Top seeds Luka Penttinen and Leon Griffiths both survived scares in the Men’s Singles at the IWT French Open on Saturday to progress to the semi-finals.
Penttinen came through two tough battles against Max Plettenberg and Matthew Davidson, while René Lindberg came close to shocking Leon Griffiths.
The other two seeds, Nicolas Lenggenhager and Oliver Bühler, were both beaten in the quarter-finals by Damien Andre and Koen Hageraats respectively.
The Women’s Singles draw went largely to script, with Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Myriam Enmer set to collide for the title on Sunday.
Men’s Singles – Tennis Success Guides Penttinen and Andre into Semis
Saturday nearly began with an almighty shock as Luka Penttinen weathered a storm. His opening-round opponent, Max Plettenberg, led by nine points before tennis after dominant table tennis and squash wins. However, the German couldn’t convert the lead, with Penttinen winning with a superb 21-4 tennis victory to set up a quarter-final showdown with Matthew Davidson.
The young Brit had overcome Jack Bishop in the first round and gave the top seed a second scare of the day. A superb 21-13 squash set left the match level before tennis. Once again, Penttinen’s tennis was his saviour. The Finn made a fast start and wrapped up a 21-13 victory to reach the semi-finals.
There, he will play the in-form Damien Andre. Fresh from his Mixed Doubles title on Friday, Andre’s confidence carried him to an impressive win over fellow Doubles champion Joel Pennanen in the opening round.
In the quarter-finals, the Frenchman managed a real scalp. He took on No.3 seed Nicolas Lenggenhager and found himself 14 points down after badminton. At his home tournament, Andre produced a memorable comeback, winning the tennis set 21-8 to seal a +4 victory.
This is the second time in the last six months that Damien Andre and Luka Penttinen have met in the semi-finals of a Men’s Singles. Penttinen got the win on that day back in Rotterdam. Will we see the same result or could Andre produce a shock to reach his first elite singles final?
Men’s Singles – Griffiths Given a Scare as Hageraats Impresses
Despite being the No.2 seed in this competition, Leon Griffiths was the presumed favourite for the title. His quest for silverware nearly came to a shocking premature end in the quarter-finals against René Lindberg.
Both players had won their opening round matches before tennis. Lindberg took out Australia’s Eric Durand while Griffiths beat fellow Brit Alex Du Noyer. The quarter-final ended up being a cracker.
Lindberg edged the table tennis 21-9 before Griffiths took a commanding 21-5 badminton victory. However, Lindberg wrestled his way back into contention with a 21-13 squash win, leaving Griffiths needing 17 to advance. In the end, the Brit got his victory, but it ended 17-17 with Lindberg only six points behind.
In the semi-finals, Griffiths will play Koen Hageraats. Of all the semi-finalists, the Dutchman has looked the most impressive, with his solid game built around table tennis and squash. He opened with a routine win over Tournament Director Josselin Gadé. He then followed that up by defeating Switzerland’s Oliver Bühler, who was also the No.4 seed. The ease of his victory was extremely impressive, with the Dutchman needing just one point on the tennis court.
Griffiths and Hageraats did play once last year. It was Griffiths that triumphed on that day in Dubai, winning the back three sports to secure the title. Will it be a similar result in the French capital?
The full Men’s Singles results are available here.
Women’s Singles – Ahlmer and Enmer Set for Sunday Showdown
As expected, Saturday progressed with Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Myriam Enmer setting up a contest on Sunday for the IWT French Open title. The day wasn’t without its intriguing moments though.
Myriam Enmer against Nicole Eisler was the first match on court. After winning the squash 21-12, Eisler was only two points behind going into tennis. Enmer is one of the strongest tennis players on tour though and won 21-9 to get her first win on the board.
Anna-Klara Ahlmer needed just three points on the tennis court against the box league’s fourth player, Aurélie Haurant. The World No.2 opened up that lead thanks to a brutal 21-0 squash set to guarantee that she kept her title hopes alive.
Ahlmer beat Haurant by 21 points in her match. Enmer went one better, taking out Haurant by 22 points thanks to a 2-0 tennis victory. Two victories on the board and, at this point, a guaranteed chance at the trophy.
Nicole Eisler is a former world No.1 and showed her class in her match against Anna-Klara Ahlmer. The Swiss player trailed by just three points heading to tennis after winning the badminton. In the end, Ahlmer was too strong, winning by nine points to secure a second consecutive victory over the Swiss star.
So that leaves us with a shoot-out between Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Myriam Enmer for the title. Enmer is yet to win a set against Ahlmer in her career. Ahlmer won all three of their 2021 meetings before tennis. If the results from today’s opening matches are anything to go by, Sunday’s contest could be much closer.
The full Women’s Singles results are available here.
A full report from Friday’s Doubles Day is available here.
The full report from all the amateur, junior and senior classes will be available early next week.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / Rene Zwald
