After having fought to the end of his strength during this first round of the Rolex Paris Masters, Monday evening on the central court of the Accor Arena in Bercy, Richard Gasquet lost in three sets (0-6, 6-2, 7-6 [6]) in front of the American Tommy Paul, seriously completing his first set (6-0) in just twenty-eight minutes. It must be said that the inaccuracies in the long game and the sometimes gross direct errors of his opponent greatly facilitated his task. Not to mention that attacked on his backhand, which is one of his strong shots, the Frenchman came out of it perfectly.
Twelfth in the world and seeded no. 12, Tommy Paul finally accelerated during the second set by obtaining an entry break, then a second. He then really seemed to have started his match and this late awakening allowed him, regaining his tone, to be strong and precise on his serve and to place his crosscourt shots to win quite clearly, 6-2.
During the third set of this disjointed match, the French veteran (37 years old), wild card, opened fire by winning the first game on his serve. And when Tommy Paul broke away, Gasquet remained in contact, 2-3, then 3-5 before moving ahead, 6-5, after breaking his opponent twice. On a burning Bercy Central, carried by his audience, the Biterrois delivered spectacular blows which pushed Tommy Paul to his limits. But the American ended up winning (8-6 in the tie-break) this fight.
