Nadal, Gasquet head for showdown
PARIS – One's Rafe. The other, Richard.
Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet share many similarities.
Rafe is 6-foot-1; Richard is 6-foot.
Both are 18. Both loaded with potential. Both the next hope for their countries, with Rafe's Spain appropriately on the left of Richard's France on the map.
They've each given Roger Federer one of his eight total losses the past two years. They each won their first second-round matches at Roland Garros on Wednesday, setting up an anticipated battle Friday.
Yet, it's Nadal's and Gasquet's differences that will decide who – for now at least – is the better player.
"They're very different," said Federer, who potentially could meet the winner in the semifinals. "Nadal is going to be very different to anybody else anyway at the moment because he's one of the few lefties we have in the game. But Richard's got the crowd behind him this week."
"I can hit harder than he does, but it's not easy to move him on the court," said Gasquet, who is right-handed.
Can Gasquet hit harder? Xavier Malisse isn't so sure. Malisse nearly split himself in two trying to win one set in his 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 loss to Nadal.
"There's a lot more spin on his ball," Malisse said. "Today, I was hitting my forehand in the corner … and he hit unbelievable cross-court angles for a pass."
Malisse didn't say anything about moving Nadal around the court, but certainly picked up his own feet – even resorting to fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters' trick of the splits.
"He was making me run a lot, so I had to do something," Malisse said. "You almost have to win the point three times to win one point."
"There are a few guys out there that play the game in a way that pushes the game forward," Andre Agassi said Sunday. "Obviously, Roger's been one of these guys for a while. I think Nadal has also shown that there's a way of playing this game that people haven't done yet, especially on clay."
While pointing out he's also never hit a ball with Nadal, Agassi agreed that his game looks big.
"He seems to move great, real versatile forehand, plays it all directions from anywhere in the court, and seems to have one of the best competitive spirits that you'll see in sports," Agassi said. "I mean, the guy fights for everything all the time."
"He's got a very good mental state and a very good physical state," Gasquet said.
Nadal, who has won five titles this year, has a confidence that Gasquet, who has yet to win one, hasn't fully developed.
Gasquet's acquiring much-needed experience this week, though. Gasquet, who lives in Beziers but keeps an apartment in Paris near Roland Garros, played his first match on center court Wednesday. He won in straight sets against Peter Wessels, but it almost didn't go that way.
After comfortably winning the first set 6-3, Wessels dictated play in the second set, sending Gasquet running side-to-side. Gasquet found himself serving, down 5-2. He hit a soft backhand drop shot winner only to make back-to-back double faults. Then, Gasquet began choosing his moments, saving amazing down-the-line forehand angles for the right time. The momentum switched, and it was Wessels who was off-balance.
"At one point, I had problems and I had to be really focused on my game," said Gasquet, who won 6-3, 7-6 (1), 6-1. "I tried my best to remain absolutely collected."
Gasquet realizes he can't afford a similar slip against Nadal.
"I will need to be extremely focused, to be in very good physical shape," Gasquet said. "It will have to be the perfect match on my side because otherwise, I will not win."
The pair last met in Monte Carlo, where Gasquet, after qualifying for the event, defeated Federer in the quarterfinals only to fall to Nadal in the final. The next week in Hamburg, Gasquet advanced to his first Masters Series final only to lose to Federer.
"It's obviously going to be a very complicated match," Nadal said. "Clearly he's in top shape, and it's going to be his fans out there. It can be positive or negative. It's also pressure, and you've got to overcome that pressure when you're playing in front of your own public."
Nadal knows something about that, having defeated Andy Roddick last December to win the deciding Davis Cup final match in Spain in front of a record crowd.
Both say they are not rivals. At least in the sense that there appears to be no animosity between them. However, according to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, a rival is someone who simply wants the thing you want – and only one of you can win.
"Obviously all the players want to be at the top," Nadal said. "That's all there is. Gasquet is a great player, but he's just a player who wants to be at the top, and he's actually making it.
"I mean, you've got to forget about everything else and go on to the court 100 percent, whoever your opponent is. Whether you've beaten Gasquet or anyone else, you're through the round."
But only one will earn the right to say that.
