France’s Richard Gasquet has severed ties with Sergei Bruguera as his coach. Gasquet, 31, has endured a tough season on the ATP World Tour, including a spell out with appendicitis that caused him to miss a chunk of the season in the American spring.
Gasquet and Bruguera had worked together for four years, with the Spaniard coaching Gasquet to just his third Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon in 2015 before backing up that result with a quarter-final at the US Open two months later. Gasquet also reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2016, but has failed to progress past the third round in his last five Grand Slam tournaments, including three first round exits in that run.
The move marks a significant change within Gasquet’s camp, as the stylish right-hander also ended his relationship with compatriot Sebastian Grosjean. Gasquet gave the reason for the separation as Grosjean’s choice, stating that “he wanted to spend more time with his family.”
Gasquet announced Thierry Champion as his new coach for the 2018 season. Champion announced that he will split duties with Gasquet as well as his other charge, mercurially talented Benoit Paire. Champion has a vast coaching resume. He spent time working with former Top 10 star Gael Monfils, Hicham Arazi, Nicolas Escude, and Paul-Henri Mathieu. Both players are also happy for Champion to continue in his role as commentator for television networks.
Gasquet took to social to pay tribute to his partnership with former Roland Garros winner Bruguera.
I really Want to thank SergiFor These 4 incredible years . It Was an honor for me to Work with Such a great champion and great person pic.twitter.com/jredSu9Ptq
— Richard Gasquet (@richardgasquet1) November 5, 2017
