Gasquet bids farewell to the Marseille tournament after losing to Bublik
Richard Gasquet continues his farewell tour in front of the French public. After Bercy at the end of last season and Montpellier in the last few days, the 38-year-old from the Biterrois region of France was due to play at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.
Opposed to Alexander Bublik in his first match, the Frenchman got off to a good start, quickly taking the Kazakh's serve, but this advantage was short-lived.
Despite a 4-1 lead in the first set, Gasquet saw Bublik come back to win five consecutive games.
The second set was more indecisive, and both men responded until 4-4, when the 48th player in the world broke.
In the end, Alexander Bublik came out on top (6-4, 6-4) in 1h21. He will now face Ugo Humbert in a rematch of last year's Dubai final.
As for Gasquet, who will retire from Roland-Garros in a few months' time, he played his last match in the Bouches-du-Rhône.
On court after his victory, Bublik was surprised that Gasquet didn't have an interview.
"Why don't you give him the floor? He's had a spectacular career. He's been on the circuit for over 20 years, he's played over 1,000 matches.
I don't know how close I'd get to that statistic, even if I added up all the numbers I could think of.
It must be a great feeling to play your last match in a tournament. I wish him the best possible end to his career, even though he'll still be playing in a few tournaments.
He's a French tennis legend and I wish him all the best for the future," Bublik told the Marseille crowd.
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