"Now he's gone, so I won't beat him again" - Richard Gasquet regrets not defeating Rafael Nadal before the Spaniard's retirement

After Rafael Nadal hung up his racket at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, French veteran Richard Gasquet lamented on not being able to best the Spaniard during any of their meetings on the ATP Tour.

Nadal and Gasquet rose through the ATP ranks together, with both men clashing on 18 different occasions on the ATP main draw. Despite getting numerous shots at the 22-time Grand Slam champion, Gasquet was never able to defeat his Spanish opponent, falling in all of their encounters.

The French veteran, who is the same age and a close friend of Nadal, defeated the Spaniard at the famous Les Petit As as a junior. Subsequently, Gasquet came close to beating the former World No.1 in their early ATP meetings, notably at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2005. However, he would end up losing the match and go 0-18 against Nadal.

“I lost 18 times against him, it’s horrible,” said Gasquet in an appearance on the Super Moscato Show. “I’m not going to sell you a false thing by telling you that it’s a pleasure. It’s a huge regret for me not to have beaten him. Now he’s gone – so I won’t beat him again.
“I knew him since he was young, I wasn’t particularly afraid. I beat him at 13 [Les Petit As]. I thought I could beat him in Monaco [in 2005]. After that, I had a hard time, he progressed, there’s no doubt about it. It became difficult. When you’re an athlete and you’ve never beaten a guy, it hurts.”