Swiss tennis player Henri Laaksonen responded to his critics by suggesting that it was not up to others to judge or question the decision he made in the Hamburg Challenger final. Laaksonen, ranked 171st in the world, was down one match point when he retired against Alexander Ritschard in the Hamburg Challenger final.
Ritschard was 7-5, 6-5 up and 40-30 in his service game when Laaksonen ended the match. «If you don’t have all the facts, you can judge. I had them and made the decision,» Laaksonen said, according to blick.ch.
According to Laaksonen, he suffered a leg injury and that is the reason he was forced to pull out of the Hamburg final and also pull out of this week’s Challenger event in Brest. «I wish I didn’t have to retire and could go to Brest as well.
I hurt my leg in the middle of the second set of the final. I didn’t think much about it, but then it got worse,» Laaksonen added.
Ritschard on Laaksonen’s retirement
After winning the Hamburg Challenger, Laaksonen headed to retirement on match point.
Ritschard confirmed that Laaksonen appeared to be hampered by a leg injury and wished his fellow Swiss a speedy recovery. «It means a lot. It’s my first Challenger title of the year, of my career actually.
It was a tough week. I had a lot of tough matches, played point by point and somehow managed to wriggle out of victory today. I don’t know what happened (with Laaksonen). He seemed fine, but something seemed to happen towards the end of the second set, something with his leg.
I was pretty sure I would win the match. I hope he recovers soon.» Although Laaksonen did not win in Hamburg, it was a very positive week for him. Before Hamburg, Laaksonen was on a six-match losing streak. In Hamburg, Laaksonen won four matches before retiring against Ritschard.
