Austrian Philipp Oswald shocked his New Zealand partner by putting an end to their partnership.
The Kiwi was surprised that Oswald made the move after achieving his highest-ever ranking and reaching their first quarter-final of a Grand Slam as a part of the doubles team. Oswald said that Wimbledon will be their last outing as a partnership. Oswald will be teaming up with compatriot Oliver Marach at the Olympics. It’s thought that that will be a springboard to a new partnership.
Once the doubles team are officially through, fans will no longer be able to cheer or bet on the duo advancing in Grand Slams- or any other tournament for that matter. Of course, there will still be plenty of other acton on the tour. And there’s no shortage of casino games to win real money on too, as an article Bonusfinder New Zealand published tells us about in detail. But that won’t stop the short-term disappointment for fans of the Daniell-Oswald doubles team.
Impressive Run
Oswald reached the quarter-finals with Daniell at this February’s Australian Open, won an ATP tournament last year in Sardiina, and racked up impressive wins over some of the best doubles teams in the world. They were also seeded at the last two Grand Slams, with Daniell having expressed confidence in their progress.
Daniell said he couldn’t hide the fact that the last couple of years have been a struggle, thanks to injuries that occurred prior to the pandemic. He did acknowledge that they performed well, however.
They reached week two of a Grand Slam, which was a first for Oswald, and their 31st ranking was a career-high at a time when climbing the rankings was difficult, thanks to the COVID-inspired rankings freezes.
Disappointed Daniell
The Daniell-Oswald paring are currently 14th in the rankings in their bid to be named one of the best eight teams for the ATP Finals. Oswald’s decision to end the partnership has understandable left Daniell disappointed, however.
They suffered defeat in a closely-fought contest at Wimbledon, which came hot on the heels of a semi-final loss at Queen’s, and the Kiwi felt that knowledge of the split impacted their performances.
Daniell’s Public Attack on Djokovic
Daniell made headlines in recent weeks after he publicly criticised Novak Djokovic, who he thought disrespected the ATP tournament in Majorca. Daniell and Oswald were getting ready to take on fourth seeds Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez in the final four.
But after Carlos Gomez-Herrera and Djokovic reached the final, they pulled out due to the former’s ankle injury.
The withdrawal meant that Darnel and Oswald’s semi-final would be delayed for a day, played on Saturday instead of Friday. Daniell was dubious over the duo’s reason for leaving the tournament, claiming that the more likely reason was Djokovic wanting to prepare to defend his Wimbledon title.
He said he can’t respect the decision and that if he wasn’t prepared to see the tournament through, he shouldn’t have turned up in the first place.
Caveat, But Still Unacceptable
Daniell went on to say that Djokovic shouldn’t have pulled out just 10 minutes after winning a semi-final. He blamed the Serbian for disrespecting the tournament and his fellow players, the two experienced doubles players who would have loved to have competed in the final.
He did add the caveat that it was technically his partner that pulled but, but that he doesn’t believe the official reason to be true, and doesn’t respect such actions.
After defending his Wimbledon title, Djokovic has tied for the record of 20 grand slams, currently shared with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.