Not varnished during the draw last week, Henri Laaksonen never really had a chance against world No. 2, Daniil Medvedev, as expected, on Tuesday at the Rod Laver Arena. The Schaffhausen, currently ranked 91st in the world – the best of his career, as in January 2017 -, was beaten 6-1 6-4 7-6 (3) in 1h54 from the 1st round of the Australian Open by the Russian, new favorite of the tournament since the expulsion of Novak Djokovic.
Scheduled in the third rotation on the central court of Melbourne Park, Henri Laaksonen may have had the misfortune to start his duel with the winner of the US Open too well. Because after stealing the service of the entry Muscovite, the one who had reached the 3rd round at Roland-Garros and Flushing Meadows in 2021 completely liquefied in the minutes that followed – the fear of being up to it? –, until you want to change sides even before the end of a game…
Swept away in the 1st set – he lost six games in a row – Henri Laaksonen gave a better answer to Daniil Medvedev in the second set but in the fifth game, the sublime coverage of the field by Gilles Cervara’s protege sickened him . In the 3rd set, the 29-year-old Swiss found himself twice at 30A (at 4-3 and 5-4) but never knew how to open the door to a possible break. And in the deciding game, he offered gift after gift to finish with 46 unforced errors.
For her seventh appearance at the Australian Open, Stefanie Vögele will not reach the second round – her best result so far in Melbourne – for the fifth time. Exiting the qualifications with her three victories, the 31-year-old Argovian, 145th player in the world, lost heavily 6-3 6-1 in 1h07 on court No 8 against the Russian Daria Kasatkina (24 years old, WTA 23) . Broken in the first game of the match, the Swiss was too friable on her serve (52% of points won with her first ball, 24% with the second) to hope for a better fate against the recent finalist of the tournament of Sidney.