Richard Gasquet has announced he is to partake in the upcoming Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell that is running between 18 and 24 of April. 

Gasquet who missed the Australian swing recently came back from a back injury to defend his title in Montpellier after defeating Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-5, 6-4. 

Alberto Costa director of Barcelona Open expressed his happiness by saying "This is great news but we will keep on working to sign more top players like Gasquet, who is considered on the biggest talents in the world at the moment.”

The World number 10 was the fourth player to be announced after defending champion from the past two years Kei Nishikori, 8 time champion Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer were also scheduled to take part in this tournament. 

Richard Gasquet, 29, who is coached by Sergi Bruguera and Sebastien Grosjean will be looking to add to his thirteen titles. Gasquet who won Montpellier and Estoril Open in 2015 has become the second most successful French player, tied with Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Open era, and only overtaken by Yannick Noah

Gasquet has appeared at this tournament three times, with his best result coming in 2011 where he reached the third round losing to compatriot Gael Monfils 6-4, 7-6 (7).

Richard Gasquet of France in action against Leonardo Martin Mayer of Argentina during Day 3 of the BNP Paribas Masters held at AccorHotels Arena on November 4, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Richard Gasquet of France in action against Leonardo Martin Mayer of Argentina during Day 3 of the BNP Paribas Masters held at AccorHotels Arena on November 4, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Playing Style 

Richard Gasquet claims his favourite surface is clay, although having won three of his thirteen titles on this surface many would disagree with that. Many would argue grass is his best surface, having made the semifinal at Wimbledon in 2007 and 2015, and winning the Nottingham Open twice back in '05 and '06, despite the grass season being only six weeks long.

Richard is also very crafty using drop shots and fakes to misdirect his opponents. He has also been praised in the past for his variety and all-court play, and is solid on all parts of the court. Gasquet performs much harder and rarer shots in the game today such as: the drive volley, half volley and on occasion serve and volley. While the Frenchman plays well on many surfaces, his dominant baseline play and long, winding groundstrokes allows him to do well on clay. 

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