Tennis. “I didn’t feel grotesque”, “maybe I won’t play here again”: Richard Gasquet reacts to his elimination from the Australian Open

Gasquet was eliminated from the start by Carlos Alcaraz. XinHua – Hu Jingchen

Richard Gasquet, 37 years old and just ejected from the world top 100, perhaps played for the last time in Melbourne, after being eliminated at the start of the Australian Open by world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz after standing up to him for a set on Tuesday January 16.

Would you have signed for such a match ? 

First of all, I wouldn't have signed for the painting, I came across one of the worst prints. I still managed to have fun on the court, especially in the first set. It was a big match at the start, there were a lot of very good points, there was a crowd, it was at Central: these were totally different atmospheres from the other matches. It's definitely a different type of tennis than small courts or that sort of thing.

I had big setbacks as I could do at the time. The tie-break is a shame. I saw myself winning that first set. It was a good match overall. It was nice for me to play on the Central, it's been a long time since that happened to me.

Also read: VIDEO. Australian Open: the huge exchange of 24 shots concluded by Richard Gasquet despite his defeat against Carlos Alcaraz

It was also nice, in the first set, to feel that I was holding on well. I'm going to be 38 this year, it's always a pleasure to be able to be at the Central, against Alcaraz, and to see (John) McEnroe (as an interviewer) at the end of the match. That's why you continue to play tennis. This is not given to everyone. The legs are not like before, but there are still sometimes some nice remains on the court. 

Is a match like this likely to encourage you to continue ?

It makes me want it more, of course. Afterwards, there are tournaments that are harder, Challengers (secondary circuit, editor's note) where it's not easy to play like that either. The desire to play is there. Obviously you don't know until when. In any case, I had sensations on the court, I wasn't dead, I didn't feel grotesque. It's good to experience them. I didn't come for nothing. I still felt like a tennis player.

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Is it possible that this match was your last at the Australian Open ?

Everything is possible. Everything is possible. Obviously when you go down (in the ranking), it's possible. We'll see how the season goes, if I can come back a little… Otherwise, maybe I won't play here again. But I played quite a few times anyway. Since juniors, I have come around twenty times. I don't have to be ashamed of how many times I've played here.