By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Monday, January 6, 2025
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty
Richard Gasquet bid farewell to Oz with gratitude.
The 38-year-old Frenchman paused to sign autographs for fans after falling to Duje Ajdukovic 7-6(4), 6-3 in the Australian Open first round of qualifying. It is the final Melbourne match of Gasquet's career.
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Former world No. 7 Gasquet has 606 career wins, captured 16 Tour-level titles and earned more than $21 million in prize money in an impressive career. Gasquet announced he will retire at the 2025 Roland Garros.
"Thank you for the many years of entertaining us in Melbourne and we wish you all the best in retirement," the Australian Open posted on its social media channels.
"I think that it is the best moment for me to do it," Gasquet told French daily L'Equipe of his planned Roland Garros retirement. "It is the best tournament to do it. It's magnificent, we have the chance being French to be able to stop in these kind of incredible places.
"An end, it's always complicated, all the former great players always told me it's not easy to announce. You never know when, how, where. Here, in any case, it is obvious."
Gasquet's 606 career match wins are most by a Frenchman in the Open Era.