Gasquet takes care of his Pau Challenger debut

Richard Gasquet is enjoying his last few months as a professional tennis player, and intends to make the most of them.

At the start of the 2025 season, the 38-year-old from Béziers is making his last tour of French tournaments. After Paris-Bercy at the end of 2024, Gasquet has played in Montpellier and Marseille since the end of January.

This week, the former world No. 7 is at the Challenger de Pau. On Wednesday, Gasquet made his first appearance against Charles Broom, a British player currently ranked 304th on the ATP rankings.

The Frenchman was able to maintain his place in the pecking order, winning in two sets (6-3, 7-6).

He is now through to the last 16, where he will face another British player, Arthur Fery, who defeated Sun Fajing in three sets.

Elsewhere, the French aren't exactly celebrating in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Richard Gasquet will be the only French player on court this Thursday in the Round of 16.

Lucas Poullain and Harold Mayot were eliminated yesterday by Lukas Klein (6-3, 7-5) and Patrick Zahraj (6-2, 6-4), while Antoine Escoffier, Maxime Janvier, Manuel Guinard, Luca Van Assche, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Pierre Delage (eliminated by another Frenchman, Robin Bertrand) were all beaten in the first round.

Should Gasquet win later in the day, there will be two Frenchmen in the quarter-finals. Arthur Bouquier, a recent winner at the Lille Challenger, has already secured his place in the Final 8 after a thrilling victory over compatriot Robin Bertrand (5-7, 7-6, 7-6).