Richard lost his first round match against the Spaniard David Ferrer 4-6 3-6.
David Ferrer remains a puzzle to solve for Richard. Admittedly, not one of his favourite opponents, Richard needs more consistentcy to trouble the Spaniard.
Quickly 0-3 down, conceding two breaks, Richard could level to 3-3, before losing his serve again. And the set was gone. A break at the start of the second set, and another one at the end sealed Richard's fate.
Richard was too patchy throughout the match: his crucial lack of first serves at important moments and the high number of backhand errors could not compensate some brave net play or courageous stops.
His next tournament is the Challenger Event in Orléans next week.
