Hope springs eternal for the fan of Richard Gasquet. We’ll take any win—match, set, game, point—as a positive sign. So imagine what we’re thinking on a day when he wins two easy sets, even if it is just a first-round match in a fall tournament against Yen-Hsun Lu. Whatever Gasquet’s troubles, with the law, with the press, with Pamela, with his own potential, there’s always that backhand to redeem him.
As many times as I’d seen him hit it, though, I noticed something new today. Forced to run to his left and come up with a passing shot, Gasquet still managed to take the ball in front of him and flick it down the line for a clean winner. It was just that, a flick; the shot, its force and direction, came entirely from the wrist. You couldn’t design a more efficient or compact stroke. Maybe that’s why the appeal of the Gasquet backhand springs eternal. Unlike most players’ strokes, you can’t quite understand how he does it. How does he get that power and accuracy with one hand? It’s tennis at it purest, all in the timing.
—Steve Tignor