Wake Up Richard Gasquet

Richard Gasquet was schlacked today by Tomas Berdych at the Monte-Carlos Masters, 6-2, 6-0. Let's first give Tomas credit as he's been on a tear lately. This guy has been underachieving for years but now seems to get it and is clicking on all cylinders.

Okay, back to Richard. Once dubbed "Le Roi" (the king) at this very tournament for beating Federer (2005) when he was nearly unbeatable, Gasquet isn't a shadow of his former himself. If you're not familiar with the back story on him, he was one of the youngest competitive tennis players in ATP history and consistently was in the top 10 for a while. Last May, he was caught with traces of cocaine in his system and was suspended from the tour. Turned out, he got it from a girl he was kissing and was able to come back and play after three months. THREE MONTHS, that's it, not that long to be away from the game.

Since then, he's been a mess. He's gone from top 10 to 75th in the world. Not bad you say? Well he's had almost 9 months to regain any kind of form. It's not like he just came back, he's been playing the entire year and a good chunk of last year. There hasn't been a lot of coverage on his struggle but I'm calling him out. He needs to get his head in the game or he might disappear forever.

So, here's my message to him: Richard, you were good, you were only gone for three months. No more drifting through these tournaments, you need to show that you still care and can play. You were the best player in France, now you're the 11th. Don't be the guy who peaked at the age of 16.

Monte-Carlo Masters Round Up

The mosquito is moving on. He may be 30, but he's been awesome so far this year and clay is (was) his specialty. Expect Juan Carlos Ferrero to put up a fight in this tournament and most likely play Rafa in the Round of 16.

Richard Gasquet underachieved again, but managed to hold off some qualifier in three sets. If he continues to play his lackadaisical style, he will get hammered by Tomas Berdych. 

David Nalbandian manhandled Andreas Beck in straight sets. He has to continue to play well if he wants to have any shot at  Mikhail Youzhny in the next round. 

 

And Monte-Carlo Begins!

We're heading to Monte-Carlo, but not with a full deck of cards. 5 of the top 10 players are missing from this year's tournament, most notably our good friend Roger and the recently hot Andy Roddick. Djokovic and Nadal are the 1 and 2 seeds respectively.

Taking a quick look at the draw, the first round match ups look to be a bit of a snooze. Nalbandian could play possum and win his first round but is most likely to run out of steam shortly thereafter. Gasquet is another weird one to watch. He seems to be taking his sweet time regaining his once dominant form, so he could win a match or two but will most likely crap out as well. Albert Montanes vs. Baghdatis could be a fun first rounder, I have Montanes taking it and then running through the next couple of rounds.

In the end, I have Nadal taking what's rightfully his. Yes, he hasn't won a Tourney for a while now, but this is clay, and he's been playing better lately. There's no better time of the year for him to start stepping it up. Vamanos Rafa...