In an interview following his defeat in the Montpellier tournament’s opening round, Richard Gasquet discussed the fact that his body can no longer support him in the same way that it did when he was younger.
The Frenchman compared himself to Novak Djokovic, who appears to be in peak form for his age.
Gasquet expressed his thoughts about it and said: “My body is destined to get worse. Apart from Djokovic, who won the Slams at almost 37 years old, has there ever been anything similar in sports, apart from perhaps Michael Jordan? Lionel Messi plays in Miami, the others in Saudi Arabia, but Nole is the world number 1. I can’t understand why someone like Djokovic is so strong at that age. At 37–38, you’re usually not as good as you were at 25. I know that well. I never thought I’d be playing at 38. It was unimaginable.”
Gasquet continued by describing how challenging it is for him to appear in court given his current physical state.
He further said: “You can’t suffer that much on the pitch. This is what will make me stop: physical pain. If I feel like I can’t win a match, if I feel pain, if I can’t bear it anymore, if I can’t make the effort, it’s a little more difficult than last year. In 2024, I have not achieved good results so far. I’m thinking about it a little, but not too much.”
Richard Gasquet in 2024
Currently ranked no.131, Richard played his last match on the 5th of February when he was defeated by world no.102 Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-3 7-5 in the 1st round in Marseille (draw)
.Until now, during this year Gasquet has managed to achieve a 2-5 record.
He is also scheduled to play in Dubai (Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships) after Manama Challenger. The main draw will start on the 1st of January.
Novak Djokovic in 2024
Currently ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 26th of January when he capitulated to world no.4 Jannik Sinner 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3 in the semifinal of the Australian Open (draw).
Currently, during this season Djokovic owns an overall 7-2 record. Novak Djokovic’s latest run at the Australian Open was the best achievement of his season.
Richard Gasquet and Novak Djokovic faced off 15 times. Their head to head is 14-1 for Djokovic. Previously, the last time they played each other, Novak Djokovic won 6-2 6-3 6-3 in the 3rd round in New York (U.S. Open) in September 2018.