Richard Gasquet the 36-year-old sailed into the third round of the US Open with a win over Croatian M. Kecmanovic defeating him in four sets 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. In an upset, Gregor Dimitrov was knocked out by American Brandon Nakashima in straight sets 7-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Friday. The US Open saw the former world number seven turning back the clock, with an excellent display of tennis, registering a win over his much younger opponent.
Richard is currently ranked 91 but his performance in the match was of an absolute champion. The French dominated the match from the beginning taking the first set in a jiffy. He was excellent with his shots that were accurate and forced the Croatian to play deep.
The second set was a repeat of the first and was bagged by the Fench in a stunning display of tennis. He did not give anything away, forcing the opponent to make errors and then capitalizing on them. The third set saw the 23-year-old make a comeback, with great attacking shots being thrown at Gasquet. Kecmanovic took the third set, denying the French a victory in straight sets.
With the Croatian running out of gas in the fourth set, the 36-year-old capitalized on the youngster’s unforced errors, winning the fourth set and the match. In a stunning turn of events, Grigor Dimitrov the former world number three was knocked out by American Brandon Nakashima in the second round of the US Open.
Dimitrov once ranked highly by the tennis fraternity was outplayed by Nakashima in a nail-biting contest, with the first two sets going into the tie-breaker. The 69-ranked American will take a lot of confidence from the win in this match, moving forward in the tournament.
The Bulgarian came close to winning the first set but was denied by the American who showed great agility and persistence. Nakashima got better as the match progressed and was dominant with his approach, which fructified into a win. Andy Murray is slated to take on Matteo Berrettini later today, which promises to be a mouth-watering contest.
