They ruled that the Frenchman’s ingestion of the drug was inadvertent, likely courtesy of a kiss from a woman in a Miami nightclub. That decision has since been appealed by both the ITF and World Anti-Doping Agency. Once again able to compete on the tour, Gasquet requested a wild card entry to the Pilot Pen. But, reportedly because of the close ties between the ITF and the United States Tennis Association, who must approve the wild card requests for U.S. Open Series tournaments, Gasquet did not receive the wild card. The 23-year-old, who was ranked among the world’s Top Ten for the first half of 2008, was forced to enter the qualifying event to earn his way into the main draw. It was Gasquet’s first time playing a qualifying event since Pörtschach in May of 2006.

The Frenchman’s road started easily enough, with a straight set win over Michael Rubin, a former Michigan Wolverine. Rubin, who will turn 28 in two weeks, was playing in a qualifying event for the ATP Tour for just the second time in his career. His inexperience showed from the start, as he was broken in two of his first three service games and Gasquet jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Gasquet, currently ranked 38th, held to close out the first set 6-2. Rubin used an effective forehand to keep things close in the early part of the second set, but Gasquet earned two service breaks to sweep the last three games, and take the match 6-2, 6-3. While it was difficult to gauge Gasquet’s level of play against his relatively novice opponent, a backhand return of serve winner ripped up the line on match point showed he can still conjure up some on-court brilliance.

Gasquet was short on brilliance later in the day, however, when he faced Dusan Vemic, a Serbian ranked 51st in the world in doubles, but 458th in singles. Vemic used a big serve, drop shots, lobs and dinks to draw errors from the Frenchman. The turning point came with Gasquet serving at 3-4, 30-30 in the third set, when Gasquet hit an overhead smash into the net, and later a double fault to give Vemic the advantage. Vemic served out the match, taking a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 decision. Next up for Richard’s comeback is the US Open, which starts August 31st in Flushing Meadow, New York.

Around the Grounds

• American Jesse Levine, a quarterfinalist at the 2008 Pilot Pen, lost in the opening round of men’s qualifying to former Top Ten player Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, 7-6(5), 7-5. Levine, who also made the third round of Wimbledon earlier this summer, held a 5-2 edge in the first set tiebreak before Lapentti ran off with the final five points. Both players then held serve throughout the second set until Lapentti broke for a 6-5 lead, then easily served out the match.

• They may be ranked 76th and 84th in the world, but Jill Craybas and Varvara Lepchenko are the No. 4 and No. 5 ranked Americans on the WTA Tour, and they faced off in the second round of women’s qualifying at the Pilot Pen. Lepchenko, a 5’11’’ lefty who is American by way of Uzbekistan, used a powerful forehand to subdue Craybas, 7-5, 6-3. Craybas, who turned 35 on July 4th, is the oldest woman ranked in the Top 100, and is best known for her upset win over Serena Williams in 2005 Wimbledon.

• Sam Querrey, on the strength of three finals appearances this summer, will crack the top 25 in the ATP rankings to be published Monday, August 24th. In an interview this afternoon, Sam announced that his travelling cheering squad, ‘the “Samurai’, are not with him here in New Haven, although five or six of the Samurai should be on hand at the US Open. The Samarai are comprised of Querrey’s high school buddies; another of Querrey’s friends, Dan Farrugia, has been “interning” for him and is in attendance at the Pilot Pen.

• Hope your hotel provides refunds: Seventh seeded Dominka Cibulkova of Slovakia withdrew with a rib injury… Next stop, Goodwill: At the start of the third set of the Gasquet-Vemic match, Gasquet’s coach Eric Deblicker removed his shoes, took off his socks, and gave them to Richard to put on… How many people does it take to play a singles match? Craybas and Lepchenko utilized on-court coaching five times during their two set match… Wiseguy: Querrey rips a one-liner to Tournament Director Anne Worcester after meeting with the press: “I wanted a Gasquet question!”… Faces in the crowd: Among the fans watching Gasquet’s matches were Fabrice Santoro, Marion Bartoli, Olivier Rochus, Vince Spadea, Ivan Ljubicic, and Jose Acasuso; watching Jesse Levine were fellow Americans Querrey and Robert Kendric
  
  
  More photos from the 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament.
  Photos: Jack Cunniff