Tennis-Gasquet reflects on his Nadal win, as a young teen

By Will Swanton

NEW YORK, Sept 4 | Thu Sep 5, 2013 1:16am BST

NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Frenchman Richard Gasquet joked about his only victory against Rafa Nadal, his likely next opponent, coming at the tender age of 13 after he marched into the last four of the U.S. Open on Wednesday.

Gasquet, 27, reached the second grand slam semi-final of his career with a tough 6-3 6-1 4-6 2-6 6-3 victory over Spain's fourth-seeded David Ferrer.

The Frenchman appeared fatigued when Ferrer levelled the match at two sets all but his scintillating groundstrokes, especially his renowned one-handed backhand, gave him the upper hand in an entertaining match lasting three hours 23 minutes.

Gasquet moved into a semi-final against either second-seeded Nadal or fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo and he fully expected to face Nadal, against whom he has a 0-10 head-to-head record.

A YouTube clip titled 'Rafael Nadal 13 Years Old,' featuring the Spaniard playing against Gasquet as a junior, has attracted more than 600,000 viewers. Gasquet has been one of them.

"I saw on YouTube that video sometimes," the Frenchman said. "People are talking about that video when I played against Rafa. On YouTube I can see I'm winning against him, so I don't believe it sometimes.

"It was a match in Tarbes, one of the biggest tournaments for the younger children under 14. It's good to win at under 14, but it is better to win as a pro."

Gasquet had clear memories of that junior match against Nadal.

"I didn't know him when I played him, when I was 13 years old," he said. "But he was already fighting a lot already. He was already running so much. I remember I won a set 6-4, and I told my father he's a big fighter.

"I didn't lie. I was true. In the future, this one is the biggest player in the world."

Gasquet's semi-final appearance will be his first at a major since he lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2007. Fatigue could be an issue for the Frenchman, following his back-to-back five-set wins against Canadian Milos Raonic and Ferrer.

"Right now, for sure, I'm a little bit tired," Gasquet said. "But I have two days to recover. That makes a difference for me." (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

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Cornish 'Botham' reflects on his 300

By Phil Harlow BBC South West Sport Playing for Luckett Cricket Club in Division Two East of the Cornwall Cricket Leagues does not ordinarily lead to interview requests, headlines on the BBC or offers of free gear from equipment manufacturers.

But batsman Andrew Brenton's display for Luckett against Tideford last weekend was no ordinary performance.

The 39-year-old's record-breaking innings - 311 runs scored off just 40 overs, including 53 boundaries and 11 sixes - has led to a flurry of publicity and interest, with the BBC Sport website story on his feat recording more than 200,000 page views from around the world since Tuesday.

"It's all been a bit mad," the understated Brenton told BBC South West Sport over a pint in the same pub in which the team drink after every home game.

"I've been getting texts from everyone and my son said he'd seen a story about it on a website in New Zealand.

"I haven't been too keen to make a big deal about it. But now I think about it, it will be nice to have the record for however long it stands and for my son to look at the stories about it all, and hopefully it will do something for Luckett as a club."

Andrew Brenton (left) and Jack Sleep pose in front of the scoreboard after a record-breaking day

Reliving the innings that has made him - in his own words - "famous for 15 minutes", Brenton said he knew that the baking conditions meant a big total was potentially on the cards.

"It was just a perfect day to bat," he said.

"I was praying that we'd win the toss. Everyone knew it would be a hard day for the bowlers and the fielders."

Opener Gregg Sleep went for three in the fourth over, bringing Brenton to the crease at Chapel Field.

"He reckons he saw off the new ball to make things easier for me," said Brenton, whose previous best score was 140.

"I just wanted to stay in and play cricket shots. We get so used to playing on damp wickets so when you get a day like Saturday you just want to make the most of it. The ball was coming on and you could see it wasn't going to do a lot.

"I'd been getting annoyed this season. I kept getting to 50 or 60 and then getting out so when the boundaries started to come I was really on at myself to keep concentrating."

Nevertheless Brenton said he did give a few chances, towards the start and the end of the innings, but managed to survive.

"The banter was really good-natured - I was chatting with the wicketkeeper almost the whole innings," he said.

Luckett player David Brown had high praise for his long-time team-mate.

"He's our Ian Botham," said Brown.

"The younger lads at the club all look up to him. I don't think he realises how good he is - I've been telling him for 10 years!

"Guys at our level just aren't used to dealing with how hard he hits the ball."

Brenton has been fielding calls from journalists and radio stations, and even from equipment manufacturers to offer him a new helmet.

"It's not just about me - Jack Sleep did a fantastic job for his century and our partnership was a record too," said Brenton, who cites - perhaps unsurprisingly - Sir Viv Richards as his cricketing hero.

"And there's people there like Len Roberts, the president of the club who's about 80 but still does tireless work preparing the ground and everything, I think it's nice for people like him to see the club get all this attention."

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VIDEO: Clarke reflects on 'tough loss'

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Cornish 'Botham' reflects on his 300

By Phil Harlow BBC South West Sport Playing for Luckett Cricket Club in Division Two East of the Cornwall Cricket Leagues does not ordinarily lead to interview requests, headlines on the BBC or offers of free gear from equipment manufacturers.

But batsman Andrew Brenton's display for Luckett against Tideford last weekend was no ordinary performance.

The 39-year-old's record-breaking innings - 311 runs scored off just 40 overs, including 53 boundaries and 11 sixes - has led to a flurry of publicity and interest, with the BBC Sport website story on his feat recording more than 200,000 page views from around the world since Tuesday.

"It's all been a bit mad," the understated Brenton told BBC South West Sport over a pint in the same pub in which the team drink after every home game.

"I've been getting texts from everyone and my son said he'd seen a story about it on a website in New Zealand.

"I haven't been too keen to make a big deal about it. But now I think about it, it will be nice to have the record for however long it stands and for my son to look at the stories about it all, and hopefully it will do something for Luckett as a club."

Andrew Brenton (left) and Jack Sleep pose in front of the scoreboard after a record-breaking day

Reliving the innings that has made him - in his own words - "famous for 15 minutes", Brenton said he knew that the baking conditions meant a big total was potentially on the cards.

"It was just a perfect day to bat," he said.

"I was praying that we'd win the toss. Everyone knew it would be a hard day for the bowlers and the fielders."

Opener Gregg Sleep went for three in the fourth over, bringing Brenton to the crease at Chapel Field.

"He reckons he saw off the new ball to make things easier for me," said Brenton, whose previous best score was 140.

"I just wanted to stay in and play cricket shots. We get so used to playing on damp wickets so when you get a day like Saturday you just want to make the most of it. The ball was coming on and you could see it wasn't going to do a lot.

"I'd been getting annoyed this season. I kept getting to 50 or 60 and then getting out so when the boundaries started to come I was really on at myself to keep concentrating."

Nevertheless Brenton said he did give a few chances, towards the start and the end of the innings, but managed to survive.

"The banter was really good-natured - I was chatting with the wicketkeeper almost the whole innings," he said.

Luckett player David Brown had high praise for his long-time team-mate.

"He's our Ian Botham," said Brown.

"The younger lads at the club all look up to him. I don't think he realises how good he is - I've been telling him for 10 years!

"Guys at our level just aren't used to dealing with how hard he hits the ball."

Brenton has been fielding calls from journalists and radio stations, and even from equipment manufacturers to offer him a new helmet.

"It's not just about me - Jack Sleep did a fantastic job for his century and our partnership was a record too," said Brenton, who cites - perhaps unsurprisingly - Sir Viv Richards as his cricketing hero.

"And there's people there like Len Roberts, the president of the club who's about 80 but still does tireless work preparing the ground and everything, I think it's nice for people like him to see the club get all this attention."

View the original article here

VIDEO: Clarke reflects on 'tough loss'

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.

View the original article here