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Underdogs Gasquet, Haehnel Face Off in ATP Metz Final
Posted on October 17, 2004
French fans will enjoy two of their own in the ATP Metz final Sunday, albeit two players whose rankings were not high enough to gain them direct entry to the main draw at the beginning of the week.
18-year-old wildcard Richard Gasquet gained the final Saturday with a 6-1, 6-4 win over unseeded American Jeff "Baby Krajicek" Morrison, while qualifier Jerome Haehnel edged another unseeded Frenchman in Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 7-6(1) to reach his career-first ATP final.
"I played a perfect match," Gasquet said. "To reach your first final is an important moment. You always dream of winning a trophy, but I've played lots of finals in the junior ranks and I think I will tackle it calmly. Since the start of the week, I've been impressed by Jerome's game as he has unusual shots. But I think I have the game to upset him."
The 24-year-old Haehnel has competed primarily on the Futures and Challengers circuits this year, going 0-2 in Futures finals and 0-1 in Challenger finals. Haehnel became a brief blip on the international radar last May when he defeated an under-prepared Andre Agassi in the first round at Roland Garros, losing in the second round to countryman Michael Llodra.
"I can't believe it," said Haehnel, who plays only in Europe because he is afraid of flying. "In terms of emotion, it's close to my victory over Agassi."
Gasquet has had a difficult go of it this year, losing 13 out of 16 tour-level events in the second round or earlier coming into Metz, and in the last couple months dropping down to Challenger-level events in an attempt to garner some points.
Haehnel won his only previous meeting with Gasquet in 2001 at the France F20 Futures event.
The doubles final will be Ljubicic/Vico vs. Frenchmen (2) Clement/Mahut.
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