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Swiss tennis player Henri Laaksonen has hit back at his critics as he suggests that it was not up to others to judge or question the decision he made in the Hamburg Challenger final. Laaksonen, ranked at No 171 in the world, was down by a match point when he retired to Alexander Ritschard in the Hamburg Challenger final.
Ritschard was 7-5 6-5 up and had 40-30 on his service game when Laaksonen ended the match. "If you don't have all the facts, you can just judge. I had them and made the decision," Laaksonen said, per blick.ch. According to Laaksonen, he sustained a leg injury and that's the reason why he was forced to retire the Hamburg final and to also withdraw from this week's Challenger event in Brest.
"I wish I didn't have to retire and could go to Brest too. I hurt my leg in the middle of the second set in the final. I didn't think about it much, but then it got worse," Laaksonen added.
Ritschard on Laaksonen retiring
After winning the Hamburg Challenger, addressed Laaksonen retiring on a match point.
Ritschard confirmed that it looked that Laaksonen was hampered with a leg injury and wished his fellow Swiss a quick 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 many tough matches, played point for point and somehow managed to sneak out the win today. I don’t know what happened (with Laaksonen). He seemed to be okay but something seemed to happen towards the end of the second set, something with his leg.
I was pretty confident winning the match. I hope he will recover quickly”. Even though Laaksonen didn't win Hamburg, it was still a very positive week for him. Before Hamburg, Laaksonen was on a six-match losing streak. In Hamburg, Laaksonen won four matches before retiring versus Ritschard.