Only 14 hours after his win against Tsonga, Richard lost to Radek Stepanek 6-2 2-6 6-4.
Richard had to fight for more than ten minutes to win his first service game, and was broken in his second. He immediately broke back and took control of the first set 6-2. In the second set, Richard looked as if he were to make quick business, but out of a sudden, his serving went down. Stepanek thrived on this and won the second set 6-2.
In the third, Richard was more competitive again, but never found his form of the previous day. He could prevent the damage when he was broken at 3 all by an immediate rebreak, but could not avoid defeat when he got the second break. Stepanek served out the match.
Richard's next tournament will be Sydney, where he will meet an old "friend" in the first round: Dmitrij Tursunov.
