Richard Gasquet's remarkable ranking run set to come to an end after 956 weeks following Auckland loss
ATPWednesday, 10 January 2024 at 17:00
French veteran, Richard Gasquet will drop to his lowest ranking in nearly 19 years next week after his early defeat in Auckland at the ASB Classic heralding the end of an era for the 37-year-old.
Gasquet was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by his compatriot, Arthur Fils perhaps the next top Frenchman on the tour with Adrian Mannarino currently in a career renaissance into his 30s going into the top 20. The former was the defending champion in Auckland and now is set to lose at least 250 points for this defeat. Despite winning 85% of his first service points, he only managed half behind his second serve and was unable to break his opponent.
For context, the last time Gasquet was outside the top 100, Fils was only eight months old and he had to win the title to maintain his spot. It has seen him claim 602 wins, 16 titles and reach 33 finals in that time in an incredible career and it is one that is likely in its twilight and heralding a new era.
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“He’s a great champion. He did an unbelievable career so I’m really happy to play on the court with him,” said Fils. “But it was a nice match for my part and I’m really happy.”
“It was a joy to play on centre court,” he continued. “[Although] it was tough to play on the court. I lost a little bit of control of the balls, I think, but I served pretty good and I managed to break twice and hold my serve the whole match, so I’m pretty happy about it.”
Amid the likes of Djokovic and even Stan Wawrinka still being in the higher echelons, there are also players like Gasquet who continue to push themselves and in his run in the top 100, it shows his longevity in the sport to be up there for so long with no gap.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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