Richard Gasquet will start his 2017 season surrounded by a new face after hiring Thierry Champion as his new coach.
The Frenchman confirmed on Tuesday that he has ended his five-year collaboration with Sebastian Grosjean, a man who guided Gasquet to seven ATP titles and two grand slam semifinals during their time together. The ending of the partnership was on a mutual agreement after former world No.4 Grosjean struggled to find a balance between travelling the world and supporting his family.
“Grosjean wants to spend more time with his family,” said Gasquet during an interview with Bein Sports. “I want to thank him, we started together in 2011 and I was really back down the standings. With him, I completed three seasons in the top 10, twice ninth and once 10th, in 2012, 2013 and 2015. He became a very close friend, I spent five exceptional years with him. If I could, I would have continued my career with him.”
Replacing the popular Grosjean will be Thierry Champion, a two-time grand slam quarter-finalist that has worked with some of France’s biggest names on the ATP Tour. The 50-year-old is also the coach of Benoit Paire and intends to split his time between the two players.
“I started talking with Richard’s agent and also with Sebastien (Grosjean) for a month and a half.” Said Champion.”I was also engaged with another player, Benoit Paire. I talked with him about whether it bothered him for me to share (coaching duties) a few weeks in the season. Benoit accepted, he was even happy. The same for Richard. “
Since retiring from the tour, Champion has also enjoyed coaching stints with Gael Monfils, Paul-Henri Mathieu and Nicolas Escudé. Entering his latest task with Gasquet, he candidly revealed that he doesn’t intend to dramatically change the playing style of the 30-year-old. Instead Champion’s primary focus will be on improving Gasquet’s physical fitness and mental toughness in matches.
The two had already talked with each other about what their future goals are. At the age of 30, Gasquet has no intention of slowing down or changing his aspirations on the tour. It is a mindset that has been praised by his new coach.
”I’ve found myself faced with someone who has his ambitions intact and above all (we) agreed. I have someone who speaks very maturely and know’s where he wants to go with very high goals and with the desire to forge ahead. For a coach that starts with a player, knowing that motivation is intact despite his age, it’s nice.” He said.
Besides Champion, Gasquet will continue working with former French Open winner Sergi Bruguera. Bruguera has been on the Frenchman’s team since 2014 and will split the coaching duties with Champion.
This week Gasquet is playing at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. Seeded 12th in the tournament, he started his campaign with a tough 6-4, 7-6(11) win over Steve Johnson. He will play either Jack Sock or Dominic Thiem in the third round.
