile pour moi. Il sait tout faire, c'est un grand joueur. Dans l'ensemble, il était au-dessus même si j'aurais pu servir un peu mieux. Il est plus fort qu'il y a trois ans, il a tous les coups du tennis et il a super bien joué aujourd'hui. Il était bien plus fort que ceux que j'avais joués jusque-là. Je suis quand-même content de la semaine que j'ai fait. Quand on joue contre l'un des quatre premiers ça devient tout de suite plus difficile. Le niveau de jeu revient pas mal, mais il faut que je continue à travailler.
"If I won the first set, it would have been another match. This set has hurt me, it lasted almost an hour, I lost it and took a shot. After he served very well and it became harder for me. He can do everything, it's a great player. Overall, it was over even though I could use a little better. It is stronger than three years ago, it has all the tennis strokes and he played great today. He was much stronger than those I had played before. Anyway I'm happy with the week I did. When you play against one of the first four it becomes at once more difficult. The level of play back OK, but I must continue to work.
« Si j'avais gagné le premier set, ça aurait été un autre match. Ce set m'a fait mal, il a presque duré une heure, je l'ai perdu et j'ai pris un coup. Après il a très bien servi et c'est devenu plus difficile pour moi. Il sait tout faire, c'est un grand joueur. Dans l'ensemble, il était au-dessus même si j'aurais pu servir un peu mieux. Il est plus fort qu'il y a trois ans, il a tous les coups du tennis et il a super bien joué aujourd'hui. Il était bien plus fort que ceux que j'avais joués jusque-là. Je suis quand-même content de la semaine que j'ai fait. Quand on joue contre l'un des quatre premiers ça devient tout de suite plus difficile. Le niveau de jeu revient pas mal, mais il faut que je continue à travailler.
if I had won the first set, it would have been a different match. This set hurt me, it lasted an hour and I lost it, I took a hit. Afterwards he served well and it has become more difficult for me. He knows every shot, he is a great player, all in all, he was above me, even if I could have served better. He is stronger that 3 years ago, he has all the shots in tennis and he played very well today. He was a lot stronger than those I met so far. I am still pleased with the week, If one plays of the top 4 everything gets more difficult quickly. The [my] level of play does not return badly, but it is necessary that I continue working.
Had he won the first set the match would be different? Really?
Richard, do you remember what happened last couple times you won first sets against Murray?
I wish he would stop this crap that he is saying and just play and take losses as a man and admit that he simply deflated in second and quit playing in third because that's what really happened. Murray played every set very well. At least, this time he didn't say that IF we play at Roland Garros it would be any different.
Sorry, I am really fuming at Richard's performance today. Losing is one thing, I am tired of his last set quitting... (see a lot of his other losses this year..) he quits playing in last set when he is down. Nadal in Rome, Novak at RG, Berdych at AO... etc
I know he didn't say he would have won... but just saying that the match would have been different is still a pure speculation and it makes no sense to even mention it.
It's pointless... I mean what if he broke Murray to start second set? What if he served better? What if they played on Court 1 instead where Richard had a lot more success, instead of Center court where he never won a match? What if royal family wasn't there.. how could that affect the match? All meaningless.
He should ask question's like: What has Murray done during the match that bothered me so much and did not allow me to play best tennis...? or Why did I quit playing in third set? Would I have better chance if I actually tried my absolute best in third set?
As soon as I saw the weather forecast for today, I thought fate is not smiling on Richard. Well done to Andy but am sorely disappointed for Richard. I wish they had put the match on later.
Well, he's right. I don't think he would have won anyway, but the match would definitely have been different, especially since Murray would have felt much more pressure :shrug:
Then again, it's not a good mentality to have. He should believe that he still has as much of a chance even with the loss of the first set
Well, he's right. I don't think he would have won anyway, but the match would definitely have been different, especially since Murray would have felt much more pressure :shrug:
The way Murray collapsed today, even after having won the first set, but messed up that easy FH for BPs, gives Richard's argument some value, even he is not Nadal.
Hopefully he will wear the "Barbados w/White and Dark Navy" one for the US Hard court season. Red is getting a bit boaring now, he's worn that since Chennai! :lol:
If he's picked for DC, he will be wearing the Blue polo defiantly!
I like the Black one but I doubt he will wear that during the hot weather in the States unless he plays a Night match.
Disappointing first match of seeing Gasquet live, he looked so deflated out there I just want to him beat Murray! I hate him :lol:
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