It’s friend vs. friend later today as Gasquet goes up against his buddy Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the fourth round of Wimbledon. To get there, Gasquet had to squeak past Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the third round, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-3. Against Ramos-Vinolas, Gasquet won 64 of his 82 first serve points and fired 47 winners, his most thus far in this year’s Wimbledon.
Gasquet is looking good with his return game. He’s won 15 total return games in the tournament, including four against Ramos-Vinolas. Gasquet won his lone match versus Tsonga at Wimbledon with a 6-4, 6-3,6-4 win in the Round of 16 in 2007.
Tsonga is coming off a marathon against John Isner, but at least he got the victory, 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 19-17. It took Tsonga four hours and 24 minutes to get the job done, meaning he’s going to play against Gasquet with a more fatigued body.
Regardless of how fast he’ll recover, Tsonga remains a tough opponent for Gasquet. Tsonga’s service game was a picture of efficiency during the third round, winning 129 of 144 (90 percent) service points. And while he lost to Gasquet before at Wimbledon, Tsonga has won their last two meetings. Tsonga beat Gasquet in the 2013 Australian Open and in the 2009 Tokyo Open.
