It was a big day for Danish Racketlon in the elite classes on Friday as they swept the doubles categories at the IWT Swiss Open.
Stine Jacobsen and Morten Jaksland teamed up to win the Mixed Doubles crown after earlier successes in the Women’s Doubles and Men’s Doubles respectively.
Jaksland won a dramatic Men’s Doubles title with Mohammed Tarik Koubaa. Elsewhere, Jacobsen teamed up with Anna-Klara Ahlmer to triumph in the Women’s Doubles.
Men’s Doubles – Jaksland and Koubaa Survive Gummiarm to Win Title
It was a fierce Men’s Doubles competition in Switzerland. Morten Jaksland and Mohammed Tarik Koubaa dramatically survived a gummiarm in the semi-finals en route to the title.
The pair were almost shocked by Adarsh Vikram Narayanaswamy and Max Plettenberg, with the Indian-German pair leading by 10 points heading into tennis. Jaksland and Koubaa held their nerve though, winning 21-11 and sealing their spot in the final with a gummiarm win.
Earlier, Jaksland and Koubaa had defeated Nicolas Champod and Nicolas Lenggenhager in the opening round, winning the tennis set 21-9 to seal a +14 victory.
In the final, they faced a talented young duo, Yannic Andrey and Emmanuel Schoepf. These two had also almost had to endure a gummiarm. They won their first-round against Damien Andre and Sylvain Ternon by just 2 points, producing a superb comeback in one of the matches of the day.
Andrey and Schoepf advanced through their semi-final against Oliver Buhler and Manfred Grab with relative ease, recovering well after losing table tennis. Buhler and Grab had earlier knocked out No.2 seeds Patrick Oettl and Simon Vaclahovsky.
The final itself was neck-and-neck heading to the tennis set. Jaksland and Koubaa won the table tennis 21-13 and the squash 21-19. However, a 21-10 badminton victory for Andrey and Schoepf gave them a slender 1 point lead.
In the end, Jaksland’s strength as world No.1 shone through. He and Koubaa won 21-12 to seal the title together and live up to their billing as top seeds. After almost producing a shock earlier in the day, Narayanaswamy and Plettenberg beat Buhler and Grab to finish third.
The full Men’s Doubles results are available here.
Women’s Doubles – Jacobsen and Ahlmer Stroll to Title with Dominant Performances
There was little drama in the Women’s Doubles as Stine Jacobsen and Anna-Klara Ahlmer produced a clinical display on their way to the crown. The pair dropped just one set all day – and that was a squash set against a pair featuring PSA player Astrid Reimer-Kern. Even then they barely lost it.
The pair started their day against Myriam Enmer and Nicole Eisler. A +25 (21-14, 21-13, 21-11) victory set the tone for the afternoon as they proved ruthless in every sport. In the final they took on Reimer-Kern and Irina Olsacher. These two had defeated the No.2 seeds Fabienne Dony and Kirsten Kaptein in the first round, edging the match thanks to an impressive 21-5 badminton win.
It was a narrow table tennis result in the final. Ahlmer and Jacobsen won it 23-21 before extending their lead with a 21-12 badminton victory. That 11 point lead was nearly halved as Olsacher and Reimer-Kern took the squash 21-17. At that point though, it was too-little-too-late. A ruthless 15-7 tennis performance sealed the title for Jacobsen and Ahlmer.
That 7th career title for Ahlmer carries her onto the Top 10 all-time list, tying her with Zuzana Severinova. For Jacobsen, that was a landmark day as she won her first Women’s Doubles title at the elite level. Enmer and Eisler beat Dony and Kaptein to complete the podium.
The full Women’s Doubles results are available here.
Mixed Doubles – Great Danes Succeed in Switzerland
After triumphing in the morning, Jacobsen and Jaksland now teamed up to tackle the Mixed Doubles draw. As the No.2 seeds, the pair had a bye through to the semi-finals, as did top seeds Irina Olsacher and Emanuel Schoepf.
The first round proper saw two thrilling matches. French talents Myriam Enmer and Martin Abrami teamed up to power past Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Max Plettenberg. The main building block behind their success was a ruthless 21-6 badminton victory that paved the way for them to set up a showdown with Olsacher and Schoepf.
The other match was a bona fide classic. Making her long-awaited return to the FIR World Tour, Nathalie Vogel teamed up with Joshua Zeoli to produce a magical 1 point victory over Nicole Eisler and Adarsh Vikram Narayanaswamy. A second heartbreaking loss of the day for Narayanaswamy. Vogel and Zeoli battled back to win the tennis set 21-11 to complete their victory.
In the end, it was the two-seeded pairs that advanced to the final. Vogel and Zeoli put up a good fight, winning the badminton and only losing the squash by two points. In the end, though, the table tennis and tennis was too dominant from Jacobsen and Jaksland as they sealed their final place. Olsacher and Schoepf were far more ruthless. The duo beat up the French pair to win by +22 before tennis.
Despite all three sets being relatively competitive, the final ended up being something of a procession. The Danish duo won 21-13, 21-18, 21-12, 2-0 to win by +22 points and get their hands on the trophy. There was a return to the podium for Nathalie Vogel as she and Zeoli fended off Enmer and Abrami to grab bronze.
The full Mixed Doubles results are available here.
Triple Crown on for Jacobsen and Jaksland?
The IWT Swiss Open Triple Crown is now on for both Stine Jacobsen and Morten Jaksland as they head into the weekend’s singles categories. Will either of them be able to get their hands on some more silverware on Sunday?
A review of the non-elite doubles categories will come in our full round-up of all junior, senior and amateur categories after the tournament is completed.
The full FIR World Tour is available here will players of all ages and abilities able to enter every tournament.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / Morten Jaksland
