He arrived to astonishments from throughout the tennis world, pundits and fans marveling at his one-handed backhand and his world-class touch. Richard Gasquet was only 15 when he won his first tour-level match at the 2002 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. He became the youngest player to win an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 match, beating No. 54 Franco Squillari of Argentina in three sets. The future of tennis had arrived. Gasquet's later play only fanned expectations. At 18, he knocked off No. 1 Roger Federer, again in Monte-Carlo, 6-7(1), 6-2, 7-6(8). A backhand down the line clinched the upset. By then, though, Gasquet must have been used to hype and proclamations. Aged nine, he was touted as a future champion on...
Sergiy Stakhovsky portrayed ‘The Great Showman’ in a successful annual Player Revue on Wednesday night at the 112th edition of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Stakhovsky starred in an entertaining ballerina ball dancing sketch with Daniil Medvedev and he also took part in sketches about on-court coaching with Bruno Soares, in addition to a skit on the Borg vs McEnroe film with David Ekerot and Thomas Johansson's son, Lukas. Jan-Lennard Struff and Karen Khachanov, who competed in third-round play at the Monte-Carlo Country Club on Thursday, were also brought up to the stage for a ‘Guess What?’ game that was hosted by Robert Farah. Pierre-Hugues Herbert started the show as Ed Sheeran, singing two worldwide hits with Federica Sartori. There were...
Dominic Thiem out fought Novak Djokovic in a physical and tactical clash on Wednesday at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Thiem, who let slip three set points in the first set, knocked out 2013 and 2015 champion Djokovic, who was contesting only his ninth match in as many months, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 in two hours and 29 minutes for a place in the quarter-finals. “Every win is important, especially against such a great player as Novak,” said Thiem. “It's the quarter-finals now, so it's only getting tougher… It was important for my self-confidence, to know I'm physically 100 per cent again. It was a great win. Of course it's important, but tomorrow is a new day.” The Austrian, who may one...
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov lays it all on the line to win a point against Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters on Thursday. Photo Credit: Realis/Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
Two-time Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion Novak Djokovic drills a backhand passing shot past Dominic Thiem on Thursday. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
