Rewatch, 2005 Monte Carlo: Gasquet’s high-wire victory over Federer

You know a match was a good one when the soundtrack to its highlight reel mostly consists of the commentators blurting out things like “Oh!” and “Whoa!” and “Uh-huh!” and, when they just can’t believe it anymore, “Oh, come on!”

That’s what we hear from Leif Shiras and his broadcasting partner in this 10-minute clip of Richard Gasquet’s 6-7 (1), 6-2, 7-6 (8) win over Roger Federer in the 2005 Monte Carlo quarterfinals. Anyone who remembers watching the match won’t be surprised by the reactions from the booth. Fifteen years later, I can still vividly recall the excitement of that day and that week around the Tennis Magazine office.

Federer had won 25 straight matches and was on his way to an 81-4 record that season; his only loss to that point had been to Marat Safin in the Australian Open semifinals. When the year began, many of us assumed the French Open would come down to a contest between Federer and the king of clay at that moment, Guillermo Coria. But that spring two 18-year-olds appeared to challenge them. Rafael Nadal led Federer two sets to one in the Miami final before losing, and Gasquet showed that the flamboyant shotmaking that had made him the No. 1 junior in the world at 16 was going to make him a threat at the professional level, too. For the first time, we saw just how hot tennis’s version of The Microwave could get.

Gasquet, with his baroque one-handed backhand, was the original Baby Federer, and this was his first meeting with the father figure. The collision was explosive. But in a sign of things to come, his moment of glory didn’t last long. The following day he would lose to Nadal in three sets. Over the next 15 years, he wouldn’t get any closer. As of 2020, Gasquet is 0-16 against Nadal and 2-18 against Federer.

If you’re like me, you’re missing Monte Carlo a lot this week; even on TV, it’s one of the most game’s transporting events, and, along with Charleston and The Masters, a staple of our sporting diet in spring. For now, Gasquet-Federer will have to suffice, so let’s roll the videotape to their shootout by the sea.

A couple of weeks ago, I looked back at Federer’s 2003 Wimbledon final win. At that stage, he served and volleyed (on grass, anyway), had a slightly different, more-still service motion, and didn’t rely so thoroughly on his forehand. Two years later, the Federer we see in Monte Carlo is a lot like the Federer we see today—i.e., relentlessly looking to dominate the rallies with his forehand. If there’s a difference in his stroke-making, it may come on his backhand side. He gets backed up and is forced to shorten his swing more often here than he does today.

Federer goes up 2-0, but Gasquet makes his first mark with a laser down-the-line backhand winner that elicits an early “Whoa!” from the booth. From there, the match is a free-for-all, with the momentum swinging wildly back and forth for three sets, until someone finally has to win it. We see Gasquet win a point with a drop shot and a stone-cold swing-volley backhand. We see Federer dictate points by firing forehands from deep in his backhand corner. We see Gasquet smack return winners from both wings, carve out delicate volleys, and choose his backhand over his forehand when he’s in the middle of the court.

Gasquet wins the second set 6-2, and leads 5-2 in the third. Then, in another sign of things to come, he squanders the lead, and squanders match points at 5-3 and 5-4. But Gasquet didn’t have a history of losing matches like these yet. Instead, he saves three match points in the deciding tiebreaker—at 5-6, 6-7, and 7-8—and finishes with one of the great match-ending shots of all time, an on-the-run backhand pass from well behind the baseline.

When that last shot landed in, I can remember watching in disbelief, and thinking, “I guess Federer is human again.” In the days before his rivalry with Nadal began in earnest, he had an aura of invincibility.

“It’s tough to wake up every morning knowing that you have to defend your streak, or your record against the Top 10 or the finals streak or all the streaks I’m having,’ Federer said in his post-match presser. “I feel at the moment I’m playing against history more than the other players. It’s not so easy.”

Federer was impressed by Gasquet, but properly skeptical about his ability to produce such high-wire tennis on a regular basis.

"He really played into this zone where you had the feeling there was no more you could do,” Federer said of Gasquet. “That's a bit how I felt, but I will have to play him more often to see how consistent he is, but he definitely played a great match today."

On this day, Federer found a player to play against in Gasquet. He would soon find more, first in Nadal, and then in Novak Djokovic, who would start to make some noise later in 2005. Together, the three of them would push each other to greater historical heights. For Richard G, this day in Monte Carlo may have been his summit.