Richard Gasquet, world 69, battled for 3hr 29sec to take charge of Portuguese Joao Sousa (60th) 7-6 (9/7), 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, Tuesday in the Tour First. Wimbledon. The 36-year-old will face American MacKenzie MacDonald (55th) or another Portuguese, Nuno Borges (123rd), in the next round.
Souza was injured in the right shoulder
Souza injured his right shoulder slipping and falling at the end of the tiebreak in the first set: after saving a set point at 6/5, he took a 7/6 lead, but then fell and let Gasquet score the next three runs to get into his pocket. Designation. After an easy win in the second set, Gasquet looked ready to easily advance to the next round, but his opponent returned to the match and forced Biterrois to take a decisive set.
Read also. Benjamin Ponzi calmly qualified for the second round
Eliminated in the second round at Roland Garros, Gasquet played another tournament on clay, the Leon Challenger, where he lost in the semi-finals to Argentine world No. 142 Pedro Cachin. He arrived at Wimbledon unprepared for the grass. Last year, he was eliminated in the second round by Roger Federer, but reached the semi-finals there in 2015 (beaten by Novak Djokovic) and 2007 (Federer lost).
