At the time, Arthur Jr. was not even a year old. And Jean-Pierre Raffarin was preparing his boxes at Matignon in view of the turn of the campaign for the referendum on the draft European constitution. We are talking about the month of April 2005, the date when the very young Richard Gasquet (18 years old) joined the top 100 ATP, after a resounding victory against world number 1 Roger Federer in Monte-Carlo. He hasn’t left her side since, but almost 19 years later, we’ll have to make up our minds.
End of privileges for major tournaments
Beaten by Arthur Fils in the first round of the Auckland tournament (which he won last season) this Tuesday, Gasquet, 76th in the world on the starting line, will be ranked 131st at best next week. It thus crosses a bar which is not only symbolic, since beyond that, we no longer enter directly into the tables of the main tournaments on the circuit. A further sign that the end of his career is fast approaching for the former “Little Mozart”. Sniff.
“He’s a great champion, he’s had an incredible career, so I’m really happy to be able to play with him. But I had a good match, and I’m really happy,” said Arthur Fils after his victory, who applauded Gasquet when he left the court.