Richard Gasquet angry as French deny him a day's rest before Murray encounter

THE Auld Alliance may have been in existence for centuries but, by anyone's standards, the organisers at Roland Garros appear to be taking Scots-French relations a step too far. Today, Andy Murray, fresh, relaxed and ready, will take on Richard Gasquet in the opening round of the French Open. And the Frenchman is fuming.

• Andy Murray takes on Richard Gasquet in the first round of the French Open today.

Gasquet finally broke a three-year title drought on Saturday, beating Fernando Verdasco to win the Open de Nice. It was his 13th match in 19 days and, in the process, he hurt his left thigh. No matter, he was delighted with his win and brimming with confidence. That all changed when he asked the French organisers of the French Open to give their new French hero an extra day of rest and a Tuesday start. His request fell on deaf ears and now, in private, Gasquet and his team are not happy.

"I am very positive because I won (in Nice] but I am terribly tired too," Gasquet said. "It is hard to recover after a game like Saturday. It was exhausting. It's true that I'm very tired. I cannot hide it.

"I don't think the injury is too bad and the knee is fine now. I needed treatment on court on Saturday but, if anything, it was because I was tired. I will see how it feels when I play Murray."

Gasquet has not played at his home grand slam for two years, missing last year while serving a two-and-a-half month drugs ban and missing the year before with a knee injury. Since he tested positive for cocaine at the Miami Masters last season, his ranking has slumped and his confidence appeared to have deserted him.

But since the start of the clay court season, Gasquet has been flogging himself around the circuit trying to put his game back together. Five tournaments in six weeks have earned him one Challenger trophy and a main tour title, but they have also left him tired and sore before the start of the biggest clay court event of them all.

"This title comes such a long time after the last one, and that makes it more special," Gasquet said. "All my life, I will remember this final. I'm very confident after all my victories.

"But Murray is the favourite. He is No 4 in the world. I have nothing to lose against him, as he is one of the best players in the world. So I haven't got a lot of pressure on me because he is the favourite.

"I didn't play last year. I won a tournament now, so there is no pressure at all. I could be fresher going into the match, but I go in with a lot of confidence – as much confidence as I have had for a long time. He's a great player, but I will try my best."

In the opinion of Leon Smith, Britain's Davis Cup captain and the head of men's tennis at the LTA, trying his best may not be enough for Gasquet. Smith coached Murray from the age of 11 until the Scot went to Barcelona to train. At that time Gasquet was turning heads in the junior ranks and had already been tipped for greatness by the French.

Smith said of the precocious Frenchman: "We saw a bit of Gasquet growing up but he jumped through the seeds so quickly that he actually moved out of junior tennis at pace. Obviously, the matches we saw when he was younger, he was incredibly talented. The backhand stood out by a mile.

"He was one of the youngest guys to win on the tour. He's a good talent and even though his ranking has dropped because of the 'situation', he's still one of the most talented players on the tour."

Smith added: "Andy's back to playing well, too, and he looks confident. He's obviously done a lot of hard work. It's a great match-up.

"It's a good match to have first round and I'm sure it's going to be a big crowd.

"Gasquet played well yesterday, he beat Verdasco. It's a tough first-round match but it's a great match. Andy will still be favourite."

Meanwhile, Smith admitted that he has taken over the Davis Cup captaincy at a low ebb for the British team, who have lost their last five ties. He would like Murray in his team, but with an important match against Turkey coming at arguably the most hectic time of the year for the 23-year-old – right after Wimbledon – he is prepared to give the man he coached as a teenager the final say.

Smith said: "Any country would want Andy Murray to play. He makes a big difference to the team.

"But we've got other players who can come in that are capable of doing the job. If he doesn't play, I totally respect that."

Smith added that he would have no problem turning to his predecessor for advice, with John Lloyd due at Roland Garros in a media capacity.

Smith said: "I hope I can bump into him and have a chat with him, because there's so much to draw from him."