Richard Gasquet took to Court Suzanne Lenglen against wildcard Bjorn Fratangelo in round two. The number nine seed won 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-3 to book a clash with Nick Kyrgios in round three at Roland Garros. They will meet for the seventh time with Gasquet leading their head-to-head 4-2.
Dominant start from Gasquet
Gasquet got off to a flying start, and having held his opening service game, he broke Fratangelo at the second of asking at advantage for 2-0. The Frenchman then consolidated for 3-0. In the following game, Fratangelo was being made to work for his first and only game of the set, being pushed to deuce on five occasions before holding.
The world number 11 was easing his way through his service games and ran away to a 4-1 lead. The next game would see Gasquet break his American opponent and go a double break up. On his second set point, the 29-year old clinched the opening set 6-1.
Frenchman pushed to tiebreak, wins set
The second set started the same as the first, with Gasquet getting the early break. Both players held their opening games quite comfortably, but on the Fratangelo serve, it was the Frenchman who needed a second break point to get the breakthrough and go 2-1 up. He consolidated the break and went 3-1 up on the American who was simply being out hit and made to run. The following game Gasquet had two breaks saved from 15-40 up and the 22-year-old held.
Two games later at 4-3 on the sixth seed's serve, Fratangelo upped his game and that rewarded him with a break point opportunity, which was taken following a missed backhand crosscourt by Gasquet. The set was all square at 4-4. The next two games were held quickly by both players and at 6-5, the three-time Grand Slam semifinalist had double break points wiped away by Fratangelo who fought to hold on. Gasquet forced the tiebreak and won the set 7-6(3).
Early break seals match
At this point, the match seemed to get away even further from the wildcard due to Gasquet's power and stature. The second game of the set saw the first break point for the Frenchman, who forced his opponent to make the error, in which he broke for 2-0. Gasquet consolidated to make it 3-0 and the momentum was well and truly with the Frenchman. The American finally got on the board in the second set due to an error-filled game from the 6 ft 1 inch. On serve, Fratangelo seemed to be struggling, while Gasquet wasn't being troubled on his.
The sixth game saw only the second break, going the way of Gasquet as he hit an aggressive forehand shot cross-court which found the corner. Fratangelo quickly erased the point and held for 4-2. In just 35 minutes, the ever popular 29-year-old raced away to a love-40 lead and despite not taking set point at the first time of asking, he did so at the second time, winning 6-3 and booking a place in round three.