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  • Preview: Richard Gasquet vs. Feliciano Lopez

    1/15/08 2:11 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Richard Gasquet and Feliciano Lopez, who cruised to relatively easy victories in the opening round of the Australian Open, square off head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers on Wednesday.


    In a third quarter of the draw that looks completely wide open, the winner of this marquee matchup between eighth-seeded Richard Gasquet and unseeded Feliciano Lopez has a great opportunity to make a deep run at the 2008 Australian Open.

    Gasquet finally began to live up to his great potential in 2007. The 21-year-old Frenchman pulled off the biggest victory of his young career in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, where he upset Andy Roddick 8-6 in an epic fifth set. That win propelled Gasquet into his first-ever appearance in the year-end Masters Cup and he finished the season ranked No. 8 in the world.

    At 26-years-old, Lopez is still searching for consistency, but there is no doubt that the talent is there. When his serve and forehand are clicking, the Spaniard is tough to beat. Lopez has fared reasonably well at Grand Slams in the past, and in 2007 he reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open and even took the first set off Roger Federer there. He has enjoyed his best Grand Slam results at Wimbledon, so if the new Plexicushion surface is playing fast, it should be to Lopez’s advantage.

    Gasquet and Lopez have battled each other on three previous occasions and the Frenchman has prevailed in each one. They have not, however, played on hard courts since 2005. Gasquet is 2-0 against Lopez on the hard stuff, but the Spaniard extended him to three sets on both occasions. This should be an interesting matchup because it will feature two of the most lethal shots in the game: Lopez’s lefty forehand against Gasquet’s one-handed backhand. The match will come to which player can do the best job of picking on the other’s weaker side. If the Plexicushion surface is in fact playing faster than the old Rebound Ace surface, Lopez’s big serve and forehand could be problematic for Gasquet and just might allow the Spaniard to break through for the first time against his favored opponent.

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