Richard Gasquet raised his arms to the applause of the Arthur-Ashe stadium and there was undoubtedly a lot of irony in this gesture. The Frenchman had just won his first game of the match after 1h09 after losing the first nine to Rafael Nadal in the third round of the US Open. An ordeal that he softened a little by hanging the Spaniard in the third set but which did not change anything at the end of this match (6-0, 6-1, 7-5). And that does not change the statistics: Gasquet lost his 18 duels against the Mallorcan among the pros. 34 Gasquet remains on 34 consecutive sets lost against Rafael Nadal. The last time he took a set from him was in 2008 during the Canadian Masters 1000. The Biterrois saw the score scroll to his disadvantage without succeeding in stopping the bleeding. He was however in combat against the former world No. 1, with several times break points in his favor and always the opportunity to conclude on his service games but he never managed to tip them. He dragged this start like a cannonball: “The 6-0 hurts especially since this first set lasts ¾ of an hour, I had balls almost every time to make the plays. It wasn’t easy at first, I served very, very badly and then I took a bit of pressure. It happened to me a few times but this was very severe. “I’m already happy not to have played him in the first round, I’m going to sleep well thinking about that tonight And Gasquet suffered again in the second set in a scenario that was becoming more and more complicated. But he always kept in mind that he would know how to bounce back. “I knew that I was going to succeed in getting started and that it was going to start, but the problem is that I couldn’t start the thing, that’s what was very hard, he explained after the meeting. . Afterwards, I’m not going to say that at 6-0, I’m fine. It happened to me at Roland-Garros (he also started 6-0 against Nadal) also two years ago but it was behind closed doors, it was still better, it was easier ( smile). “The only advantage this time is that when the French won a game, he provoked the first reaction of a Central hitherto very silent. But it was a little later, in the third act, that Gasquet really managed to free himself. “I managed to relax in the third. I felt that he was less well, that he made a few double faults. There is nothing extraordinary but I could have gone to the tie-break and won that set. But victory was still a long way off. By giving up his serve at 5-5, he lost his last hope of winning a set against the Spaniard. And left the court on a simple observation: “He is stronger, there is nothing to say. “Before adding with a smile:” I’m already happy not to have played it in the first round, I’m going to sleep well thinking about it tonight. Nadal, who has still not lost a match this year in Grand Slam (titles at the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, package before his half at Wimbledon) now has an appointment with Frances Tiafoe to play a place in quarters. Rafael Nadal at the US Open. (D. Parhizkaran/Sports Press)