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This is an archive article published on September 28, 2007

Gasquet keeps the brat-pack in play

Had Stefan Koubek, 30, advanced to the semi-finals of the Mumbai Open beating Richard Gasquet...

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Had Stefan Koubek, 30, advanced to the semi-finals of the Mumbai Open beating Richard Gasquet – Mumbai Open would have truly qualified as an elder-statesman’s tournament with Olivier Rochus – being the youngest in contention at 26 among the four. Could have even been rechristened Mumbai Masters! He didn’t.

Gasquet – top seed and young at 21 – ensured tennis’ young brat-pack stayed in the reckoning and was well represented in the city, even as Fabrice Santoro (34) and Rainer Schuettler (31) quelled the challenges of Jarkko Nieminen and Lleyton Hewitt respectively in the quarter finals.

Rochus, in fact made the last four after Nicolas Kiefer (30) retired from the match after reporting gastroenteritis.

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Fabrice Santoro weaving some vintage magic set up a semi-final clash with top-seed Richard Gasquet after beating Finnish 25-year-old Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-4 in the first quarter final of the day.

The Frenchman runs into a third compatriot in four outings – after beating young pretenders Eduardo Roger Vasselin and Nicolas Devilder in the first two rounds.

A winner in both their previous meetings, Santoro was at his best returning in the first set, inducing errors from the No 23 and the Finn was broken in the ninth of the second, as the end neared. Nieminen later admitted he was affected by the heat, but Santoro himself was down squatting as he closed out the match in an hour and 21 minutes.

“Due to the humidity I didn’t play as well as I can, or hit as hard as I can. But this is the most I’ve sweated in my life,” he joked, dripping of perspiration after the match. Santoro has been in the city for eight days now, and he added that Friday offered the toughest challenge of the week.

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Santoro, world No 43, will play Gasquet – 13 years his junior – in the semi-finals. Gasquet – whipping his single-handed backhand to good effect against Stefan Koubek, put in a performance which was at par to his top-seeding here.

Gasquet, currently 14, was broken for the first time in the tournament against Koubek who quite fancies playing in India. But troubled more by an injury to his left-serving hand than by the heat, the Austrian found the going tough heading into the second set.

Breaks were exchanged early in the second, but Gasquet was clinical in wrapping it up in just over an hour.

Schuettler and Santoro have both been forced into breaks owing to various niggles, and Santoro explained he had even taken off in April-May.

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“But I’ve started taking care of my health a lot and take frequent breaks. That’s how I enjoy my tennis,” he said, advising youngsters though to keep at it on the court. “Work hard and fight for every ball,” he added.

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