It is a huge frustration to have asked so many times against him, it is something unpleasant. “This was said on Tuesday by Richard Gasquet after beating his compatriot Hugo Gastón, before it was even official that his next rival at Roland Garros would be Rafa Nadal. And the thing is that the Balearic, who at that time was on his way to beat the Australian Popyrin, has a overwhelming balance against the French: 16-0. In fact, if he defeats him again this Thursday (21:00, Eurosport) his face to face will enter the select club from 17-0, in which are Federer Djokovic, Lendl and Borg, who made life bitter for Youzhny and Ferrer, Monfils, Mayot and Gerulaitis, respectively (see table), victims of the greatness of these eternal tennis stars.
Greater beatings in face to face
| Confrontation | Outcome |
| Federer vs Youzhny | 17-0 |
| Federer vs Ferrer | 17-0 |
| Djokovic vs Monfils | 17-0 |
| Lendl vs Mayot | 17-0 |
| Borg vs Gerulaitis | 17-0 |
| Lendl vs Davis | 16-0 |
| Lendl vs Gilbert | 16-0 |
| Nadal vs Gasquet | 16-0 |
| Federer vs Nieminen | 15-0 |
| Borg vs Solomon | 15-0 |
| Djokovic vs Chardy | 14-0 |
| Federer vs Kohlschreiber | 14-0 |
| Borg vs Dibbs | 14-0 |
Nadal also has particularly stunning records with other Frenchmen, such as Gael Monfils (14-2), Paul Henri Mathieu (10-0), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10-4), Gilles Simon (8-1) and Benoit Paire. (4-0). Against French tennis players, the total for Manacor is 93-13 and there is only one he could not win, Olivier Mutis, who beat him in the second round of Palermo in 2004, at the dawn of his career.
Nadal against French
| Rival | Balance |
| Richard Gasquet | 16-0 |
| Gael monfils | 14-2 |
| Paul Henri Mathieu | 10-0 |
| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 10-4 |
| Gilles Simon | 8-1 |
| Benoit paire | 4-0 |
The history of Nadal and Gasquet goes back a long way. They have known each other since they were children, when they faced each other for the first time in Tarbes, in a tournament considered as the Children’s World Cup called Les Petits AS (The Little Aces). They were both 13 years old. On that occasion, the tennis player from Beziers won 6-7, 6-3 and 6-4, and won a title that Manacor would conquer the following year and that was also harvested, among others and at different times, by Federer, Murray and Thiem. At that time, Gasquet could not even imagine that Nadal’s revenge would be eternal and that he could not beat him, to date, as a professional. “It’s nice that we can face each other again and in a place like this. He is always a difficult opponent and I hope to be prepared,” said the Spanish respectfully. At Roland Garros they met for the first time in 2005, as promising youngsters. “You could see that he was a different guy. I couldn’t imagine that he was going to win the tournament 13 times, but he did win a lot.”, said Richard, who despite his bad luck against him, wants to try again: “It is the best of all time, fatigue even having to repeat it. I want to play a great game, enjoy, it is something magnificent to play again Against him, we are both almost 35 years old. ” Nadal meets them precisely this Thursday and Gasquet on June 18. “It is true that we do not have the same level, but I hope to enjoy it,” he adds.
Alcaraz, against Basilashvili
He also hopes to have a good time Carlos Alcaraz, the future of Spanish tennis, who at 18 years old faces in the last turn of court 14 a difficult but not unbeatable rival, Nikoloz Basilashvili, Georgian 29th and 31st in the world. The Murcian will try to reach the third round and improve the result he obtained in Australia.
Results, table and calendar.