Michal Kurek continued his superb debut season as he won a third Men’s B title of the year. The Pole beat Czech Republic’s Jan Port in the final.
There was a further success for Poland as Katarzyna Myslek picked up her first Women’s B singles title. It was a superb weekend for Myslek across all categories as she also reached the podium in the Women’s A Doubles and Mixed B Doubles.
It was double success for young Austrian Florian Harca as he took home the Juniors U16 singles and the Men’s C crown – his first Men’s singles title.
Men’s B: Michal Kurek beats Jan Port
Poland’s Michal Kurek continues to build an impressive racketlon resume after winning the Men’s B singles – his third of the year.
Kurek’s squash was his most dangerous weapon throughout the weekend. In his four matches en route to the title, he won 21-9, 21-18, 21-6 and 21-2.
After battling past +50 World Champion Richard Middleton, Kurek came back from behind in his semi-final against Jonas Graeneder to reach the final.
In the final, he played Jan Port. The Czech player had an impressive run to the final, beating No.1 seed Roland Pichler and No.4 seed Filip Kos.
Kurek was too strong in the final though. It was tight after badminton but a 21-2 squash win for Kurek effectively ended the final, handing Kurek his third Men’s B title of the year. The next challenge for Kurek is to see if he can transition into the Men’s A.
Women’s B: Katarzyna Myslek beats Clarissa Steiner
Like Kurek, Katarzyna Myslek is another Pole having an impressive first full year on the FIR World Tour. Myslek lived up to her billing as the top seed, winning all three matches before tennis and dropping just one singles set all weekend.
In the final, Myslek faced Austrian junior Clarissa Steiner. Steiner is the current U16 Girls World Championship runner-up but was outclassed by Myslek.
After Steiner took the table tennis 23-21, Myslek romped away, winning the next two sports 21-6 and 21-8. The victory secured a first FIR World Tour singles title for Myslek, who is also in the hunt in the Victor Racketlon Series.
Men’s C: Florian Harca beats Lukas Herman
Current Junior World No.6 Florian Harca made his breakthrough on the Men’s Tour in Austria. Harca had never before won a Men’s title but blew apart the Men’s C field. The junior crushed two of his opponents, winning +43 and +48 before tennis to demonstrate his form.
In the final, he took on Lukas Herman, a Czech junior who had a real battle to reach the final. Remarkably, Herman produced three comebacks in his matches before the final. All three times he won the tennis to win by just three points.
He couldn’t produce a similar result in the final. Harca needed 16 in the tennis and he got 16, rolling to a comfortably 16-4 win. A real breakthrough in a year of junior breakthroughs.
Men’s D: Florian Prorock beats Oliver Gindlhumer
The Men’s D category saw the first all-Austrian final of the tournament. Florian Prorock and Oliver Gindlhumer both made their debuts and both reached the final. Prorock had demonstrated that he was the form player throughout the category. The Austrian won his opener +47 before backing that up with a +40 win in the semi-finals.
The final was not quite so comfortable but was still a win for Prorock. The Austrian dominated the table tennis 21-5 before winning tight badminton and squash sets to win the match before tennis. A marvellous debut for Prorock.
Men’s E: Sandor Novak Wins
The first-timers category pitted four newcomers against each other. It was a remarkably tight affair and a welcome introduction for them all.
In the end, it was Sandor Novak who took the title. The Austrian won the title thanks to two slender wins against fellow Austrians. Sandor beat Tobias Purrer by four points and Alexander Moser by six.
If you’re going to win your first title, there is no better way to do it than in close, hard-fought matches.
Juniors U13: Lukas Dvorak Wins
Lukas Dvorak. Remember the name. The young Czech player was simply superb, winning 11 of his 12 sets and rolling through the box league to the title.
His closest competitor was Francesco Izzo. The Austrian won two matches but fell to Dvorak by +17 points. His claim to fame is that he did manage to get a set off of Dvorak, winning the table tennis 21-15.
Juniors U16: Florian Harca beats David Ersil
It was a weekend of double domination for Florian Harca who, as well as winning the Men’s C, won the Juniors U16.
With David Ersil in the other half of the draw, this was a Junior draw with two big talents. These two seeded players won through to the final to meet for the sixth time in their young careers.
The two usually have fierce battles but this was one of their best. Ersil took the table tennis 21-18 before Harca retaliated with a 21-14 badminton win. The squash was 21-15 to Ersil before Harca won the tennis 21-15, winning the total match by +4 points.
This could be a rivalry to watch.
Juniors U21: David Ersil Wins
There was success for David Ersil elsewhere though. After disappointment in the U16 final, Ersil still managed to win a junior title – the U21. In fact, he did it in style as well.
In a four-man box league, Lukas Herman came closest to beating him. The Men’s C runner-up was tied with Ersil heading into tennis. However, the Czech top seed was able to win the tennis 21-11 to win the match +10.
That’s David Ersil’s first Juniors U21 title on the FIR World Tour.
Seniors +40: Richard Middleton beats Richard Hobzik
One of the tightest finals of the weekend saw Richard Middleton face Richard Hobzik in the Seniors +40 final.
After defeating top seed Thomas Wagner in the previous round, Middleton was keen to beat the No.2 seed Hobzik in the final as well.
He didn’t make a strong start though. Hobzik raced through the table tennis and badminton, winning both to move +18 ahead. Middleton battled back though, winning the squash 21-4 to trail by one heading into the tennis.
The tennis set was scintillating. After a lengthy match, it was Middleton who triumphed, winning 22-20 to win by a single point and take the title. That was Middleton’s first title of the season after narrowly losing the Men’s +50 final at the CH London Open.
Seniors +45: Peter Sakovics beats Gyorgy Janzer
Peter Sakovics’ unstoppable form continued in Austria as he battled his way to the Seniors +45 title. Sakovics, who has already won five Senior singles titles this year, made it six in the Seniors +45.
His first two matches were comfortable but he faced a battle in the final against fellow Hungarian Gyorgy Janzer. After winning the table tennis, Sakovics lost the badminton and squash to trail heading into the tennis. It took a 21-9 tennis set to seal the title by five points.
Seniors +55: Radu Ionescu Wins
Peter Sakovics’ doubles partner Zoltan Matecsa was also in action but in the Seniors +55. He could not replicate Sakovics’ success though.
Matecsa was outclassed by Romania’s Radu Ionescu, losing by eight points in the decisive box league match. That was a remarkable moment for Ionescu, whose victory saw him lift his first FIR World Tour title since 2014.
Seniors +65: Peter Libal beats Zdenek Devaty
After battling through their respective groups, Peter Libal and Zdenek Devaty faced off in the final of the Seniors +65. It was a fierce match, with Libal leading by just two as they approached the tennis.
It was a tight tennis set, but Libal did reach the 20 points he needed to claim the crown.
The full results from the SWT Austrian Open are available here.
The tournament report for the Elite singles classes is available here.
The FIR World Tour is available here, with tournaments open for players of all ages and abilities.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / rubinfoto.com
