In the second round at the ATP Winston-Salem, Richard Gasquet breezed past fellow compatriot Stephane Robert 6-1, 6-3 in one hour eight minutes to progress to the quarterfinals where he will face John Millman.
Gasquet runs away with opener
Stephane Robert started the game confidently. In the first game of the set, the 36-year-old Frenchman hit a forehand down the line to bring up a break point at 15-40. However, Gasquet erased the point and held to get the match underway.
In the following game, the number one seed then had a break point of his own but Robert saved the point and held himself to get on the scoreboard. With the score at 2-1, the world ranked number 15 then gained a further two more break points after Robert's attempted dropshot hit the net.
The 52nd ranked player in the world then threw in a double fault which gave Gasquet the first break of the match. In the next game, Gasquet consolidated the break and went 4-1 up but he wasn't finished. In the very next game, Gasquet continued to dominate and once again had chances to break after hitting a forehand winner down the line.
The 29-year-old won the point and broke to go a double break up. The three-time Grand Slam semifinalist then gained two break points. Both were saved as Robert took the game to deuce, however, his younger French compatriot gained another and won the first set 6-1.
Gasquet advances
Gasquet continued to perform to high levels. With the score at 1-1, Gasquet broke Robert and went ahead at 2-1. In the very next game, Robert woke up in the match and acquired three break points at 0-40. But the top seed was forced to work as he saved all three to send the game to deuce.
The 36-year-old did create another break point chance but yet again the 15th rank saved the point and this time he held serve to consolidate the break and go 3-1 up. Stephane Robert's serve continued to let him down and did this time as he served a double-fault to give Gasquet a triple break opportunity. The 29-year-old only needed one as his opposition sent a backhand long.
The set moved to 4-1. Richard Gasquet consolidated once more and just like the first set, he was a double break up. With Gasquet serving for the set at 5-2, Robert upped his game. His French opposition seven years younger reached match point at 40-15. However, Robert won the next two points with the set game at deuce.
The 36-year-old then reached a break point and despite not taking his opportunity, he saved another match point then reached a second break point. For the first time in the match, Gasquet felt the pressure and himself served a double-fault for 5-3. The 52nd ranked player couldn't consolidate his break as Gasquet ran away to a match point at love-40. Robert hit a forehand wide which gave Gasquet the victory.