Medvedev beaten by Gasquet on return from injury in Geneva
The Russian will now go into Roland-Garros next week woefully short of match practice
AI / Reuters / Panoramic
ATP Geneva 250 | Draws | Schedule
The return of world No 2 Daniil Medvedev to action after injury didn’t go quite according to plan on Tuesday as he was beaten 6-2, 7-6 (5) by Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the second round of the Gonet Geneva Open.
The Russian, who was out for two months after a hernia operation, looked understandably rusty on his least favourite surface and Gasquet took full advantage to book his place in the quarter-finals, where he will meet either Marco Cecchinato of Italy or Kamil Majchrzak of Poland.
It was Gasquet’s first win over a top-two player since 2005 while for Medvedev, it leaves him woefully short of match practice as he heads to the French Open, where last year he reached the quarter-finals for the first time.
Though his rehab has reportedly gone well, Medvedev knew he would have his hands full with such a seasoned campaigner as Gasquet, who is still capable of great things despite his current ranking of 75.
And the 35-year-old Frenchman cruised through the first set with some trademark backhands delighting the crowd.
Gasquet was an early break ahead in the second set but Medvedev lifted his game and was pushing for a third set, only for Gasquet to win the tiebreak 7-5, clinching the match on the Russian’s sixth match point.
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