Gasquet Into 26th ATP Final In Shenzhen
Gasquet Into 26th ATP Final In Shenzhen
Frenchman to face Berdych or Bellucci
Richard Gasquet is through to his second ATP World Tour final of the season at the Shenzhen Open. The Frenchman was leading 6-2, 4-1 when Janko Tipsarevic was forced to retire from their semi-final clash with a groin injury.
“Tennis is a tough sport,” said Gasquet. “It’s difficult to have no injuries, especially at this time on the year. Our matches are very tough, physically everyone is getting better and better. The game is more and more demanding. He’s had injuries in the past, same as me, and I hope he will recover well.”
Competing in his 26th ATP World Tour final, Gasquet will look to win his 14th title when he faces either Tomas Berdych or Thomaz Bellucci. The right-hander lifted his 13th trophy in February in Montpellier (d. Mathieu), making him one of four Frenchmen to win an ATP World Tour title this season.
After reaching the Roland Garros quarter-finals for the first time (l. to Murray), Gasquet endured a frustrating summer, missing the Rogers Cup due to an abdominal injury, falling second round in Cincinnati (l. to Anderson) and suffering his first first-round loss at a major since 2010 when he was beaten by Kyle Edmund at the US Open.
The 32-year-old Tipsarevic was appearing in his first ATP World Tour semi-final since winning the 2013 Chennai title, after missing much of the past three years due to foot and knee injuries. The Serbian, a former World No. 8 who has clawed his way back up to No. 224 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after falling to No. 1027 two years ago, was trying to reach his 12th ATP World Tour final (4-7).
“It’s my right groin, which I’ve struggled with a few times in my career,” explained Tipsarevic. “It happened at the beginning of the match and as the match went on, I just felt really, really uncomfortable in moving and running. I was playing my toughest opponent yet (this week) and the only way for me to beat Richard is to engage in these tough rallies from the baseline where both of us had to run. I just wasn’t able to do that today. I hope it’s nothing serious.”