BASTAD, July 18, 2019
Richard Gasquet opened his Bastad title bid on Thursday by reaching the quarterfinals of the Swedish Open. The No. 4 seed of the ATP 250 clay-court event came back from a set down to overcome Dennis Novak from Austria 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his second round match.
Gasquet, who returned to action in May after missing the first four months of the year due to groin surgery, struck seven aces and won 69 per cent of his first service points to prevail after two hours and two minutes.
“It was a tough match. Dennis is a a great player but I tried to fight a lot,” Gasquet said. The World No. 50 has been staying in Bastad since Friday. “It’s a great tournament. Last year I reached the final here and I am happy to come back. I am back on the court and still love to play tennis. Let’s see what’s going to happen until the end of the week.”
Up next for the 33-year-old Frenchman will be sixth-seeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero, who rallied past Hugo Dellien from Bolivia 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and 22 minutes.
Richard Gasquet (@richardgasquet1) gets the win! 💥💥🇫🇷 @ATP_Tour
4-6, 6-3, 6-4 over Dennis Novak 🇦🇹
Final 🎱 club says hello! 👏👏#Swedishopen #Gasquet pic.twitter.com/K5XIKO5mAV
— Swedish Open Tennis (@swedish_open) July 18, 2019
Earlier in the day, Federico Delbonis knocked out No. 3 seed Pablo Cuevas from Uruguay, winning 6-4, 6-4. The World No. 70 from Argentina broke his opponent’s serve five times to secure victory in one hour and 22 minutes. Delbonis will next take on Joao Sousa. The eighth favourite from Portugal dashed the hopes of Swedish wild card entry Elias Ymer by winning the last five games of their match to advance 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The encounter lasted two hours and 14 minutes.
