Richard Gasquet claims Roger Federer is "not as good as before", says he is "very, very motivated" to beat the Swiss

Richard Gasquet believes Roger Federer is now a shadow of his former all-conquering self and thus fancies his chances against the Swiss in their second-round clash at Wimbledon.

Roger Federer narrowly overcame the challenge of Adrian Mannarino in his first-round match on Tuesday. Federer trailed by two sets to one but was leading by a break in the fourth when his French counterpart suffered a freak injury. Federer went on to level the match before Mannarino retired early in the fifth set.

With the win, the eight-time champion set up a second-round clash with Gasquet, whom he has played 20 times on tour before. Gasquet, who beat Yuichi Sugita in his first-round match, pointed out that Federer was on the decline but, in the same breath, acknowledged he too was on the wane.

The Frenchman, however, asserted he remains "very motivated" to take down Federer, whom he has beaten only twice in his career.

"Certainly he (Roger Federer) is worse (than before), there is no doubt but me too," Gasquet said during his press conference. "I'm like him, even though he's older than me, we're at the end of our careers. I think there are things to do and I'm going very, very motivated to try to win this game. When we go on the court, it's to win."

According to Gasquet, the fact that Mannarino gave a stern test to Roger Federer indicates the Swiss is not as good as he once was. But the two-time Wimbledon semifinalist stressed Federer would undoubtedly raise his level in the next round.

"He is not as good as before but I am also weaker than before," he added. "Adrian has bothered him so it's because he is worse off than before after he will certainly play better on the second round. I will try to make a great game."

If Federer struggles against Gasquet, that will be deeply concerning. Has not lost a set to the Frenchman in over a decade.
— The Big 3 (@Big3Tennis) June 30, 2021

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The 35-year-old could not contain his excitement at facing the 20-time Grand Slam champion on Centre Court.

"I want to enjoy playing Federer again, I played Nadal at Roland Garros, I can play Federer here, it's fabulous for me because I had complicated times so I'm happy to be able to play him again on certainly the greatest court in the world," Gasquet said.

I am happy to play Richard Gasquet: Roger Federer

Speaking to the media after his scratchy performance against Mannarino, Federer, the sixth seed, said he would be "more relaxed" in his second-round clash against Gasquet.

"The first test passed even if it was done in a weird way. In the second round, I would probably be more relaxed and I am happy to play against Richard. We will see what happens," explained Federer.