Richard Gasquet on resignation - "There is only one Roger Federer"
In Hamburg, too, the news of Roger Federer 's resignation quickly made the rounds. The players were honestly concerned.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Sep 15, 2022, 05:06 pm
The first player who had to comment on the burning news of the day at Hamburg's Rothenbaum was Jason Kubler. The Australian had just given up the first single in the encounter with France against Richard Gasquet rather unadorned, so now the question is what he says about Roger Federer's resignation. Well, he was surprised, actually speechless. For him, Federer is the greatest player of all time, according to Kubler, who was called up as Australia's fifth player by captain Lleyton Hewitt at the last minute.
In any case, shortly after 3 p.m., hectic activity broke out in the press center in Hamburg. Appreciations for the grandmaster from Switzerland were written, usually in writing, a few journalists also spoke moving words into the microphones they had brought with them to let the tennis world know their assessments.
And then Richard Gasquet came onto the podium. His victory against Kubler was quickly no longer an issue, of course the French veteran was mainly about the end of Roger Federer's career.
Gasquet with the early win against Federer
The French veteran, born in 1986, and Federer, who is five years his senior, have played a whopping 21 times. An era is now coming to an end, according to Gasquet. An era marked by Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Gasquet didn't look good against any of those opponents. Of the comparisons with Federer, he has fond memories of the very first: it took place in Monte Carlo in 2005. And Gasquet was able to win that in three sets. Only one of the remaining 20 games: 2011 in Rome.
Oh, yes: Federer and Gasquet also played against each other at Rothenbaum in Hamburg, the French veteran even remembered the exact year: In 2005, a few days after the meeting in the Principality, Federer retaliated with a win in the tie-break of the third set. Likewise, Gasquet had won in the Principality.
Roger Federer changed the game, Richard Gasquet continued. And while he was sitting up there on the podium and talking about the fact that tennis would be different from now on, those present thought they could observe at least a lump in Gasquet's throat. Because Richard Gasquet's verdict on his long-time companion was simply this: "There is only one Roger Federer."