Richard Gasquet: I'm afraid every time I take a test

French 15-time ATP champion Richard Gasquet admits there is fear every time he takes a coronavirus test as he hopes his fellow compatriot will have a quick recovery from the coronavirus. 

On Tuesday, former world No. 6 Gasquet made a good start to his campaign at Bercy as he beat rising American star Taylor Fritz 6-0 3-6 6-3. 

But unfortunately for all the French fans, Moutet wasn't that lucky as the 21-year-old was withdrawn from the Paris Masters after testing positive for the coronavirus. 

On Monday, Moutet beat Salvatore Caruso in three sets and on Tuesday he was scheduled to play 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic.

"What I'm going to tell you is that you are afraid every time. Every time you take a test," Gasquet said, per Tennis Majors.

"Honestly, he can be happy to have it in Paris. It's better than St. Petersburg, I think. But it's complicated. I'm disappointed for him because he played well; he had a big game yesterday."

Gasquet wishes Moutet a quick recovery 

"I hope he will not have symptoms especially and that he will be able to recover and come back as quickly as possible. But for sure life is completely different for a tennis player. I did a lot of tests, we do it every 4 days, a lot can happen," Gasquet added.

Gasquet, 34, is happy to be able to compete in these difficult times as he suggests tennis players are blessed.

"You always have to put things into perspective... tennis players are lucky to play. The restaurants are not open, there are a lot of people who cannot work. We still manage to play at Bercy," Gasquet noted. 

"I'm not the type to cry or whatever, but honestly, we're very lucky: we're here, we can play. There are those who are at home, who do not work, who nevertheless have much more difficult situations than us."

Meanwhile, top-ranked Briton Dan Evans said he is unsure what will happen with the ATP Cup in 2021. 

On Tuesday, world No. 31 Evans was beaten by three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in his opener at Bercy.

"I have heard a few things that it might be less teams, it might be a different week, so I'm not sure what's gonna happen, actually," Evans said after the loss, per Tennis Majors. "Obviously you just hear different things, so the ATP I think are going to let us know within 10 days I think..."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3mSVN00