Georg Stoisser beat Sylvain Ternon in the final of the GRAWE sidebyside 14. Austrian Open to win his first elite singles title.
Stoisser won +12 (21-8 17-21 21-12 4-10) against the No.3 seed to cap off a perfect weekend. The Austrian also won the Men’s Doubles title with Emanuel Schoepf on Friday – the same day he celebrated his birthday.
Earlier in the day, Stoisser had ended the comeback of Magnus Eliasson after outmuscling him in the quarter-finals.
Martin Abrami, who shocked No.1 seed, Schoepf, in the quarter-finals just missed out on a place on the podium after losing to fellow Frenchman Mandrin Mouchet in the bronze medal match.
Eliasson falls to Stoisser in quarter-finals as Abrami stuns Schoepf
The day began in style with a showdown between Georg Stoisser and Magnus Eliasson. The contest was not without its drama as Eliasson received two warnings and was docked a point during the badminton.
In the end, the result wasn’t quite as dramatic. Stoisser dominated the two middle sports winning them 21-7 and 21-10 to ensure that he only needed one in tennis, something he secured on point five. It was a pleasure to see Magnus Eliasson back on the FIR World Tour and we hope to see him return in the future.
In the second quarter-final, Mohammed Tarik Koubaa was involved in a thriller for a second straight day. The Moroccan found himself trailing by 13 before the tennis, meaning Mandrin Mouchet needed just 9 to progress.
When Koubaa entered the turn 11-4 up a comeback looked on the cards. The Frenchman improved in the second half though, getting to 9 to win by just four points. A superb run for Mouchet who stepped in as an alternate for the tournament only 24 hours before it began.
The shock of the day came in the third quarter-final. Top seed Emanuel Shoepf was sent packing after Martin Abrami produced the performance of his career to win. Every sport was close but the badminton was crucial, with Abrami winning +7 (19-21, 21-16, 21-19, 17-15).
In the semi-finals, Abrami would face fellow Frenchman Sylvain Ternon. The No.3 seed dominated the badminton and squash to knockout home favourite Marcel Weigl in his quarter-final. Three Frenchmen entered the draw and all three progressed to the semi-finals.
Stoisser and Ternon surge into final
Unlike the quarter-finals, both semi-finals were relatively straightforward. Mandrin Mouchet looked like he was set to trouble Georg Stoisser after controlling the first half of the badminton. However, the Austrian rallied superbly to win the badminton 21-16 before crushing Mouchet 21-4 in the squash to win before tennis.
Stoisser has had success at the Austrian Open before but only in doubles. Now, the Austrian faced a chance to not only win his home tournament but also win his first FIR World Tour elite singles title.
The second semi-final was an all-French affair between Sylvain Ternon and Martin Abrami. Ternon was by far the more experienced racketlon player and made that experience count.
After the table tennis and badminton, Ternon had put together a +17 point lead. Despite seeming to be the fitter player, Abrami didn’t have enough to battle back and produce another upset. Abrami won the squash 21-16 but a 10-8 tennis win was enough to put Sylvain Ternon into his first FIR World Tour elite singles final.
That set us up for a GRAWE sidebyside 14. Austrian Open final between Georg Stoisser and Sylvain Ternon. Two players that had never reached an elite singles final before. One of them was about to walk away with a trophy and 1,000 euros.
Perfect birthday present for Georg Stoisser
Pre-match predictions had this match being a tight affair. Stoisser wasn’t listening to any predictions as he roared ahead in the table tennis. The Austrian won the first three points and never looked back. Utilising a heavy topspin forehand, Stoisser dominated Ternon from start to finish, winning 21-8 to build a heavy lead.
Ternon needed to capitalise on his strongest sport, badminton, but only led 11-8 at the half-way point. He pulled away again but an illegal serve coupled with a late flurry of points from Stoisser meant he was only able to win the badminton 21-17. A 9 point lead for Stoisser was a huge advantage heading into one of his strongest sports – squash.
By the halfway stage in the squash, Ternon was trying to figure out what he needed just to reach tennis. Trailing 11-6 at the turn the Frenchman was staring down the possibility of a defeat before the final discipline. In the second half, he won another six points, leaving Stoisser with an 18 point lead heading into tennis. 4 points would earn him the trophy.
Those four points would not come easy though. A string of unforced errors from Stoisser allowed Ternon to build an 8-2 lead. Stoisser finally won his third point before throwing in another couple of unforced errors. At 10-3, Stoisser landed a swinging serve out wide which Ternon couldn’t return. Game, set and match.
For Georg Stoisser this was a special way to cap off his birthday weekend. Flawless across the weekend, Stoisser leaves with two trophies and 1,500 euros in prize money. Hopefully, we will see much more from the talented Austrian as he challenges for further titles in 2021.
The results from the Men’s Singles are available here.
You can watch the full replay of the Men’s Singles final here.
The report from the Men’s Doubles won by Georg Stoisser and Emanuel Schoepf is available here.
The preview for Sunday’s Women’s Singles is available here while the Mixed Doubles preview is here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / Alex Rieck
