Australian OpenRobin Haas failed to reach the second round of the Australian Open. The 33-year-old from Haginaar lost in four sets to 28th seed Filip Krajinovic in Melbourne: 7-6 (4) 6-3 4-6 6-2. Botic van de Zandschulp was eliminated in the first round on his debut. He lost in three sets to 17-year-old qualifier Carlos Alcaraz: 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
Haase was accepted into his first Grand Slam of 2021 as a ‘lucky loser’ because Frenchman Richard Gasquet canceled his participation. The Dutchman, who was relegated to 197th in the world rankings, was unable to qualify directly through qualifications. With Krajinovic, he faced an opponent in the lottery who was much higher in the ATP rankings at 31, but managed to win against him in a previous encounter – in Cincinnati.
Haase was behind in the first set, but fought back 5-5. But in the tiebreak, he had to leave the set for the Serb 7-4. In the second set, Haas was delayed by a break which he could not take back. The Dutchman did not give up; He stayed close to his opponent in the third set and took the first game and set at 5-4. The two quick breaks in the fourth set proved fatal for Haase. Krajinovic managed to serve the match 5-2 and used his first match point.
Haase hit fifteen aces, one more than his opponent. But Krajinovic won more points on his first serve: 81 to 70 percent. For Haase, this was his first major tournament appearance since the end of 2019, when he competed at the US Open. He did not compete in Melbourne last year because he chose to play rival tournaments in an effort to improve his ranking. Haas still works in doubles in Melbourne. He made a couple with Austrian Oliver Marach.
spanish teen
Botic van de Zandschulp didn’t work either. On his Australian Open debut, 25-year-old Weinendaler was defeated in Melbourne by 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz: 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Like his Spanish opponent, Van de Zandschulp made it to the main tournament in his first Grand Slam of 2021 through the playoffs. The Netherlands ranks 151st in the world. His opponent is five places higher (146).
Van de Zandschul did not participate in the first set on Track 17. He lost serve twice in a row and trailed 5-0. Also in the second set, the Dutchman immediately lost his own serve. He came back with a 3-3 score, but the Spaniard took another break and won the set 6-4.
Van de Zandscholp was able to put in a better match against the Spanish talent in the third set, but lost his serve 4-4, allowing Alcaraz to work towards the victory. In the first two match points, the teenager hit the spot.
Alcaraz is considered one of the greatest talents on the ATP tour. He has already won three competition championships in 2020 and is on his way to the top 100 world championships. In the run-up to the Australian Open, he defeated David Goffin in two sets at a preparatory tournament in Melbourne.
Van de Zandschulp, the best Dutch player in the world rankings since Monday, had prepared superbly for his first major tournament. Shortly after arriving in Melbourne, it turned out that a passenger on his plane tested positive for coronavirus, as a result of which Van de Zandschulp had to go into a ‘severe’ lockdown for two weeks and was not allowed to train.
Last week, Van de Zandschulp won three more matches in a preparatory tournament at Melbourne Park. Karen Khachanov proved to be very strong.
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