Christine Seehofer and Arnaud Genin both triumphed at Tennis Point Vienna to claim the Vienna Classics titles.
World No.1 Seehofer comfortably beat Bettina Bugl for the 18th time to retain her Vienna Classics Women’s A crown.
Meanwhile, Genin had a hard-fought battle with 2017 European Champion Rav Rykowski, eventually winning the Men’s A by eight points.
This is the second time these two have won trophies at the Tennis Point Vienna in four months. Both won the Austrian Open held at the same venue last November.
Genin and Rykowski Serve Up a Thrilling Final
This was the second time that Genin and Rykowski had met in their careers. The first was just four months ago when Genin edged Rykowski to reach the Austrian Open quarter-finals.
The contest was just as competitive the second time around. Genin took an early lead in the table-tennis 21-16, producing some superb shots to edge the Pole.
Last time they met Rykowski managed seven in the badminton. This time he scored eight, leaving him 18 down heading into squash, his best sport. Rykowski battled back, winning 21-7 with some brutal rallies to leave Genin needing 18 in the tennis.
While the tennis remained tight throughout, Genin always held a slender lead. The Pole could not complete the comeback, a combination of exception winners and unforced errors helping Genin secure an 18-14 victory and his third World Tour title in a row.
The Frenchman is now on an 11-match unbeaten streak and has already emerged as the man to beat in 2019. He will next be in action at the Club La Santa Open in a month’s time.
Stephan Schmutzer took third place over fellow Austrian Emanuel Schopf. He won a competitive match +7 after taking a +1 lead into tennis.
Flawless Seehofer Continues to Look Unstoppable
In the Women’s A there were to be no shocks as Christine Seehofer demonstrated her dominance in an emphatic victory over Bettina Bugl.
Seehofer, whose unbeaten run in singles now stretches for nearly three years, was sublime as she stormed ahead with a 21-8 table-tennis win.
That was quickly backed up by a 21-4 badminton win and 21-5 squash win to give her a crushing victory in the final.
The singles trophy was her third gold of the weekend after also winning the Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
Seehofer is now undefeated in her last 21 Women’s A finals, a record-breaking run stretching back to the IWT Bavarian Open in 2015. Can anyone end that streak in 2019?
Elisabeth Seehofer took the bronze after an impressive victory over Hungary’s Virag Sakovics.
Who else won at the Vienna Classics?
Austria had plenty to celebrate at their home tournament across the other categories. Julia Pabisch won the Women’s B, Thomas Wagner the Seniors +40, Christian Wagner the Seniors +45, Alexander Wagner the Juniors U13 and Florian Harca the Juniors U16.
Elsewhere, Finland’s Tommi Laine won the Men’s B, Poland’s Michal Kurek claimed the Men’s C, Romania Radu Ionescu won the Seniors +50 and Peter Sakovics won the Seniors +55.
The full results from the Vienna open are available here.
The Men’s A final was live-streamed on the Racketlon Facebook page and is available to catch up in five parts:
Inspired by the Vienna Classics? The full list of upcoming World Tour events is here and they are open for players of all standards.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit: Inge Omey
