Gasquet’s New Challenge

Roland Garros has started on Sunday with plenty of speculation on whether anyone can dethrone Rafael Nadal on the men's side, and the unpredictability factor on the women's side. While the American media tried to capitalize on the fears of American tennis fans by discussing for the umpteenth time how the clay court of Roland Garros transforms American tennis players into a group of "misérables," the European media was occupied with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray comparisons and predictions; all four players being from Europe surely helped the cause.

However, not many talked about Richard Gasquet, who will be missing in action for testing positive for cocaine. One can understand the indifference of the American media, or even the media outside of France, but considering that the announcement came just over two weeks ago, it's quite a surprise to see how quickly this matter is being put on the shelf, even in the player's home country.

Some readers may find themselves saying after reading the first paragraph, "Why should anyone care about a guy with no Slam finals and one who barely broke into ATP top 10 and stayed there only for about half a year before dropping back out?" Richard Gasquet, in 1996, at the age of 9, was on the cover of France's most popular tennis publication, Tennis Magazine, with big letters on the cover saying that he was "the champion for whom France is waiting" (le champion que la France attend). Ever since that day, he has never been out of the limelight, being nicknamed every genius name possible, including Mozart! He was the subject that gave the gas pedal a push to run the engine of French tennis for a decade.

Thirteen years later, the legend is about to become archaic.

First, it was the expectations that never materialized. Nadal, born just two weeks earlier than Gasquet, was often in the background watching the latter's exploits through the junior years. Now, Nadal is the best player in the world, while Gasquet has never played a Slam final in his career. Although occasional sparkles of brilliance kept hope high, such as his win over Federer in Monte Carlo in 2005 and his run to the semifinal round of Wimbledon in 2007, there were the frequent and fragile displays of mental toughness involving several final set debacles, emotional meltdowns, and an unwillingness to fight when it's time to grit his teeth. Finally, once Jo-Wilfried Tsonga arrived, it was clear that the train was about to leave the station for Gasquet.

Remember Henri Leconte's stature during Yannick Noah's times? This is the danger that Gasquet is facing now: becoming an underachieving villain while another one grabs all the positive accolades. The difference is that Leconte only had Noah with whom to deal. Today, there are three French players in the top 10 ATP rankings and Gasquet is not one of them. Also, unlike Leconte, who years later knew how to gain back the popularity that he lacked during his active years on the ATP Tour, thanks to his outgoing personality and his showmanship skills, Gasquet is a shy and introverted young individual.

Gasquet denied taking cocaine and is planning on challenging the finding. The automatic ruling for such offense is a 12-month suspension. Leaving aside how ridiculous and severe the anti-doping penalties have become — two-year suspension on a tennis player is similar to a death penalty for his career, and that is for a first offense, not to mention how costly it is for the player to appeal that ruling while he is suspended — Gasquet is now facing a whole new challenge: it is no longer about how he can find a way to get tougher mentally to win that crucial tiebreaker or to win that final set after blowing a lead. The challenge for Gasquet now is not to become a background noise to all the other important news in the forefront; furthermore, not to become a nuisance to the glorious exploits of the new French armada.

France's Davis Cup captain, Guy Forget, and the veteran tennis player Fabrice Santoro, both well-respected in tennis circles and on the ATP Tour, have expressed their disbelief at the finding. They are not alone. Most players who know Gasquet, have been expressing, at various times since the finding, that they hope Gasquet gets cleared and that it is likely to be mistake.

While Gasquet prepares his defense of the finding, he will have plenty of time to think about his future. He is at a crucial point in his career, perhaps in his life. The French have waited on him for over 10 years, and with new hopes on the horizon, they are about to give up on him — not to say "turn against him." His fighting character, who is very much in question on the court, is now being challenged off-the-court. This is not a ship that can either bring its passenger to glory or disappear into the horizon; it could also sink completely!

The best case scenario is what most will be hoping for — that Gasquet proves his innocence, that he grits his teeth and wins this nasty battle in court, that he reboots his career with a renewed attitude that a second chance often brings to someone's outlook, that this new attitude is accompanied by the willingness to grind for bigger glories and not settle for underachievement, and finally, that he becomes a major player on the ATP Tour so that the fans can enjoy one of the most beautiful backhands and one of the most talented shot-makers in the business.