The Return of Richou

In all this flurry of me doubting the Henin return, Henin returning and then the Davis Cup draw for next year happening, I quite forgot that there was some actual, you know, tennis going on. And one very interesting thing that happened was Richard Gasquet scoring his first win back after his suspension.

To be precise, it's two wins now, after he beat Christophe Rochus in his second round match in Metz, which puts him into the quarter finals. Fancy that. This is a good result for Richou - very good indeed.

But the fact of the matter is that the two players he's beaten are players he should beat, considering how amazingly talented he is. He's toughed out both matches - which, from his perspective, is a very good thing, considering what a nightmarish headcase he is. The first match he won was in a third set breaker, so that took some steel.

And that's what I want to see from Richou now. I want some steel. He's won another chance to come back to tennis - I don't want to see him fritter it away on choking and temper tantrums. He's got too much talent for that. He has the ability to be up at the top of the game, and I want to see that again. He once reached #7 in the world - maybe even #6, I can't actually remember. I don't expect him to do that again, not with the depth of talent in the ATP - but he should be able to win matches. Lots of matches. Have some good wins over tough players. He's got the talent to do it - I want him to deliver.

That was a bit of a long-winded ramble, but it's all true. I refuse to be impressed by Richou winning these two matches - even if he did tough them out - until he can play his hand well in a big match where the chips are down. That'll be a true test of character.

Oh, and welcome back to another Frenchman - who unfortunately lost today, but did manage to score a win earlier this week. Nice to see you back, Sebastien Grosjean. May you stay back.


Today's Results

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

Maximo Gonzalez def. Oscar Hernandez, 7-5 3-6 6-1
Simon Greul def. Daniel Koellerer, 6-1 6-4
Juan Monaco def. Pere Riba, 6-4 6-2
Pablo Cuevas def. Peter Luczak, 7-5 6-4


Open de Moselle (Metz)

Janko Tipsarevic def. Ivan Ljubicic, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)
Gael Monfils def. Sebastien Grosjean, 6-1 6-1
Philipp Petzschner def. Michael Llodra, 7-6 (7-3) 6-3
Richard Gasquet def. Christophe Rochus, 7-5 4-6 6-2


Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)

Daniela Hantuchova def. Chanelle Scheeper, 6-1 6-1
Maria Kirilenko def. Francesca Schiavone, 6-1 1-2 retired
Vera Dushevina def. Anastasija Sevastova, 7-5 6-1


Tashkent Open (Tashkent)

Akgul Amanmuradova def. Ekaterina Bychkova, 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-4)
Olga Govortsova def. Vesna Manasieva, 6-2 6-3
Shahar Peer def. Kathrin Woerle, 6-2 604
Alexandra Panova def. Patricia Mayr, 7-5 6-1