MONACO — Veteran Richard Gasquet beat Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 Sunday to reach the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters as he makes his last appearance at the tournament.
The 38-year-old Frenchman is retiring at the end of the season and was given a wild card entry at the clay-court tournament where he shot to prominence 20 years ago, beating Roger Federer in a thrilling quarterfinal.
Gasquet then narrowly lost the semifinal to Rafael Nadal and didn’t fulfill his potential in a what-might-have-been career as one of the most technically gifted players of his generation.
Armed with an exquisite one-handed backhand that tennis purists admired, Gasquet struggled against leading players, including a 2-19 head-to-head record against Federer. He lost all 18 matches to Nadal and 13 of 14 matches against Novak Djokovic.
Against Arnaldi, Gasquet conceded 11 break points. But the No. 39-ranked Italian converted only three and dropped his service five times as Gasquet targeted his second serve.
Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, a wild card entry ranked 259th, joined Gasquet in the second round with an upset 6-2, 6-1 win over Jan-Lennard Struff.
It was only the ninth career win on the ATP tour for Vacherot, who proved the better server. He did not face a break point, hit five aces and won 85% of first-serve points.
Jordan Thompson of Australia faced big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard later Sunday.
