Gasquet dumps Roddick out of Wimbledon
Gasquet shot to fame by beating Federer in 2005
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Friday, 06, Jul 2007 09:13
Rising star Richard Gasquet produced a sensational fightback to topple Andy Roddick 4-6 4-6 7-6 (7/2) 7-6 (7/3) 8-6 and reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
The Frenchman battled back from two sets down to dump out the third set and set up a mouth-watering clash with reigning champion Roger Federer in the last four.
Roddick dominated against a nervous Gasquet in the opening set and had break points in games one and three. After failing to take his chances, the American fired a series of winners to break in game eight and go a set up.
The 21-year-old Frenchman hit two routine drop shots into the net in game five of the second set to hand Roddick a break, before the two-time Wimbledon finalist served out the set to go 2-0 ahead.
Roddick gained an early break in the third set to go 2-0 ahead before the turning point of the match came in game eight. The American crumbled on his own serve after double-faulting and slashing a backhand wide to allow Gasquet to level at 4-4.
In the eventual tie-break, a buoyant Gasquet produced an explosive display to set up four set points, and only needed one to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Gasquet started to have more luck on the Roddick serve in the fourth set and came close to breaking the American's serve.
In the tie-break Gasquet raced into a 6-1 lead and, despite some resistance from Roddick, levelled the match with a stunning backhand winner.
Serving first in the decider, Gasquet survived some scares on his own serve to keep himself in the match. In game 14, the breakthrough came from the Frenchman after he set up two break points with a sublime forehand.
On the first match point, Roddick put a simple shot into the net to give Gasquet a memorable victory.
Gasquet, who made a sensational 93 winners, admitted he played more freely after going two sets down.
"After losing two sets I decided to play more aggressive, to play with my backhand, to go to the net and serve better," Gasquet told the BBC.
"I had nothing to lose. I played with no pressure and it was incredible for me to play like that."
A devastated Roddick said: "I thought I played pretty well, I thought he played very well. Credit to him, he had 90-something winners."
Federer reached the semi-finals after seeing off Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-1 6-3.