Aggressive Gasquet Beats Bautista Agut For Cincinnati Semi-final

Richard Gasquet played with great intensity on Friday afternoon to reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in more than six years.

The former World No. 7 knocked out Spanish No. 11 seed Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 in two hours and 13 minutes at the Western & Southern Open.

Gasquet will next challenge David Goffin, the No. 15 seed from Belgium, who advanced to the semi-finals when his Japanese opponent, Yoshihito Nishioka, withdrew ahead of their match because of illness. Gasquet and Goffin are level at 1-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

“I didn’t play for six months, so it’s great to be back here and reaching the semi-finals aged 33,” Gasquet told ESPN on-court. “Goffin is a tough guy, one of the fastest from the baseline, so I will be prepared to battle and to fight. I’ll be ready for it.”