“I will tell you this: outside the court he is the greatest person, as well as one of the greats as a tennis player. I am happy to play on the same team with such a huge name as Andy, and it will be wonderful for the crowd to see him playing.”
Despite nabbing a big win, the Russian’s draw has hardly gotten easier. Where one might typically expect to sail through a seed’s section of the draw, Gabashvili draw established clay courter and a former Top 10 player in Juan Monaco. Though the Argentine has dipped in form, he has quite the clay court pedigree, with 18 of his 20 ATP World Tour finals coming on the terre battue.
The self-described “aggressive attacking baseliner” might have been forgiven if first round heroics led to a second round letdown, but Gabashvili was equally on song in Court 5 on Wednesday. Striking another 32 winners, the Russian cruised past Monaco, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, and is into the third round of the French Open for the first time since that aforementioned 2010 run.
Gabashvili has jumped out to lightning-quick starts thus far in Roland Garros, a trait that will no doubt come in handy when playing under Mylan WTT’s innovative scoring system.
“It’s better to have a good start, or otherwise I’m out! It will be very exciting and aggressive games because you have to fire up from the first point. We will probably have longer warm-ups than match itself, but that’s how it is.”
The Russian may be new to Mylan WTT, but he’s no stranger to team tennis; Gabashvili has played Davis Cup for his country since 2009, a competition which shares several elements that will surely be present at each Mylan WTT match.
“I have experience with on-court coaching from Davis Cup, along with the cheering from the crowd like in team sports, so this is good. It gives you double energy, and helps you to play better.”
Gabashvili has led the way for Mylan WTT in men’s singles in Paris. Standing between the Russian and a return to a Grand Slam second week is Czech star Lucas Rosol, with No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori a likely fourth round opponent.
‘Teymur’ will be exploring further uncharted territory when he makes the trip to Austin for the first time. Gabashvili plans to pick up a few souvenirs for friends and indulge in the city’s famous barbeque culture with Roddick and teammates Nicole Gibbs, Jarmere Jenkins, and compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva.
“I heard from all over the country that it is a wonderful city. Everyone loves it, so I’m really excited to see it and really enjoy it.”
With the rising ATP veteran still in the midst of a successful clay court campaign, what can Austin fans expect from Gabashvili between now and the start of the Mylan WTT season?
“Energy, lots of energy.”
