The upload may not have been the best in front of André Göransson. He and his doubles partner Marc-Andrea Hüsler of Switzerland have seen their start postponed several days in a row, and rain and other things have meant that they barely had time to practice. They played doubles in 2019, but have been apart for a few years and paired up again close to the start of the grand slam.
— We had to practice once yesterday, apart from that we haven’t had time to play. But we’ve known each other since before, so that’s a plus, considering the chemistry and such, says Göransson.
Victory against French duo
Despite the fact that the upload could have been better, it was still a victory in the first round against the Frenchmen Quentin Halys and Adrian Mannarino with 6–4, 6–4. It is the best result in the Australian Open for the Swede, who, however, has a quarter-final from Wimbledon in 2021 as his best grand slam result to date.
— The first round is always tough, regardless of the competition. Getting in, getting the first win, getting into the ground, and getting into “race mode”. I am very satisfied with the effort, says Göransson about Friday’s victory.
Already on Saturday, round two awaits, against German Andreas Mies and Australian John Peers.
— We trained a bit with them during the week and I have seen them on the tour. I have never met them as a couple. It’s definitely an established couple, it’s going to be tough for sure. But I see it as quite open, says Göransson.
Less demanding
André Göransson chose to invest in doubles after university studies at UC Berkeley in the USA.
— I was a little injured. The double is a little less demanding on the body, less stressful. And then my ranking got that much higher in the doubles pretty quickly. Then I chose to continue. I never really gave my single career a real chance, but I don’t regret my choice, says the 28-year-old.
TT: Doubles often ends up a bit in the background behind the singles tournaments. What do you think about it?
– One would have liked to have more interest in the double. The marketing is very bad, it is often the single game that is promoted and seen in the media. So people barely know about the double. That’s what spoils the interest a bit, says Göransson.