Richard Gasquet recounts Rafael Nadal's act when he was at 'rock bottom'
Richard Gasquet reveals Rafael Nadal once knew that he was going through a rough period and the Spaniard decided to issue a public support, which at the time meant a lot to him.
On the court, Nadal was the Frenchman's nightmare since he beat the former world No. 7 in all of their 18 meetings. Even against Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the French player didn't go winless.
The Spanish tennis icon may have been Gasquet's toughest rival but it was him who helped the most when the current world No. 142 was at his lowest.
"He's 15 days older than me, I've known him since I was young, we played at Petits As, we've spent our entire careers together. And, yes, at a time when I wasn't very, very well, in 2009, he really supported me and publicly. It was something that was huge for me at a time when I was at rock bottom, I could hardly be worse, and he was there and it gave me energy and made me happy that a guy like him made that gesture. It meant a lot to me," the French tennis player said on Eurosport.
Only four of Gasquet's matches against Nadal went to a deciding set
Gasquet's best chance at beating the former 22-time Grand Slam champion came very early in their careers as four of their first five matches went into a decider. But even in tight contests, he never found a way to get over the line against Nadal.
Between late 2008 and late 2022, the Frenchman and the Spanish former world No. 1 clashed 13 more times. And the French tennis player never again won a set.
In one of his recent interviews, Gasquet specifically mentioned their 2005 Monte Carlo Masters match as the one where he felt he had Nadal – the Spaniard won that match 6-7 (6) 6-4 6-3.
