Richard Gasquet hasn't won a single tour-level match against Rafael Nadal, but he hasn't lost his sense of humor.
The Frenchman will take an 0-10 record into their semifinal meeting at the U.S. Open on Saturday—his only victory at the professional level against Nadal came at the St. Jean de Luz challenger ten years ago, when Nadal retired after losing the first set 6-2. Gasquet has also lost both their previous Grand Slam meetings, at the 2005 French Open and 2009 U.S. Open, in straight sets.
When told his record against Nadal "is not so great," Gasquet smiled and made an '0' sign with his fingers, drawing laughter from reporters in his press conference after the quarterfinals.
But Gasquet can count a victory against Nadal in the under-14s at the Le Petit A’s junior tournament, a match since made famous on YouTube.
"People are talking about this video, you know, when I played against him, against Rafa," Gasquet said. "I can see I'm winning against him, so I don't believe it sometimes."
"He was already fighting a lot already, already running so much, and I remember I won maybe 6-4 in a set, and I told my father after, 'He's a big fighter,'" added Gasquet. "I didn't lie... In the future, this one is biggest player in the world in the history."
On Saturday, he'll be going after a win in the big leagues. "It's good to win under-14, but is better to win on the pro [tour], and I didn't... [but] we are only 27 years old," said Gasquet. "So why not? We will see."
In addition to the one-sided head-to-head record, Gasquet will also be playing after two five-setters in a row. "But I have two days to recover," he said on Wednesday. "I'm playing Saturday. That make a big difference for me. I think Saturday I will be fresh.
"But it's very difficult because he's powerful, especially with the forehand. I'm in semis in U.S. Open. I want to do the best I can do. I will try to go in this match to win. If not, don't go on the court. Nobody will say I'm the favorite. But, yeah, I want to play a big match."