Florian Harca produced the shock of the day at the IWT London Open as he defeated No.4 seed, René Lindberg, to advance to the semi-finals of the Men’s Singles.
Lindberg was the lone seed to fall in London as Nicolas Lenggenhager, Koen Hageraats and Duncan Stahl all moved into Sunday’s semi-finals.
In the Women’s Singles, it’ll be another showdown between doubles partners Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Myriam Enmer in the final. Ahlmer is chasing her second title of the month while a Roehampton Club Triple Crown is still on the cards for Enmer.
Men’s Singles – Harca and Lenggenhager into Top Half Semi-Final
In his first tournament of the season, Florian Harca is back in the semi-finals. The Austrian produced the day’s standout performance as he took out No.4 seed René Lindberg in London.
Before facing Lindberg, the teenage Austrian first had to defeat Ray Jordan. Harca lost the table tennis 21-15 but flipped the script, winning the badminton 21-17 and squash 21-9. A complete set of tennis followed on the grass, with Harca winning 21-7.
After winning the Men’s Doubles on Friday, René Lindberg began Saturday where he left off. The Swede took out Switzerland’s Noah Mamié but found Harca too much in the quarter-finals. The Austrian dominated the first two sports, winning 21-17 and 21-9 to lead by 16 before squash. Lindberg won the squash but only to 15, leaving Harca needing 12 points on the tennis court. The final tennis score was 12-13, leaving Harca in the semi-finals.
Facing him is Nicolas Lenggenhager. Revenge was the first dish on Lenggenhager’s Saturday menu, as he took out wildcard Sion Wiggin thanks to dominant table tennis and badminton sets. Lenggenhager then took out a second wildcard in the quarter-finals in Jermaine Manners.
Lenggenhager once again won the table tennis and badminton, winning 21-13 and 21-10. Manners fought back to win the squash 21-12 but it was too-little-too-late. Lenggenhager secured his semi-final spot with a 12-9 win.
Harca and Lenggenhager have played each other four times before, with three of those coming last year. All four have been close matches, with the pair split 2-2 on the head-to-head. Sunday’s semi-final should be a cracker.
Men’s Singles – Hageraats and Stahl Live Up to Seedings
The bottom half saw less drama as seeds Duncan Stahl and Koen Hageraats both rolled into the semi-finals with minimal fuss.
Stahl is the No.2 seed in the draw and began against France’s Anthony Duthuillé. The badminton, squash and tennis were all relatively tight. However, a crushing 21-8 table tennis win was the decisive set for Stahl as he won by 15 points.
James Langworthy had won an all-British showdown with Jack Bishop to set up a quarter-final clash with Stahl. Once again it was Stahl’s table tennis that set him up for victory. He beat Langworthy 21-7, as well as winning the squash 21-8 to triumph by +21 points and move into the semi-finals.
Speaking of table tennis prowess, Koen Hageraats had a typically flawless day. The Dutchman dropped seven table tennis points on his way to the semi-finals, needing just one point on the tennis court as well.
He began with a topsy-turvy win against Alex Du Noyer. While the Brit won the badminton 21-8, Hageraats won the table tennis and squash 21-5 and 21-2 to win by +22 before tennis.
Simon Vaclahovky had beaten Matthew Davidson in his first match but had his title challenge ended by Hageraats in the quarter-finals. The Dutchman had all but wrapped up the match after badminton, dropping just eight points through the first two sports. While Vaclahovsky won the squash 21-8 it did not matter. Hageraats was into the semi-finals.
This is the first career meeting between Koen Hageraats and Duncan Stahl. Will it be the Dutchman or the Brit in the final of the IWT London Open Men’s Singles?
The full Men’s Singles results are available here.
Women’s Singles – Ahlmer and Enmer Left to Fight for the Title
Top seeds Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Myriam Enmer are through to the final of the Women’s Singles in Roehampton. The two seeded players lived up to their billing and will collide for the title on the grass courts in London.
Anna-Klara Ahlmer looked every bit like the player who has won two titles already this year. She opened the day against Great Britain’s returning star Matilda Parslow. Ahlmer won 21-12, 21-5, 21-18 to secure a +28 victory before tennis.
It was another Brit for Ahlmer in the semi-finals, in the form of Alexandra Ogram. The current Girls Singles World No.1 produced a huge display in her first round to take out Jo Shelley, winning the badminton, squash and tennis on her way to a +10 victory overall.
Ahlmer was too good for Ogram in the semi-finals though. The Swede won all three sports to claim victory before tennis and advance to a second final of the month.
Like Ahlmer, Myriam Enmer began the day with a straightforward victory. The French star took out wildcard Susie Dilloway, winning all three sets, including a fantastic 24-22 table tennis.
In the semi-finals, Enmer would take on Izzy Bramhall, who had beaten Dara Ladner on her return to the singles court. Enmer and Bramhall produced an epic battle in one of the day’s best matches. Bramhall won the table tennis 21-8 before Enmer fought back to win the badminton 21-13.
Bramhall edged out the squash 21-17 to leave her with a lead going into tennis. The Brit is battling injury at the moment and, with the World Championships on the horizon, decided to play it safe. Late into an intense tennis set, Bramhall retired to look after her body. That saw Enmer advance into yet another Racketlon World Tour final.
Sunday’s final will be huge for whichever player wins. If Enmer wins, it’ll be a first career Triple Crown and a second title in two months. For Ahlmer, it would be a second title in three weeks.
The full Women’s Singles results are available here.
How to Keep Up with the IWT London Open
Both the Men’s and Women’s Singles finals will be Livestreamed on Facebook.
The full report from Friday’s Doubles Day is available here.
A report from all the Juniors, Seniors and Amateurs categories will be available on Monday.
Follow all the action from the IWT London Open on Facebook, Instagram and on Racketlon.net.
All the results from Finals Day on Sunday will be available here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / Duncan Stahl