Gasquet missed his chance in the first set, Alcaraz qualified for the 2nd round

Will we see Richard Gasquet again on the courts of Melbourne Park? Nothing is less certain, to hear him say it.

“Everything is possible, everything is conceivable,” he judged after his defeat against Alcaraz.

“We’ll see how the season goes if I manage to come back a little, otherwise maybe I’ll never play here again. I’ve come since the juniors around twenty times, I don’t have to be ashamed of the number of times I have played here. These are unique moments to be here on the court, which is incredible and which every tennis player will miss,” he concluded.

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Richard Gasquet hooked Carlos Alcaraz for a set, lasting more than an hour. After this great first round lost 7-5 in the decisive game, the Biterrois gave up physically and suffered the power and play of the world number 2.

Gasquet-Alcaraz 6/7 1/6 2/6

In the 2nd round, Alcaraz will face the Italian Lorenzo Sonego. The 46th in the world qualified by taking out Daniel Evans (4-6, 7/6, 6/2, 7/6).

If Richard Gasquet managed to end the Spaniard’s streak of consecutive games, Carlos Alcaraz is still impressive on his serve and is getting closer to qualifying for the 2nd round.

Gasquet 6-7, 1-6, 1-5 Alcaraz

Alcaraz breaks away with a second break in the third set.

Alcaraz concludes this set with a 6th ace, an absolutely unplayable outside kick. The Spaniard leads two sets to zero and is heading towards qualification for the 2nd round.

Gasquet is very quickly overwhelmed by the heaviness and ball speed of his opponent, his commitment to each shot. And he is more skilled at the net. 40-30.

Gasquet is taken by the speed and precision of his opponent’s passing on his volley serve, it is a double break for the Spaniard which will serve to lead two sets to nothing.

Alcaraz fakes the drop shot and slips in a deep forehand slice that traps Richard Gasquet, caught on the wrong foot. A blow that a certain Roger Federer would not have denied.

Richard Gasquet gets back on track by winning this service game with forceps, not without having to struggle once again to keep aside two new break points.

Gasquet saves a second double break point with a perfectly executed backhand. Equality.

What an astonishing point. It all starts with an incredible defense from Alcaraz, then the Spaniard indulges in a fantasy when he has won the point. Gasquet manages to pick up his opponent’s poorly hit drop shot but behind the lob is slipped too well, and the Frenchman’s tweener goes well out of bounds. Equality.

Richard Gasquet grimaces, scoring a point takes a lot of energy. A good first ball allows him to breathe. 30-15.

Second consecutive shutout for Alcaraz, very impressive. The winning of the first set seems to have freed him. And we wonder what could stop him from now on. Richard Gasquet blames the blow.

It was to be feared, the points were slipping away in this game. The Frenchman took a big blow to the head. And it’s not this huge setback that’s going to fix things… A blank break for Carlos Alcaraz who drives home the point.

Solid first service game for Carlos Alcaraz, who is in the lead in this second set.

Cushioned on the second point, then a volley service sequence in stride: the shift is good for Alcaraz after winning the first set. 40-0.

Audacious on the second ball, while his back was against the wall, Gasquet went to the net, but he was not rewarded for this initiative, and the first set fell into the Spaniard’s hands.

Big risk taken by Carlos Alcaraz with his forehand. The first set point is for the Spaniard. 6-5.

Gasquet is caught by his opponent’s diving pass but he attacks the net again to put pressure on the next point, and it pays off. 5-4 for him.

Richard Gasquet treats the public with a huge backhand down the line at the end of a huge exchange of 20 shots. The Frenchman wipes out the mini break he had given to his opponent by scoring a baseline smash. 3-3

After a setback from Richard Gasquet, Carlos Alcaraz came back in front of a very good service. But Gasquet returns the favor immediately. Nothing is easy for the two men who go blow for blow. 2-2.

Alcaraz won a huge standoff in the exchange and won a tie-break to conclude this very close first round between the two men.

Alcaraz has guts. He serves an ace on the second ball at 30-30. 40-30.

Another forehand from Alcaraz which ends its course in the net. 15-30…

And a second ace for the Frenchman who secures at least a tie-break.

Nice variation from Gasquet who distills a very well-hit cushioning shot behind an excellent first ball. 40-30.

Second double fault for Gasquet who is caught at 30-30 while leading 30-0.

Gasquet had opened the court but his forehand completely escaped him, and Alcaraz equalized.

Finally a quiet game for the Frenchman who this time had no break point to save. He remains in the lead at the end of the first round.

Gasquet traps the Spaniard again with this fleeing slice at the T. Two game points for the Frenchman. 40-15.

Alcaraz, who alternates between the very impressive and the much less good on the court with big unforced errors, no longer encounters any difficulty in winning his face-offs.

Richard Gasquet resists! The Frenchman came back from 0-40 in this game.

Alcaraz had a very good ball to attack with his forehand but the Murcian made another rather astonishing direct error. And the Frenchman immediately returns to 40-40 with an outside service. This now makes nine break points saved by the Frenchman.

Gasquet does the same long-line backhand twice with his backhand. Alcaraz throws himself forward in his return. 0-40.

Blank game for Carloz Alcaraz, who picks up immediately.

Oooh, the incredible reflex passing from Carlos Alcaraz on an incredible return from Richard Gasquet. Stunning. 40-0.

Gasquet still saved several break points, but it held up! The Frenchman resists Carlos Alcaraz perfectly by being aggressive and opportunistic when necessary. The Frenchman once again served very well in hot moments.

A little haste from Richad Gasquet who sees this backhand passing escape him. The Frenchman reacted very well by finishing a beautiful backhand attack at the net. Equality.

Splendid long-line backhand from Richard Gasquet who had very little time to organize as his opponent’s return was so deep. What a response from the Frenchman to rule out a fourth break point. Equality.

Very nice acceleration from Richard Gasquet with his forehand, while the Spaniard had sought to neutralize him with a full center forehand. The Frenchman continues very well with his backhand, moving forward, behind an excellent first ball at the T, and returns to 30-30.

An authoritarian shutout for the young, determined Spaniard, who holds out a clenched fist towards his clan and continues to encourage himself.

A little more serene service game from the Frenchman, who continues to rely on a very good service (75% success behind his first ball) to take the lead in this first round.

Break opportunities on both sides, first two long games: both players are still in an observation phase. The Spaniard equalizes.

The Australian public appreciated the one-handed backhand released by Gasquet, it was Alcaraz who cracked first in the exchange. Equality.

Alcaraz’s forehand shift catches the edge of the net, and it gives the Frenchman a break point. 30-40.

Double fault from Alcaraz. Gasquet returns to 30-30.

Gasquet escapes thanks to his first ball, but what efforts were made to keep his first throw-in…

Gasquet once again serves very well to ward off the danger, it’s the first ace that falls.

Big forehand attack from Richard Gasquet who catches the line to save a third break point. And a good first ball straight away to get a new game ball.

With both feet in the court, Alcaraz dictates the exchange, very aggressive. But Gasquet serves a good first ball. Equality.

Alcaraz adds volume with his forehand and repels the Frenchman after a double fault from Gasquet, who finds himself with a first break point to erase. Av Alcaraz.

Gasquet is very aggressive behind his first serve, the Biterrois releases a first winning forehand. 30-15.

Gasquet starts the game on serve.

Ruchard Gasquet is the first to appear, followed by the world No. 2, who quite clearly wins the first round according to the applause meter. The warm-up will begin soon.

Winners respectively of Jiri Vesely and Laslo Djere on Tuesday, the young French Arthur Fils (19 years old) and Arthur Cazaux (21 years old) brilliantly succeeded in their big debut at the Australian Open.

Arthur Fils succeeded in his very first steps at the Australian Open by mastering the Czech Jiri Vesely, ex-top 40 who fell to around 300th place in the world, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 Tuesday.

Cazaux fought for nearly three and a half hours in the heart of the Australian war to overcome Djere. In the Grand Slam, the 21-year-old Frenchman had so far tried his luck three times in vain (twice at Roland-Garros, once at the US Open).

>> The complete recap of the performances of our French in this paper

And welcome to our site! The draw for the Australian Open was not kind to Richard Gasquet (16 titles on the ATP circuit), falling this week to 131st place in the world. The Biterrois, who has never done better than a round of 16 in Melbourne (in 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013), will face world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the night session this Monday. A match that you can follow live on our site. Gasquet is scheduled for fourth rotation at Rod Laver Arena. The meeting is not expected to start before 11 a.m.