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1/18/10 3:53 PM | Vincent Glenn
France’s Richard Gasquet will take on Russian Mikhail Youzhny on Tuesday in arguably the most fascinating encounter of the Australian Open first round.
Richard Gasquet and Mikhail Youzhny have met on three previous occasions; Youzhny holds a 2-1 advantage. They faced each other in the opening round at Melbourne Park back in 2003, when Youzhny claimed the win in four sets against the then 16-year-old Gasquet. The Frenchman, however, won their next match at the Canada Masters in 2005.
Their most recent clash was a five-set thriller in the France-Russia Davis Cup quarterfinal in 2007. Gasquet recovered from two sets down to level the match, but Youzhny squeezed through the final set, taking it 8-6.
Gasquet, who is currently ranked No. 52, has started the season in encouraging fashion after a traumatic 2009. He was provisionally suspended in May after testing positive for cocaine consumption, missing both the French Open and Wimbledon as a consequence. He was cleared in July, but he slid down the rankings.
The first few weeks of 2010 have been confidence-building for the Frenchman. He began his season with a run to the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International, losing out to eventual winner Andy Roddick. Last week he sailed through to the Sydney final, beating Feliciano Lopez, Benjamin Becker, Potito Starace and Julien Benneteau without dropping a set before being stopped by the resurgent Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
Youzhny’s game seemed as though it was in terminal decline before his dramatic upturn in form last season. He finished the year brilliantly and proved he is still a force to be reckoned with. He reached the final of the Japan Open in Tokyo, losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Two weeks later he clinched the fifth title of his career when he defeated Janko Tipsaveric in Moscow and he also made the Valencia final before being usurped by Andy Murray. He began this season with a first-round loss to Sergiy Stakhovsky at the Qatar Open and currently registers at No 20 in the rankings.
This match could be a shot-making extravaganza. Both players have eminently viewable games and they also both possess beautiful one-handed backhands. Gasquet can occasionally play too negatively, dropping deep behind the baseline and not making the most of his ability to hit astounding winners.
Youzhny will punish him if he adopts that tactic, but the Frenchman should be feeling confident enough to impose his natural game. It promises to be a tight affair, but Gasquet may just edge it in five.
Prediction – Gasquet in 5 sets
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