Like the mysterious woman who almost derailed Richard Gasquet’s tennis career with a late-night smooch, Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen didn’t let the Frenchman go easily at the Brisbane International on Monday.
But Gasquet was still able to officially kiss goodbye a horror 2009 with a gutsy 6-3 4-6 6-4 first-round win at Pat Rafter Arena.
The former world No.7 brought new meaning to the term “French kiss” last year.
He escaped a 12-month ban after explaining minor traces of cocaine detected by a random test in March were from puckering up to a woman in a Miami nightclub.
The ban was lifted in July but he was only fully able to clear his name when a Court of Arbitration for Sport found in his favour last month by dismissing an appeal.
Gasquet looked like a man with a weight lifted from his shoulders after maintaining his unbeaten record against the 28-year-old Nieminen.
“It is just good for me to play with nothing in the head,” Gasquet said, referring to the nightmare drug test drama.
“I tried my best. I could lose, I could win but most important I played relaxed.”
The 23-year-old was a semifinalist in Brisbane at the inaugural tournament as he began 2009 on a roll, making the final four in three of his first five events.
Then it all went pear shaped thanks to a late-night “love match” in a Miami nightclub with a woman named Pamela.
Gasquet argued that cocaine had entered his body when he kissed the woman “at least seven times” before the Sony Ericsson Open in Florida in March.
By the time the year ended, Gasquet’s world ranking had slipped to 52nd – ensuring he finished out of the top 50 for the first time in five years.
No wonder Gasquet poked his tongue out in pure relief after downing Nieminen in the humid conditions on Monday.
“Am I a different player? I am not sure,” Gasquet said.
“I have another story where I lost six months, it was a big story, that’s why it is not easy to come back and I am happy to win for sure.”
After racing to take the first set in 37 minutes, Gasquet’s serve let him down in the second but jumped to a 4-0 lead in the third to seemingly put the result beyond doubt.
But the plucky Nieminen wasn’t going away.
He won three straight games in the third set and held off a match point in the ninth game before the Frenchman held his nerve – and serve – to close it out in just over two hours.
Meanwhile, Australian Nick Lindahl’s star continued to rise when he downed highly touted Belgian Xavier Malisse 6-1 7-6(2) to qualify for the Brisbane International on Monday.
The 21 year old was full of confidence after gaining a spot in the year’s first grand slam event when he beat young gun Bernard Tomic in a recent Australian Open wildcard playoff final.
The former Australian Open junior runner-up has also received a wildcard for this month’s Sydney International.
His recent success prompted Davis Cup coach and national selector Todd Woodbridge to claim Lindahl may have turned a corner in his young career.