Gasquet qualifies for the round of 16 at Winston Salem

Richard Gasquet, 91st in the world, qualified for the round of 16 of the Winston Salem tournament in North Carolina, the last repetition on hard court before the Open Open, beating 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-1 the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (37th). The 36-year-old Frenchman, whose best performance this year is to have reached the semi-finals on the clay courts of Geneva then Lyon, will face the Spaniard Pedro Martinez (54th) or the American Steve Johnson (115th).

This victory against a better ranked player, seeded N.5 in the tournament and whom he met for the first time, is enough to give confidence to Gasquet, in search of a 16th title on the circuit for more than four years. . Despite the loss of the second set, during which his opponent seemed to have taken control of the match, the Frenchman took advantage of the Italian’s sudden failure on serve and in the exchanges, to escape 5-0, before concluding calmly .