Gasquet Earns 550th Career Win In Dubai
Richard Gasquet was only 15 when he became the youngest match winner in ATP Tour history (since 1990) with his first tour-level win at the 2002 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. The Frenchman reached another milestone on Monday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, when he defeated Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-2 to record his 550th tour-level win.
Gasquet dropped just two points behind his first serve (27/29) to become only the sixth active player to clinch 550 victories. The former World No. 7 joins the Big Four and Fernando Verdasco in the exclusive club.
Most Career Match Wins (Active Players)
| Rank | Player | Wins |
| 1 | Roger Federer | 1,243 |
| 2 | Rafael Nadal | 1,008 |
| 3 | Novak Djokovic | 943 |
| 4 | Andy Murray | 677 |
| 5 | Fernando Verdasco | 552 |
| 6 | Richard Gasquet | 550 |
Gasquet, a 15-time ATP Tour titlist, improved his tour-level record to 550-331 with his win against Cecchinato. The two-time Dubai semi-finalist (2009, ’11) will face 13th seed Hubert Hurkacz for a spot in the third round.
“I am feeling great here,” Gasquet said in an on-court interview. “I know this court well. I played well [here] last year. It is a fast court. I like to play on it. It is important to serve well and it was a great match. I started well, feeling confident and winning the first set and then I played better in the second set.”
Jan Lennard-Struff landed 16 aces en route to a 6-3, 6-2 win against Mikhail Kukushkin. The World No. 39 will face third seed Denis Shapovalov in the second round.
Lloyd Harris also booked a second-round encounter against seeded opposition. The South African recovered from a set down to overcome Aussie Christopher O’Connell 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1. Harris will meet top seed Dominic Thiem in the second round.