With over 50% of Saturday’s SWT GRAWE sidebyside 15. Austrian Open matches available to watch on the live stream, we thought we would present choose a few we think you can’t miss.
Of course, we’re delighted that we can bring you almost 40 full matches from the tournament on Saturday, historically with matches from every singles category, including juniors and seniors.
We’re expecting plenty of exceptional matches to be created later in the day as players progress through the draw as well. For now though, here are five matches we think you should watch on Saturday.
Marcel Weigl vs. Michael Moitzi – Racketlon.Shop Men’s A Singles Round One – 10:40CET
Context is crucial in explaining why this match is a part of our five matches to watch. Marcel Weigl was originally supposed to play Simon Vaclahovsky in the draw. However, illness forced Simon to withdraw, leaving a spot open in the Men’s A Singles.
For most of Friday, there was uncertainty over who would replace Vaclahovsky. Step up Michael Moitzi – at the absolute last minute. As a last-minute alternate, Moitzi has no pressure to perform. He has bravely volunteered to fill in and help out the tournament.
But could he spring an upset? That is where the intrigue lies in this fixture. With Nikola Mikac awaiting the winter – the lowest-ranked seed in the draw – both Weigl and Moitzi will see this as a big opportunity.
Florian Harca vs. Yannic Andrey – Racketlon.Shop Men’s A Singles Round One – 11:00CET
What happens if you get two of Racketlon’s best talents on one court together? You get a mouthwatering first-round clash.
Florian Harca and Yannic Andrey are two names tipped to be stars of the sport in the future. Harca already has a Men’s Elite Singles title in his locker after his triumph two weeks ago in Romania. But Andrey has also had his fair share of success and is currently the reigning Juniors U18 Singles World Champion.
This is a match fitting of at least a quarter-final so to see these two collide in the first round is a real treat. If you’re interested in seeing two stars of the near future, then tune in and enjoy this contest.
Graham King vs. Richard Hobzig – Seniors +40 Quarter-Finals – 17:00CET
It’s pretty much impossible not to recommend a showdown between two World Champions.
Richard Hobzig is the current +45 World Champion while Graham King is the +55 World Champion. Both have an extremely impressive racketlon back-catalogue and are leaders in their age category on the Seniors Tour.
When else can you say that you’ve seen two World Champions face off in the first round of a tournament? It does not happen, very often.
Zuzana Severinova vs. Anna-Klara Ahlmer – DWT – SCHMÖLZER Women’s A Singles – 21:40CET
The World No.2 vs. the World No.3. Need I say more? In terms of rankings, there is no bigger match at this weekend’s tournament.
Plus, add in that the No.2 spot in the rankings is up for grabs. Ahlmer already has a title this month at the Romanian Open Challenger and is hunting down Severinova’s No.2 position in the world rankings. There is a possibility that this is effectively the final for the Women’s A Singles. Unmissable.
A potential Super World Tour title, the World No.2 spot and a healthy confidence boost ahead of the World Singles Championship. A lot is on the line in this clash.
Florian Harca vs. Matthew Davidson – Juniors U21 Singles – 09:40 (Sunday)
Okay, so this match is technically on Sunday morning but it’s already been confirmed and we couldn’t resist throwing it in.
So yes, Florian Harca has already been featured on this countdown but we felt we couldn’t not include him twice with this contest. Once again, it’s a showdown between two of racketlon’s youngest talents. Matthew Davidson is a name that hasn’t quite broken through on the international circuit just yet, but he is on the cusp of making that leap.
The young Brit has been destructive on the UK Tour, almost beating World No.3 Dan Busby just last month, and giving Leon Griffiths a real match across all sports. Don’t be surprised if this match is the shoot-out for the Juniors U21 Singles title in Austria as well.
Watch all five of these matches, and loads more, on Streamster.tv across the weekend. Saturday’s stream is available here, and Sunday’s is available here.
The full list of SWT GRAWE sidebyside 15. Austrian Open matches available to stream is available below.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
