ATP Bucarest: Richard Gasquet raggiunge le 1000 partite in carriera

French player Richard Gasquet reached an important milestone this week at the Tiriac Open in Bucharest. The 37-year-old will play his 1000th career match against Argentine Federico Coria in the first round of the tournament.

Gasquet joins an exclusive club of active players, including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Fernando Verdasco (who has not played since last September and was in Abedallah Shelbayh’s corner in Monte Carlo), who have reached this milestone. The British Andy Murray, who is currently sidelined due to an ankle injury in Miami, has played 996 matches so far. In terms of all-time rankings for matches played, American Jimmy Connors leads the way with 1557 matches, followed by Federer (1526), Djokovic (1314), Lendl (1310), and Nadal (1291). The top ten is rounded out by Vilas (1248), Nastase (1242), Agassi (1144), Ferrer (1111), and Stan Smith (1084).

With 16 ATP titles under his belt, Gasquet’s longevity is impressive. It has been 22 years since the Frenchman, just 15 years old, won his first match at a Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo in 2002, becoming the youngest player to do so. Just last June, Gasquet celebrated his 600th tour-level victory. No French player has achieved more victories in the Open era.