Astrid Reimer-Kern is into the final of the IWT Swiss Open for the fourth time in a row as she looks to defend her title once again.
The German was impressive on her run to the final, where she’ll take on Denmark’s Stine Jacobsen. Jacobsen is chasing a Triple Crown after her success on Friday.
Morten Jaksland’s hopes of a Triple Crown are also still alive as he reached the final of the Men’s Singles. The World No.1 will take on home favourite Oliver Buhler, who is into his second elite singles final in two years.
Women’s Singles – Reimer-Kern Rolls into Final Again
Astrid Reimer-Kern has a rich history at the IWT Swiss Open. The German has won the last two Women’s Singles titles and also reached the final the year before that. This year, she’s back into the final once again after an impressive Saturday.
Reimer-Kern’s success was centred around imperious badminton and squash. Her first round was against wildcard Fabienne Dony and, after losing the table tennis, she cruised to victory with a crushing 21-9, 21-7 win on the middle two sports.
In the semi-finals, she faced Nicole Eisler. The Swiss favourite had taken out No.2 seed Kirsten Kaptein in the first round but found Reimer-Kern too hot to handle. Once again the German lost the table tennis but strolled through the badminton 21-16 and squash 21-7. The victory was solidified as she won the tennis 6-2 to reach the final once again.
In the final, Reimer-Kern will take on Stine Jacobsen. The Dane had an impressive day, cruising past Myriam Enmer before taking out top seed Anna-Klara Ahlmer in the best match of the day. Jacobsen built up a steady lead against Ahlmer, winning the first two sports 21-15 and 21-9. The top seed almost produced an unforgettable comeback, winning the squash 21-13 and leading the tennis 15-12 before Jacobsen got the final point she needed.
Now it’s Jacobsen vs. Reimer-Kern for the title. Either Reimer-Kern will win for the third time in a row, or Jacobsen win join an elite group of players in completing a Triple Crown. A Triple Crown is when a player wins the singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the same weekend.
The full results from the Women’s A Singles are available here.
Men’s Singles – World No.1 Jaksland Chases a First 2021 Title
It may have been over 18 months since his last international tournament but it remains business as usual for world No.1 Morten Jaksland. The Dane was hugely impressive on Saturday, cruising through all three of his matches to reach the final of the IWT Swiss Open.
Jaksland’s day opened against Max Plettenberg. The German took him to tennis again but was no match on Jaksland’s best court. Adarsh Vikram Narayanaswamy was Jaksland’s next victim. The Indian had edged past Simon Vaclahovsky in the first round but found the World No.1 too much. Jaksland won both squash and tennis 21-8 to win by 24 points.
It was a day of drama across the board with many close matches being contested. Damien Andre snuck into the quarter-finals after beating Noah Mamie by just two points. Oliver Buhler also had a first-round battle, edging Steffan Neumann by just six points.
Alongside that, No.2 seed Emanuel Schoepf was also eliminated in the opening round by Christian Schaefer. The Swiss won three of the four sports to shock the Austrian. However, his journey ended in the quarter-finals at the hands of Yannic Andrey, who lived up to his billing as a wildcard to reach the semi-finals.
Schoepf was the only seed to fall before the semi-finals though, with Sylvain Ternon and Oliver Buhler both advancing. Only one would move on to the final though. Ternon’s run came to an end at the hands of Jaksland, who was once again ruthless on the squash and tennis courts.
Buhler progressed to the final after defeating Andrey in an all-Swiss showdown. An unforgettable tournament for the current U18 World Champion, Andrey, as he reached his first Men’s A Singles semi-final
Sunday’s final though, sees Morten Jaksland take on Oliver Buhler. The World No.1 leads the head-to-head 1-0 but Buhler is a player that has improved over recent years. Could the Swiss star produce a major shock at his home tournament, or will Jaksland live up to expectations and complete a memorable Triple Crown?
The full Men’s A Singles results are available here.
More IWT Swiss Open Reports
The Doubles Day review is available here.
A complete review of all junior, senior and amateur categories will be released on Monday.
The full FIR World Tour is available here with all events open for entry for players of all ages and abilities.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / Rene Zwald
