Richard Gasquet on this French generation: "We have 4-5 years left to win the Davis Cup" in l'Équipe interviewed by Franck Ramella.

You were in Caen when you were called by the IPTL.

"Doing two weeks in Asia would have been too difficult. I needed a break after all the glitches this year."

Resisting the money wasn't too difficult?

"It was $250,000 (€202.000) for me, not like a million (€808.000) for Jo! I needed to stay quiet and not do a thing."

Now?

"I leave Thursday for three days in Barcelona at (Sergi) Bruguera's (coach). And then Sunday to Friday on Mallorca with (Rafael) Nadal.

Not bad!

"Bruguera and "Seb" Grosjean had the idea. Playing in the winter on Mallorca is good. There'll be good training conditions. And with Nadal on the other side ... I'll have Robredo in Barcelona. It's a Spanish off season!"

To forget the Swiss ghosts?

"It was tough after the Davis cup. You don't recover well from a loss like that in the final. Oddly enough, it was OK at the start, but the disappointment returned after a couple of days. Lille was huge! There was a real pressure drop. At the top of the stairs, I remember saying to 'la Clé' (Clément): 'That's really what you call an arena.' And you know right away that you'll never experience anything that intense again."

What are your thoughts on the convincing loss to Federer (6-4, 6-2, 6-2)?

"It was Federer who was a monster. I tried changing tactics, but didn't succeed. I was beaten technically. It wasn't a mental problem. Not at all. He took the ball earlier. He hit from all sides of the court. He served well and I didn't make a difference with my backhand ... And his experience is incredible: those kinds of matches, he masters them to perfection. He's not the one who arrives scared or overwhelmed by the event."

Sorry you didn't rise to the occasion?

"It's wasn't about rising! I could have screamed in front of the crowd after every point, the result would have been the same. Those who say that know nothing about tennis. You could reach as high as the ceiling, when the guy is hitting winners ... He had more tennis behind him than I who played the end of the season with small injuries. Matches, wins, confidence, they're irreplaceable. Even without a lot of practice, he knew what he was doing. His back injury wasn't that serious. If I'd had ten wins behind me, it wouldn't have been the same thing for me either."

Did Tsonga's withdrawal at the last minute unsettle you?

"Franky, no. I play well with Julien (Benneteau) too. But on the other side, with their coach (Macpherson, the Bryan Brothers' coach, recruited for the final), they were well prepared .

This opening up to outside expertise, is it a lesson to be learned by the French?

"We can do better in doubles for sure. In London during the WTF Federer was practising doubles. They were doing combinations, they were crossing a lot. They were body serving me just a bit to my forehand. Wawrinka was hitting monster serves, Federer served really well ..."

Does feeling you lost to stronger players ease the disappointment?

"Sure we're disappointed, we felt the expectations. But we faced the best of the teams! Federer, Wawrinka, no one's stronger. Sampras didn't have that level in 1991."

There was a lot of talk about Tsonga's case, whether he was 100% ...

"We didn't think that at all. Jo was 100% for Friday's match. There's nothing else to say. After, he was hurting. It's just bad luck."

They say you were the most aggressive of those who went at Wawrinka after the meeting ...

"Me? Not at all. It's true we were upset after the match by some comments. In those circumstances, you're not yourself, you're a bit weird ... But it went well. Really, Stan was fine after our explanations."

One senses a strong current of fear in French tennis that your generation won't win a big title ...

"We have 4-5 years left. It's not over. We were unlucky in that Federer came back this year. If not, we would have won the Cup. Federer isn't there next year, surely, and there's no Spain ... losing two finals gives you the desire to end it by winning."

With Noah?

"If Yannick wants to help in one way or another, he just needs to call the players. We all need people like him. He has a lot to add. I was with him from time to time in 2007. He goes to a lot of concerts and I see him still occasionally. It's nice. I know Gaël talked to him this year."

Did his comments bother you?

"Not at all. I adore Yannick. I understand what he was trying to say even if the way said it was a bit delicate. He can help obviously. But we don't know how much he wants to invest or return to tennis. He can't criticise our preparation. We were at 100%. And Arnaud is still a good captain. I have no worries about him. We, the players, re-elected him just before the final, and that shows everything's fine."

Some involved with tennis like Mouratoglou have offered their services to help French tennis ...

"It would be nice if Mouratoglou coached some French players. It would be easier to take what he said. He lasted two months with Chardy. Let him prove himself by forming players. Serena isn't very complicated ..."

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