While he had the opportunity to conclude this Tuesday against Michael Mmoh, Laurent Lokoli saw his Australian Open end this Wednesday after the fifth set.
Laurent Lokoli will not extend his stay in Melbourne. The Frenchman, from qualifying, yielded this Wednesday during the resumption of his match in the first round of the Australian Open against Michael Mmoh. A meeting which had to be interrupted on Tuesday by the rain falling on Melbourne Park, which also greatly disrupted the course of this third day. With a break in the first round then two in the next, the 175th in the world was able to lead two rounds to nothing in less than 90 minutes. The third round then saw the two players go blow for blow, or rather break for break, before explaining themselves in a decisive game under high tension. While Michael Mmoh won the first five points, he conceded seven of the next eight rallies to have match point against him. However, Laurent Lokoli did not know how to seize his chance on his own face-off and, conceding three points in a row, saw the American recover completely.
Defeat in the 1st round very frustrating for Laurent Lokoli, who returned to the main draw of the Australian Open. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/mWHYslgae6
— FFT (@FFTennis) January 18, 2023
Lokoli missed his recovery
Indeed, in the process, the “lucky loser” made the commitment of the Habs, who immediately answered him but the seventh game was decisive. Breaking again Laurent Lokoli on a white game, the 107th in the world was then not worried to snatch a fifth set. If the two players first competed, it was Michael Mmoh who ended up taking the lead with a break to lead three games to one. The rain had then postponed the end of the meeting to this Wednesday. A recovery that saw Laurent Lokoli suffer in the exchange and end up cracking. From the first game, the 1175th in the world held on but saw his opponent convert his first break point to lead five games to one. The die was cast. Holding his face-off easily, Michael Mmoh needed two match points to conclude (4-6, 2-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 in 4:28 ‘) and join the number one seed 12 Alexander Zverev in the second round of the Australian Open.
