Czech Republic’s Jakub Svec is into his first Men’s Elite Singles final on his debut at this level after a mesmeric run through the draw in Prague.
The Czech star beat two seeded players – including ending the comeback of Rav Rykowski – to set up a final against top seed Nicolas Lenggenhager.
In the Women’s Elite Singles, Zuzana Severinová is one victory away from defending her title after two straightforward wins on Saturday.
Men’s Elite Singles – Lenggenhager and Svec Set for Final Showdown
With just one member of the Top 10 competing at the IWT Czech Open, there were also going to be some surprise semi-finalists. Few would have predicted both Jakub Svec and Bastian Böhm reach the semi-finals on their elite debut.
Böhm was competing for the first time since winning the Juniors U18 Singles world title and came flying out of the blocks. The German produced a sensational performance to eliminate the No.3 seed, Michał Kurek, before tennis. With his quarter-final opponent, Marcel Weigl, forced to retire before the match, Böhm was into his first semi-final.
His run was ended by Nicolas Lenggenhager. The Swiss player rolled through Kamil Stanek in the first round before surviving a late comeback from Michal Horácek in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, the experienced Swiss player ended Böhm’s run with a dominant performance to win +35 before tennis.
The true star of the Men’s Elite Singles draws though has been Jakub Svec. Fresh from his breakthrough at the World Championships, the Czech has wasted no time. His sensational table tennis saw him slice through Jan Port in the first round to set up a quarter-final against Rav Rykowski.
The returning Pole had only beaten Martin Sopko by four points in the first round but came unstuck against Svec. The Czech player won table tennis 21-4 and tennis 21-7 to produce the upset win of his career and reach the semi-finals.
There, he would take on No.4 seed Simon Vaclahovsky. The German beat Nihit Kumar Singh and Nikola Mikac to reach the semi-finals. It was Svec who made the faster start though, winning 21-8 and 21-17 before Vaclahovsky won the squash 21-4. Svec outlasted Vaclahovsky on the tennis court to win 21-15 and book a spot in Sunday’s final.
Neither Lenggenhager nor Svec has ever won a Men’s Elite Singles title before. One of them will leave Prague as a champion on Sunday.
The full Men’s Elite Singles results are available here.
Women’s Elite Singles – Severinová in Control But Title Still Up for Grabs
Defending champion Zuzana Severinová is in control of the Women’s Elite Singles Box League but does not have her hands on the title yet, despite two wins on Saturday.
Severinová enters Sunday as the heavy favourite when she takes on Virág Sákovics. If she wins, then Severinová will win the title for a second year. However, if she loses and Kirsten Kaptein beats Holly Ranson then we could get a Gummiarm Playoff for the title.
This has all played out thanks to two tight matches on Saturday. They did not involve Severinová, who beat Holly Ranson +27 before tennis and Kirsten Kaptein +25 before tennis.
Instead, it was the opening and closing matches of the day that provided the drama. Kaptein kicked off the day by securing a dramatic +2 win over Sákovics. The Dutch World No.7 won the tennis set 24-22 to get her first win on the board.
Sákovics did get a win on the board later in the day. The experienced Hungarian fended off a superb fight from teenage Brit Holly Ranson. After an almighty battle, Sákovics’ 21-5 squash set helped her win by +7 points overall.
If Severinová beats Sákovics for the title on Sunday then the possibility of a Gummiarm Playoff for the remaining podium positions is on the table. That would only occur if Ranson beats Kaptein on Sunday.
The full results from the Women’s Elite Singles are available here.
Follow Czech Racketlon Facebook to watch the live stream of both Finals on Sunday from Hector Sportcentre.
Keep up with all the latest news about the IWT Czech Open on Facebook and Instagram.
A full report from the Amateurs, Juniors and Seniors categories will be live on Monday.
A report from Friday’s Doubles is available here.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image / rubinfoto.com
