French Open 2018: Battle of the old pals, says Rafael Nadal vs Richard Gasquet

Rafael Nadal

French favourite Richard Gasquet says he has to find solutions to finally beat old junior rival Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros today after losing all 15 of their Tour-level matches. Gasquet's miserable head-to-head record against his childhood friend has shown no signs of improving in recent years - the World No. 32 has not taken a set off the Spaniard since 2008.

The 27th seed insisted he doesn't respect Nadal too much on court, though, pointing out that he's not the first man to struggle against the 10-time French Open champion. "It's not a question of respect. When I'm on the court, I lose. That's it. I do my best every time," he said.

Richard Gasquet

The pair will meet for a 16th time with Gasquet looking to end Nadal's bid for an 11th French Open title in the third round. "It's up to me to find the solutions. Once in Basel we had a very tight match. I found a way," said Gasquet after his 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 second-round victory over Malek Jaziri.

"I'm not going to think about it throughout the day and think he's an incredible player; we all know it. I'll try to play a good match." Back when the two broke through in 2005, Nadal and Gasquet were considered among the best young players in the game. Nadal has 16 Grand Slam titles, but Gasquet has never reached a major final.

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