Richard Gasquet picks the two players he would love to play at the French Open before he retires from tennis this year

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Richard Gasquet has entertained fans on the ATP Tour for over 20 years, reaching a career high ranking of number seven in the world.

The veteran will finally hang up his racket in 2025, as Gasquet prepares to retire from tennis upon the conclusion of this year’s French Open tournament.

During his career, Gasquet qualified for three Grand Slam semi-finals, at Wimbledon in 2007 and 2015, and at the US Open in 2013.

Gasquet’s best result at his home French Open came in 2016, when he lost to Andy Murray in four sets, 7-5, 6-7, 0-6, 2-6.

Ahead of his final visit to Roland Garros as a professional, Gasquet has named the two players he would prefer to face at the tournament.

Richard Gasquet would prefer to end his career against Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner at the French Open

Speaking on the Ultimate Tennis Showdown’s YouTube channel, Gasquet picked two top ATP stars he would choose to play in his final match at the French Open.

“Well, this is the last one, so yeah it’s a bit strange, you’re about to play and you’re worried about the draw,” he said.

“You start wondering if it’s actually better to lose against a top player, against someone like [Jannik] Sinner or [Carlos] Alcaraz because at least you go out against a big name.

“Imagine losing to a qualifier, getting beaten 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court, I think about that sometimes.”

Gasquet has lost all five of his matches against Alcaraz and Sinner but is yet to lose a set 6-0.

Gasquet went on to explain how his game allows him to stay competitive even when outmatched by his opponent.

“I have a more consistent game than others, I don’t make too many unforced errors but I don’t hit a lot of aces either,” he said.

“I always manage to find a way to stay in the match.

“I can still tell myself, ‘Alright, even if I’m playing badly, I’ll just keep the ball in court, and it’ll work out.’

“Even when I was in the top ten, I knew I wouldn’t lose to someone ranked lower, but above that level, things got tough, against the top four, it was really hard to win.”

What happened when Richard Gasquet played Jannik Sinner at the 2024 French Open?

In his penultimate French Open tournament, Gasquet got off to a strong start, winning his opener against Croatia’s Borna Coric, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.

Sinner was up next, determined to pick up his first Major title in Paris, having won the Australian Open earlier in the year.

The Frenchman battled hard in the first set but couldn’t reclaim the break he gave up early on as Sinner stormed into a 6-4 lead.

A double-break from Sinner in the second saw him double his advantage as he led Gasquet 6-4, 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier.

The French crowd did their best to encourage Gasquet, but he couldn’t turn things around, losing the third set, 4-6, as he was knocked out of his home tournament by the number two seed.

The result was Gasquet’s 21st defeat at the French Open, statistically his worst-performing Grand Slam event.

Only time will tell how Gasquet will perform at his final French Open tournament, but it’ll certainly be worth a watch when the action begins on Sunday, May 25.