The next damper for the Lower Austrian?
A nominally very interesting pairing has emerged directly in the first round of the Moselle Open 2022 when two former top-10 players, Richard Gasquet and Dominic Thiem, clash early. Both athletes have fallen significantly in the rankings, but bring both the experience and reputation to make a splash at the 24th edition of the north-eastern French indoor hard court tournament.
For the winner of the opening match in Metz, things would continue in a very demanding way. In the second round, the reigning titleholder and current world number ten Hubert Hurkacz will play. In the run-up to the match between Richard Gasquet and Dominic Thiem, the odds are slightly in favour of the French local hero.
Both athletes have a score to settle with the tennis tournament in Metz, as both players once reached the final here but missed out on winning the title. While Dominic Thiem lost to Lucas Pouille in 2016, Richard Gasquet lost to his compatriot Jérôme Haehnel here 18 years ago at the second edition of the Moselle Open in 2004.
In view of the fact that both opponents are not exactly in top form going into this first-round match, we do not expect it to be too long. Accordingly, a lot of value is offered by betting on Richard Gasquet against Dominic Thiem that the match will be decided in less than 22.5 games.
Richard Gasquet – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 85
Seeded List Position: Wildcard
The now 36-year-old Frenchman Richard Gasquet is an old hand and an absolute perennial on the ATP Tour, where he is currently contesting his 21st year as a professional.
The player from Beziers finished a total of four years in the top 10 of the ATP world rankings. He also emerged victorious in 15 tournaments, although it was neither enough for a major title nor for the final of a Grand Slam tournament. In Metz, he will now play his 944th rated singles match on the ATP Tour.
Won 20 of his 35 singles in 2022
There hasn’t been too much to see of the former top-10 player this year. Gasquet took part in all four Grand Slam tournaments, but failed to reach the third round at the latest. In addition, he only played the Sunshine Double at major tournaments, where he was eliminated in the first round.
In total, the Frenchman played 35 singles matches in the 2022 season, 20 of which he won. The 36-year-old shone last week at the Davis Cup Finals, where he was unable to prevent France’s elimination in the preliminary round, but won both of his singles matches 2:0.
In Geneva with 2:0 win over Medvedev
However, Gasquet also scored at least one major victory in 2022 when he claimed an outright 2-0 win over then world number one Daniil Medvedev in the last 16 of the Geneva Open. If the Frenchman has a good day, he can still keep up with the elite on the ATP Tour.
Against this backdrop, bettors see the 36-year-old as the favourite to reach the second round of the Moselle Open.
Dominic Thiem – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 182
Position in the seedings: Protected Ranking
Two years ago, 29-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem won his first Grand Slam title in his fourth attempt. And who knows how many more successes could have been added had the Wiener Neustädter not injured his wrist three quarters of a year later.
Since then, the Lower Austrian has made repeated attempts to gain a foothold on the ATP Tour. But because his wrist still causes him problems and his once so feared forehand is no longer a weapon, Thiem even slipped out of the top 300 of the ATP world rankings in the meantime.
Lost final in Rennes on Sunday
At the 2022 US Open, the Lower Austrian failed in the first round, whereupon he unceremoniously signed up for a small tournament on the Challenger Tour. In Rennes, the 29-year-old also had a good run to the final.
On his way to the final, Thiem won four games and beat two well-known opponents, Gilles Simon (ATP 175) and Hugo Gaston (ATP 85). In the final, however, he missed the title by a clear 0:2 margin against Ugo Humbert (ATP 139) after a drop in performance on Sunday. In the second set, which Thiem lost 6-0, he only managed to win four points on his own serve.
How is Thiem’s wrist and forehand?
The next Thiem appearance will be correspondingly ill-starred just two days later in the first round of the Moselle Open, for which the former Grand Slam champion was given a place in the main draw via protected ranking.
If he is again unable to put full pressure on his wrist and makes too many unforced errors with his forehand, which suffers as a result, it could be the next very short appearance. Accordingly, the tip for Richard Gasquet against Dominic Thiem is less than 22.5 games.
Richard Gasquet – Dominic Thiem Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Head to head: 2:1
Three times the two players have faced each other in a singles match so far. After Richard Gasquet won the first two matches in Basel in 2015 and Vienna in 2017, Dominic Thiem celebrated a 2-0 victory over the Frenchman in the last encounter so far in Beijing 2019.
Richard Gasquet – Dominic Thiem tip
When it comes to Richard Gasquet against Dominic Thiem, the prediction has to take into account that the Austrian Grand Slam champion is not his old self since his wrist injury. And because his once-feared forehand is producing more errors than winners at the moment, he will start as the underdog in Metz in north-eastern France just two days after losing the final in Rennes without a sound bite.
In addition, Richard Gasquet not only leads the “head to head” comparison with 2:1 (on indoor hard court it is even 2:0), but also won two singles in the Davis Cup in the last few days with 2:0 each.
We do not categorically rule out a victory for the Lower Austrian, but we expect a short match with a maximum of 22 games.
