French tennis player Richard Gasquet candidly admitted his unique regret regarding Rafael Nadal’s retirement. The Spaniard recently ended his illustrious career at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, while Gasquet has announced his decision to hang up his racket at the 2025 French Open.
Among Nadal’s many exceptional accomplishments, one impressive statistic is his perfect 18-0 winning record against Gasquet. Only Novak Djokovic’s 19-0 dominance over Gael Monfils trumps it as the most lopsided rivalry in tennis history.
During a recent appearance on the Super Moscato Show, Richard Gasquet reflected on his “horrible” record against Rafael Nadal, expressing his deep regret over never managing to beat the 22-time Grand Slam champion before his retirement.
“I lost 18 times against him, it’s horrible. I’m not going to sell you a false thing by telling you that it’s a pleasure. It’s a huge regret for me not to have beaten him. Now he’s gone so I won’t beat him again,” Gasquest said (Translated from French).
Gasquet, who has known the Spaniard since childhood, emphasized that his repeated losses weren’t a result of him being afraid. The Frenchman also pointed out that he had triumphed over Nadal as a 13-year-old at the Les Petit As junior tournament and nearly defeated him at the 2005 Monte-Carlo Masters.
However, Gasquet acknowledged that the former World No. 1’s game had progressed far beyond his own and confessed that it was hurtful to have never won a match against his longtime rival.
