Blowing a Gasquet

I said before the tournament that this was the time for Richard Gasquet to step up and make a statement at a major. At 21, he needed to make his move now. A couple days ago, I said a quarterfinal contest with Andy Roddick was the perfect opportunity. I had no idea he would seize the moment, and I could not have imagined that he would do so in such a spectacular manner.

And boy did he ever. After losing the first two sets, he broke Roddick's tiebreak streak and charged to a win in the fifth set, a remarkable and amazing turnaround. It looked for all the world that Andy was headed for another straight set victory, but Gasquet found a level he never has before at a Grand Slam event and felt him behind. The third set was almost like the butterfly emerging from the cocoon, as the Frenchman started ripping backhands, gliding around the court with ease and finding an answer for every move Roddick had. It was a display I will not soon forget.

To his credit, Roddick did not go away or allow his frustration get the better of him. He clearly was frustrated, but unlike a certain Davis Cup teammate, he channeled his frustration and joined Gasquet in battle. By all accounts, he played winning tennis: 22 aces, 60 winners, won 59% of his points at net, only 29 unforced errors (a differential of +31, hardly a small number). Gasquet, quite simply, beat him: 23 aces, 90 winners with 29 unforced errors (a staggering +61 differential), and won a tidy 70% of his net approaches.

It was surprising how quickly Roddick got worried. Typically, someone who is up two sets to one wouldn't be so upset. But when Gasquet ran through that tiebreak in the third set, Andy had the "uh oh" look on his face. And rightfully so, because everyone could see that he was in for a battle.

Once again, Roddick's lack of versatility was thrust into the spotlight. As the commentators noted, there simply isn't a plan "B" for him. He's like the Mike Tyson of tennis: If his haymaker doesn't knock you out, he doesn't know what to do. He lacks the nuance and the moxie to scrap out victories. He's going to simply keep doing what he's doing and hope it works. This is why he kept going to the Gasquet backhand, even as those backhands were screaming past him, out of reach. For most people, it's inexplicable that a guy wouldn't figure out how to adjust like that. For Roddick, though, it's par for the course. It's surprising that with a coach like Jimmy Conners, he can't figure out how to be headier on the court.

And so Gasquet moves onto the semis and faces Federer. If he plays like he did today, he can absolutely beat him. Playing at such a level for two straight days, though, might still be too much to ask. And Roddick has deal with a stinging defeat. With Djokovic winning today, he'll also lose his #3 ranking. This could be danger time for him; if he wants to be a factor in major tournaments going forward, something clearly has to change. He's still a world-class player, but more people are starting to pass him. Federer is past him, Nadal is past him, Djokovic is past him, and now, it seems that Gasquet is past him.