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Final:
James Peach (ENG) bt [1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 4-11, 11-9, 11-5,
10-12, 11-7 (63m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [5] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 11-8, 11-5,
7-11, 13-11 (46m)
James Peach (ENG) bt [2] Yannik Omlor (GER) 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 11-3
(62m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [8] Robin Gadola (SUI) 11-13, 9-11,
11-3, 11-5, 11-5 (59m)
[5] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [4] Diego Gobbi (BRA) 11-8, 11-6, 12-10 (30m)
James Peach (ENG) bt [7] Christopher Binnie (JAM) 6-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5
(36m)
[2] Yannik Omlor (GER) bt [6] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) 10-12, 11-8,
10-12, 11-7, 11-5 (90m)
1st round:
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt Perry Malik (ENG) 11-8, 8-11, 11-13,
11-8, 11-4 (62m)
[8] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt Ondrej Vorlícek (CZE) 11-1, 10-12, 11-2, 11-7
(42m)
[5] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt Valeriy Fedoruk (UKR) 16-18, 11-5, 11-4, 9-11,
11-3 (65m)
[4] Diego Gobbi (BRA) bt Nilo Vidal (ESP) 11-1, 11-9, 11-5 (27m)
James Peach (ENG) bt [3] Ivan Perez (ESP) 11-8, 6-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5
(59m)
[7] Christopher Binnie (JAM) bt Jakob Dirnberger (AUT) 11-5, 11-4, 11-6
(23m)
[6] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) bt [WC] Lukas Windischberger (AUT) 11-4,
11-3, 11-4 (28m)
[2] Yannik Omlor (GER) bt Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) 11-8, 11-8, 11-9
(37m) |
Peach Claims Title After Incredible Run
James Peach (centre left) and Yannick Wilhelmi (centre
right)
England’s James Peach concluded his unbelievable run at the men’s
Austrian Open by defeating the tournament’s top seed to take the
Challenger 5 level crown at Europark Salzburg on Saturday evening.
The Englishman came into the tournament as one of the eight unseeded
players, but proceeded to take down the top three seeds, including top
seed Yannick Wilhelmi in the final, to win the title, his second of the
campaign.
Peach, who is the World No.167, began his week against Spain’s Ivan
Perez, who was coming into the tournament off the back of winning the
Carlisle Squash Club 50th Anniversary Open just a few days previously.
Despite that, the Englishman was able to rally from being 2-1 down in
their opening day contest in Salzburg, winning the last two games to win
in five.
He then went on to get the better of No.7 seed Christopher Binnie in a
four-game contest in the last eight of the competition, before then
overcoming the challenge of No.2 seed, Germany’s Yannik Omlor. The
Englishmanhad to regroup after he saw the German fight back in their
semi-final contest, before winning the deciding game to win the match.
In the final, Peach came up against the tournament’s top seed,
Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi. For the second day in succession, the
Englishman led after three games, but saw his opponent fight back to win
the fourth, with the top seed winning it on a tie-break 12-10. However,
Peach was able to steady himself once again, to go on and win the fifth
and final game to take the title, the biggest of his career to date. |
Rehman Through, Peach Downs No.3 Seed
Aqeel Rehman (Left)
The opening day of the men’s Austrian Open saw some shocks, some
five-gamers, and more importantly for the home crowd in Salzburg,
Austrian No.1 Aqeel Rehman surviving a scare to make it through to the
quarter finals of the Challenger 5 level tournament.
Rehman, the World No.128 and No.5 seed for the competition, took on
Ukrainian No.1 Valeriy Fedoruk in the opening round of the event, and
the first game of their contest on the glass court at the Europark
shopping complex in Salzburg went deep into a tie-break.
The Ukrainian won it 18-16, before Rehman fought back to lead the match
after three games. Fedoruk then clinched the fourth game 11-9 to send
the tie into a deciding game, where it was Rehman who came out the
winner, taking a 3-2 victory after an hour’s play.
The only shock of the day saw England’s James Peach dump out No.3 seed
Ivan Perez, who came into the competition after winning the Carlisle
Squash Club 50th Anniversary Open just three days earlier. Peach found
himself behind in the contest after the Spaniard won the third 12-10.
However, from there, the Englishman won the next two games to seal the
win, advancing to the last eight after 59 minutes of action.
The tournament’s top seed, Yannick Wilhelmi, also needed to go the
distance in his opening match of the competition, with the Swiss player
eventually getting the better of England’s Perry Malik. Like Peach, he
was behind after three, but fought back to win the next two games to
take victory in the longest match of the day. He will now face
compatriot Robin Gadola in the last eight.
The quarter finals of the men’s Austrian Open will take place on
Thursday, July 7, with the last eight going head-to-head for places in
the semi-finals. You can keep up to date with
For more information on the event, visit the tournament
website or follow
PSA Challenger Events on Twitter or Facebook.
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Men's Preview
After Switzerland’s Celine Walser claimed the women’s title in Salzburg
on Saturday, the men’s Austrian Open begins on Wednesday, July 6 at the
same venue, the Europark, with 16 men aiming to take home the title come
Saturday afternoon.
Another Swiss player, in Yannick Wilhelmi, will be the top seed for the
men’s Challenger 5 level competition, with German Yannik Omlor, and new
Carlisle Squash Club Open champion Ivan Perez as the nearest competitor
for the crown.
There will be three Austrians in action on home soil. Aqeel Rehman and
Jakob Dirnberger will be joined by wildcard Lukas Windischberger as the
home favourites for the event, while Jamaica’s Christopher Binnie will
be the sole non-European in the 16-strong field.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament
website or follow
PSA Challenger Events on Twitter or Facebook.
|
Final:
[4] Celine Walser (SUI) bt [2] Katerina Tycova (GER) 9-11, 11-9,
11-5, 12-10 (44m)
Semi-finals:
[4] Celine Walser (SUI) bt [1] Saskia Beinhard (GER) 9-11, 14-12,
16-14, 12-10 (48m)
[2] Katerina Tycova (GER) bt [7] Taba Taghavi (FRA) 7-11, 11-8, 11-9,
11-0 (37m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Saskia Beinhard (GER) bt [6] Ella Galova (FRA) 15-13, 10-12,
11-6, 11-6 (44m)
[4] Celine Walser (SUI) bt [8] Aylin Günsav (GER) 11-1, 11-2, 11-2 (15m)
[7] Taba Taghavi (FRA) bt [3] Léa Barbeau (FRA) 11-3, 11-6, 11-8 (22m)
[2] Katerina Tycova (GER) bt [5] Jacqueline Peychär (AUT) 11-5, 5-11,
11-4, 13-15, 11-8 (60m)
First Round:
[1] Saskia Beinhard (GER) v Tereza Siroka (CZE)
Alina Poessl (SUI) v [6] Ella Galova (FRA)
[8] Aylin Gunsav (GER) v Tamara Holzbauerova (CZE)
Juliette Permentier (NED) v [4] Celine Walser (SUI)
[3] Lea Barbeau (FRA) v Lilou Brevard-Belliot (FRA)
Catherine Holland (SCO) v [7] Taba Taghavi (FRA)
[5] Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) v Salma El Aify (EGY)
[WC] Sabrina Rehman (AUT) v [2] Katerina Tycova (GER) |
Walser Clinches First Tour Title
Celine Walser (right) and Katerina Tycova (left)
The final of the women’s Austrian Open was always going to produce a new
first time winner on Tour title, it was just a matter of who. In the
end, Switzerland’s Celine Walser took the victory, defeating Germany’s
Katerina Tycova to move into the winners’ circle for the first time in
her career.
Walser came into the Challenger 3 level women’s tournament as the No.4
seed, and she started her campaign on the glass court at Europark
Salzburg with a comfortable victory over compatriot Stephanie Muller to
move through to the last eight.
She then spent just 15 minutes on court in the quarters to defeat the
first of three Germans she would face, in No.8 seed Aylin Gunsav. Walser
then overcame the challenger of the tournament’s top seed, World No.73
Saskia Beinhard, in a four-game battle, one which saw Walser take all of
her three game victories on tie-breaks, to move through to Saturday’s
final.
In the final in Salzburg, Walser took on the No.2 seed, and another
German, in Katerina Tycova. She dropped the first game 11-9, but fought
back to win the next two to hold the advantage in the contest. The
fourth game went to a tie-break, but the Swiss player was able to claim
the title, winning it 13-11, to become the latest first-time winner on
Tour.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament
website or follow
PSA Challenger Events on Twitter or Facebook.
|
Walser
And Tycova To Meet In Final
Katerina Tycova
It was a busy day at Europark Salzburg, with six matches taking place
across two rounds, and there are just two women left in the Austrian
Open, with Switzerland’s Celine Walser and Germany’s Katerina Tycova
through to Saturday’s final.
The quarter finals of the Challenger 3 level competition saw just a
single surprise, as No.7 seed Taba Taghavi came through the all-French
encounter with compatriot and No.3 seed Lea Barbeau, winning in straight
games in just 22 minutes, to advance to the semi-finals. She was joined
by the rest of the top four seeds, in Germany’s Saskia Beinhard and
Katerina Tycova, and Swiss player Celine Walser.
Into the semi-finals, and there was German representation in both
matches. In the opening match of the last four, top seed Beinhard took
on Switzerland’s Celine Walser, and it was the No.4 seed that eventually
came through after a match that featured three tie-breaks.
Beinhard, the World No.73, took a tight first game 11-9 to hold the
advantage in the match, and the contest would not see a game decided by
more than two points throughout. Walser levelled the match after a 14-12
success in the second, before then also winning the third on a tie-break
16-14 to lead for the first time. The Swiss World No.127 fought through
to win the fourth, also on a tie-break, to advance to her first final
since November 2020.
She will take on Germany’s Katerina Tycova in the final on Saturday,
after the World No.130 got the better of France’s Taba Taghavi in a
four-game contest, coming from behind to take the win. The German lost
the first game 11-7 but fought back to win the next two to hold the
advantage in the match. She then stormed through the fourth game to take
the win, and move through to the final.
The final of the women’s Austrian Open will take place on Saturday, July
2, with Germany’s Katerina Tycova and Switzerland’s Celine Walser to do
battle for the title at the Europark Salzburg.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament
website or follow
PSA Challenger Events on Twitter or Facebook.
|
Women's
Preview
Peychar Focussing On Performances
The Austrian Open will take place across the next two weekends in
Salzburg, with the women’s Challenger 3 level tournament taking place
from Thursday, June 30 to Saturday, July 2 at Europark Salzburg.
The 16-strong draw will take to the glass court at the Europark Salzburg
on Thursday afternoon, with the German duo of Saskia Beinhard and
Katerina Tycova being the top two seeds for the competition, with the
latter aiming to claim her maiden win on Tour.
Fellow German Aylin Gunsav will also be among the top eight seeds, along
with the French trio of Lea Barbeau, Ella Galova and Taba Taghavi,
Switzerland’s Celine Walser and Austrian No.1 Jacqueline Peychar.
Peychar is the home favourite for the tournament, and she will be the
No.5 seed this week in Salzburg. After winning the Austrian Nationals
title earlier this month, she is coming into this Challenger 3 level
tournament with confidence in her game and her body.
“I‘m super excited to be playing the Austrian Open for the first time
and finally having a women‘s PSA event in Austria,” she explained.
“I‘m feeling pretty good at the moment, just last week I won my fourth
national title. This year, I struggled a bit with some injuries so it
was difficult to find some consistency in training and competing, but my
body settled down and I’m feeling stronger every day.”
As the No.5 seed, Peychar is expected to reach the quarter finals of the
event, but she will be aiming further, especially on a court that she
knows so well, having played there several times in the past.
“As far as my expectations go, I always try to top my seeding, but at
the moment my main focus is to show up and perform at the highest level
I can. If that means a first round exit, then that’s alright,” the
Austrian admitted.
“Thanks to Aqeel Rehman’s hard work with organising the Austrian Squash
Challenge every year! We have been having our Austrian League Finals at
the Europark for the past few years, so I‘m familiar with the venue, the
glass court and conditions there, which is always nice.
“Every win on home soil is special, I just want to keep playing as long
as possible and I know if I bring my ‘A’ game, I‘ll be a very tough one
to crack for anyone in the draw!”
The event takes place from Thursday, June 30 to Saturday, July 2 at
Europark Salzburg, where Jacqueline Peychar will be the home favourite
for the tournament. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and
Facebook for daily updates from the event.
For more information on the event, visit the tournament
website or follow
PSA Challenger Events on Twitter or Facebook.
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