Rising Russian star Daniil Medvedev claims he entered his Davis Cup clash against Swiss Henri Laaksonen expecting a tough encounter. Medvedev, ranked at No. 16 in the world, was tasted heavily by world No. 142 Laaksonen but managed to avoid a shock defeat as he won 7-6 (8) 6-7 (6) 6-2 on an indoor-clay surface in Biel.
Laaksonen broke Medvedev in the opening game of the match but the Russian broke back in the sixth game as the set went into a tie-break — where the world No. 16 saved a set point before he converted his fourth set point to clinch the opener.
The Swiss trailed 6-5 in the third-set tie-break, before he won three points in a row to save a match point and force a third set — where he stood no chance as Medvedev cruised past the decider. Im not surprised at how tough it was today, I wasnt playing too well all week, but I won so Im happy, Medvedev said post-match, per Swiss Tennis Twitter.
On the other side, Laaksonen didnt hide his disappointment post-match as he said, per Swiss Tennis Twitter: I had my chances but missed them, its a pity I couldnt make it. Not very happy with how the 3rd set went.
Ive still things to improve. Laaksonen, 26, achieved his career-high ranking of No. 93 in 2017. I think Im going in the right direction, I know I can play better and hope to be back in the Top-100 soon.
Ive worked hard on many things in the off-season, Laaksonen claimed. Also read: Richard Gasquet pulls out of Rotterdam
0 thoughts on “Daniil Medvedev reflects on tough Davis Cup win over Henri Laaksonen”