Gasquet eliminates Mannarino in the first round at Montpellier
The Montpellier tournament features a 100% French first-round match-up between Richard Gasquet and Adrian Mannarino.
The two men face off in a match eagerly awaited by the public. The 38-year-old from Béziers, who is virtually on home soil, is playing in France for the last time, retiring after the French Open.
In a match that he mastered, Gasquet won without forcing his talent (6-3, 6-2), finishing with two winning serves.
He will meet Tallon Griekspoor for a place in the quarter-finals. He also becomes the third player in the Open era to win at least one match on the ATP circuit for 24 consecutive seasons, after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.
In the day's other matches involving French players, Lucas Pouille was defeated in his opening match.
Opposed to Mattia Bellucci, the 2019 Australian Open semi-finalist lost in two sets (6-4, 6-4), failing to convert any of the 10 break points he was able to obtain.
In contrast, qualifier Constant Lestienne eliminated defending finalist Borna Coric (6-3, 7-5) and will face Bu in the last 16. Last year's finalist, the Croatian, will exit the top 140 next Monday.
A final meeting between Arthur Rinderknech and Harold Mayot will take place early this evening in Montpellier to conclude the program on center court.
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