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Henri Laaksonen also missed his second chance to make it to the round of 16 for the first time in a Grand Slam.
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He cannot withstand the pressure of the German Peter Gojowczyk.
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At that time, however, an injury prevented him from progressing.
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Financially, the US Open was still worth it for Laaksonen – he earned around 180,000 US dollars.
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Henri Laaksonen (ATP 130) knew that it would be difficult in Round 3 against Peter Gojowczyk (32, ATP 141). “The courts here are very fast, and my opponent loves that,” he told Blick before the game. And so it happens. He loses 6: 3, 3: 6, 1: 6, 4: 6 against the German.
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He was also quite tired, he said. After not playing many matches since Paris due to injuries, he traveled to New York early to prepare. “I didn’t have any great expectations, I was really happy that I had qualified for the main draw,” he says.
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No further windfall
Although he has now only missed his second chance for a first Grand Slam round of 16 entry, the 29-year-old Swiss with Finnish roots should not be too dissatisfied. Also because of the cash blessing that this major tournament brought him – despite missing another 78,000 francs.
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Henri takes 180,000 US dollars (164,000 francs) from the Big Apple, which increases his previous season prize money to around 400,000 francs. “Yes, I was very lucky,” he says modestly. Already in Australia there was a great check for the starting lap in the main draw, plus the big payday in Roland Garros.
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“That helps, of course,” says the globetrotter, who has previously called the car his home. Not anymore: Today Laaksonen names the city of Dubai as the main place of residence, where he retreats between tournaments. Even now he will travel to the Arab emirate “to relax” before continuing with the Davis Cup and a Challenger in Biel in mid-September.
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No big plans with so much money
Dubai is beautiful, has many new, modern buildings, one of which he rents regularly. “And especially in December there are so many players living there with whom you can train for the Australian summer.” He has not yet run into Roger Federer there, but his Davis Cup captain Severin Lüthi or the Swiss youngster Dominic Stricker.
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Apart from this new luxury address, Laaksonen has no concrete plans with the large amount of money. He does not invest in an extended team. “I want to keep it simple, not to have too many people around me all the time,” he says and continues to rely solely on the services of his coach David Pultr (Tsch). “Always having it with you is a good investment. For the rest, the service is getting better and better at almost all tournaments. Even at Challengers today there are good masseurs and physios. I think it is not really necessary to have your own people with you. “
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