Sinner Triumphs Over Gasquet in French Open, Marking Veteran's Retirement

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner ended Richard Gasquet's incredible tennis career on Thursday, beating the French veteran 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 to advance to the men's singles third round at the French Open in Paris.

Playing in his 22nd French Open appearance on the clay court Grand Slam, 38-year-old Gasquet could not keep up with Sinner's strong groundstrokes and accurate shot-making in their almost two-hour encounter.

With this win, Sinner, the current number one seed in the ATP, increased his Grand Slam winning run to 16 matches. He was also the first male player to be born in 1990 or later to attain such a feat.

"We are on good terms off the court. We belong to different generations, but it's your time," Sinner explained to Gasquet, who infamously recorded his only win over a World No. 1 back in 2005 when he defeated Roger Federer in Monte-Carlo.

"Congratulations to your family, to your staff. Without fantastic people around every player, it's not possible to achieve such an unbelievable career. You have played in such an unbelievable era of tennis, and everybody will identify you, even after retirement," said the Italian, according to the ATP Tour official website.

Gasquet, a 16-time ATP titlist, achieved his career-best World No. 7 ranking in his 23-year tour career and is the Open Era record holder for most victories (610) by a French player.

In this victory, Sinner, the current US Open and Australian Open champion, will be up against Jiri Lehecka in the third round. Sinner is 2-0 in their ATP head-to-head. Lehecka came through after a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach this stage of Roland Garros for the first time.

After winning in straight sets against Arthur Rinderknech in the opening round and Gasquet in round two, Sinner’s Roland Garros record improved to 18-5. Last year, he reached the semifinals, where he lost to rival Carlos Alcaraz in a grueling five-set battle. At 23, Sinner aims to become the first Italian man to win the French Open in the Open Era since Adriano Panatta’s triumph in 1976.

It's clearly a very special spot for me to play," Sinner said, mentioning his previous victory against Gasquet in Paris last year. "Against Richard, we already played last year here, it's always very difficult. I'm usually very content to be in the third round. Merci beaucoup you guys for making it faire.

In spite of the defeat, Gasquet provided some strokes of genius, particularly with his iconic one-handed backhand.

He fashioned three break points during Sinner's service to seal the first set at 5-3, earning raucous applause from the local supporters on Court Philippe-Chatrier. But Sinner saved all three break chances, Infosys Stats reported, and never had another one during the course of the match, winning convincingly.