The 21st seed Richard Gasquet had booked his place in the second round of Wimbledon, making quick work 21-year-old Australian Luke Saville. The Frenchman won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, in just 1 hour and 37 minutes.
Gasquet, 31, served well throughout the match, winning 80 percent of points on his first serve and 64 percent of points on his second serve. Saville, on the other hand, had seven double faults compared to just two aces, winning just 56 percent of points on his first serve. Saville also failed to break Gasquet's serve the entire match, getting just two opportunities to do so.
The Frenchman, famous for his beautiful one-handed backhand, dominated almost every statistic, having the upper hand in winners (33 to 15), unforced errors (18 to 21), aces (5 to 2) and double faults (3 to 7).
Gasquet, a seasoned veteran, has a decent record at Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals in 2007 and the 4th round on four other occasions. Given his record on grass and a relatively favourable draw, he is expected by many to be a dark horse who could go far at this year's Championships.
He will now face a big serving compatriot in qualifier Kenny De Schepper, who came back from two sets to love down to beat another Australian, John-Patrick Smith, 4-6, 4-6, 7-6(4,) 6-4, 6-4 in just under three hours. With De Schepper, a 6' 8'', 28-year-old lefty, going through a tough five-set battle, Gasquet goes into this match with a significant advantage, as well as a superior wealth in experience.
11th seed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who also won his first round match comfortably, is a potential opponent in the 3rd round. An interesting matchup will be on the cards should Gasquet and Dimitrov both pass their respective second round tests.