\n<\/p>\n
Gasquet became famous in France at the age of nine, when Tennis Magazine put him on their cover, with the headline: “Richard G. Nine years old. The champion France has been waiting for?”<\/i><\/p>\n
Living up to the billing was a daunting assignment.<\/p>\n
Aged 12, he beat Rafael Nadal in the junior Les Petits As tournament, but as a professional the head-to-head was 18-0 in Nadal’s favour. He was 2-19 against Roger Federer and 1-13 against Novak Djokovic.<\/p>\n
Gasquet won French Open and US Open junior singles titles, and the senior mixed doubles as a 17-year-old at Roland Garros in 2004 with Tatiana Golovin.<\/p>\n
He reached three Grand Slam semi-finals, including two at<\/a> Wimbledon,<\/a> and won 16 ATP titles, a Davis Cup in 2017 with France and an Olympic doubles bronze at London 2012.<\/p>\n In March 2009, he tested positive for cocaine and was provisionally banned for a year but later cleared,<\/a> successfully arguing he was unknowingly contaminated after kissing a woman, known as Pamela, in a Miami nightclub.<\/p>\n He reached seventh in the world rankings and matched a Federer record – winning matches in 24 consecutive seasons at ATP level.<\/p>\n But the backhand – that was everything.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n