Top Seed Gasquet Into Winston-Salem QFs
Top Seed Gasquet Into Winston-Salem QFs
Frenchman eases past countryman Robert
Richard Gasquet breezed into the quarter-finals of the Winston-Salem Open with a 6-1, 6-3 win over fellow Frenchman Stephane Robert. Gasquet saved seven break points (7/8) and broke his opponent’s serve five times in the 66-minute win.
“I’ve known Stephane for a long time now, so I know how dangerous he can be. It was a great win for me and I’m happy to be in the quarter-finals,” said Gasquet, who has yet to drop a set against his 36-year-old countryman in two FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings. “He likes to play close to the baseline. We’ve practised together often so I know his game and he knows mine. I didn’t make many mistakes today and that was the difference. It was quite humid and hot on the court, so it’s better to be able to finish in one hour.”
“It’s a great opportunity to play against top players, because you see the difference. I will learn from this match,” Robert said. “I started the match nervously, but I was playing better in the second set. Then I made some mistakes and got negative. That is something I need to manage. At this level, you have to be focused all the time and not fight against yourself.”
Next up for the top seed will be Aussie John Millman, who rallied to win 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 against wild card Bjorn Fratangelo. Millman closed out the match with authority, landing 85 per cent of first serves and only losing one point on serve in the deciding set.
“I’ve never played against [John], but I’ve seen his matches and I respect him a lot.” Gasquet said.
Yen-Hsun Lu advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-0 performance against Diego Schwartzman. Lu fired nine aces and did not face a break point in the 62-minute win.
“Fortunately I played really well on game points and on break points. My serve was there when I needed it and that helped me a lot today,” said Lu, who is into his fourth consecutive Winston-Salem quarter-final. “I always seem to play very relaxed, very freely here. Maybe it’s something that is missing for me in other tournaments, but I’m able to find that feeling here.”