The Paris court was pumping with home rhythm.
Richard Gasquet and Nicolas Mahut went wide and high at the BNP Paribas Masters reminding us all why Frenchmen playing in Paris put on the best hometown shows in the sport.
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Staring down set point, Gasquet went flying so wide he could have skipped into the front-row bolting this jaw-dropping backhand return winner down the line.
Is this the best backhand return of the year?
It was a critical stroke of brilliance. Gasquet saved six set points in the second-set tie break, eventually converting his fourth match point to subdue Steve Johnson, 6-4, 7-6 (11).
Mahut was a set and a break down, but turned the homecourt into a launching pad for this air slam in his 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 first-round win over Martin Klizan.