Nice and Not So Nice.

It’s all a bit up and down for Richard Gasquet at the moment – and, indeed, always. First of all, he beat Fernando Verdasco in the finals of Nice to claim his sixth career title and his first since September 2007, finding form and building up momentum just ahead of that thing that’s happening in Paris. All of which is good.

Unfortunately for wee Richie, he sustained a leg injury doing it and has had to hotfoot it back to Paris in time for his first-round match. Which is against Andy Murray.

Apparently Gasquet had requested a Tuesday match, but the FFT was insistent that all the matches in the top half of the draw should be concluded by the end of the day on Monday. It seems a little harsh, but there are also good logistical reasons for it.

Anyway, Gasquet-Murray should be the match of the day tomorrow and I don’t know which way I think it’s going to go. When I first saw the draw, I threw up my hands and started resigning myself to an extremely early exit for Murray; we all know Gasquet’s got boatloads of talent, he plays really well on clay, he isn’t scared of Murray, and unlike the Scot he is both in form and on a roll. I don’t know how much difference fatigue will really make when weighed against all of that. I do feel that at all costs, Murray has to stop Gasquet racing away with it in the beginning. Just a thought.

V for an unlikely victory. C’mon!