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Defending champion knocked out hours after getting married

German tennis veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber has celebrated his wedding with perhaps the worst reception of all – knocked out as reigning champion of the Austrian Open.

Denis Istomin defeated the No.2 seed 5-7 6-3 6-1 on Wednesday, just hours after Kohlschreiber married his long-time partner Lena.

The 34-year-old has reportedly lived in Kitzbuhel for some years now and the couple chose the week of the 2018 tournament for their wedding.

Nothing quite went to plan, however.

Kohlschreiber had been suffering from the flu and only stayed in the draw because it was his home tournament in front of family and friends – not to mention that he won it last year.

The happy couple can’t have been too thrilled with how their wedding day panned out. Pic: Getty
The happy couple can’t have been too thrilled with how their wedding day panned out. Pic: Getty

“There was nothing left in the tank, it was not an easy day on the court, it was a lot of agony,” he said, via Austrian newspaper Kurier.

“I think in sets two and three there was just an empty shell with no head and energy on the court, it was just too bad for me.”

While the illness was unfortunate, the timing of his wedding and second-round match – as a top seed, he had a bye in the first round – was even more so.

“(The wedding) was the best decision today,” he said.

“If I had been healthy, I would have had my day off today and spent a nice morning.”

While they sorted out their wedding date long in advance, the world No.29 will be on tour for a while before their next adventure together.

Kohlschreiber is waiting for the right discount to book their celebratory holiday.

“We’ve been together for so long, we do not really know that yet,” he said.

“Of course we’re flying somewhere at the end of the year, maybe we’ll get a special deal for honeymoon.”