A great start to the first day of the IWT RSL Finnish Open. Day one saw a conclusion to the women’s elite doubles, the Men’s B amateur doubles, and the seniors +55 doubles. The finalists were decided in the mixed elite doubles and the men’s elite doubles, they will decide who will lift the trophy tomorrow. It was a busy day, with a lot of good matches, were in usual Racketlon style your doubles partner can be your next opponent!
Women’s Elite Doubles – Ahlmer & Jacobsen win convincingly
The women’s elite doubles was a four-player draw. Ahlmer and Jacobsen were clear favourites as expected, and started very strong by beating Finnish duo Emilia Kostiainen and Ronja Kosonen +39 (21-5 21-6 21-13) proving too strong in the first three sports and no need to go to tennis. On the other side of the draw, Eisler/Chung also got of to a great start, beating another Finnish pairing Anttila/
Men’s Elite Doubles – Jaksland/Thyregod defeat top seeds to face home favourites Pennanen/Penttinen in the final
The men’s elite doubles saw a strong draw, with tough lineups. Top seeds Lenggenhager/Lindberg faced Jaksland/Thyregod in the quarter-finals, after the Danish pair defeated Kiljunen/Steyar +27 (21-9 21-12 21-15). It was a tough draw for Lenggenhager/Lindberg, as Jaksland/Thyregod proved to be in form from the start. A close table tennis match went the way of Lenggenhager/Lindberg by just two points, but it was at badminton where Jaksland/Thyregod took a huge jump in points. With high quality rallies and a lot of good smashes from Thyregod they took badminton 21-8. They also stayed strong in squash, not giving away too many points winning 21-14 which meant they only needed 4 points in tennis to win the match. They faced the no 4 seeds Moran/Radermacher in the semi-finals, who overcame Finnish duo Nissinen/Vuorinen +24 (21-7 21-19 21-13). The semi-final was the last match of the day, and it was a tough one. As in their previous match, Moran/Radermacher won table tennis, but didn’t succeed in badminton losing 21-9 to Jaksland/Thyregod. Squash was very tough, first Thyregod and Moran battled it out with long rallies and some amazing shots (a back wall boast that disappeared on the tennis courts, and broken shoe laces). Jaksland and Radermacher both gave it their all, as of course every point counts in Racketlon! Some very good boasts and nick shots from Radermacher saw them take squash by just 21/18. This meant it was going all the way in tennis, Jaksland/Thyregod needed 16 points and they did just that, taking the match 16-8. On the other side of the draw, it was the battle of the Fins. Laine/Tennila caused a spectacular upset by defeating the no 2 seeds Duthuillé/Kurek by only one point. Laine/Tennila started strong by winning table tennis, before losing badminton by close margins. They retook the lead in squash, before winning tennis by 22-20 the final score was +1 (21-7 16-21 11-21 22-20)! In the quarter finals they faced Pennanen/Penttinen the no 3 seeds, who overcame compatriots Kainulainen/Mustonen in a hard fought battle. They only won by 5 points, edging out table tennis 21-19 and badminton 21-17, and earning enough points in squash 13-21 to win tennis 21-14. The quarter-final between the Fins was a high-quality one. Pennanen/Penttinen did not get off to a strong start, losing table tennis before bouncing back in badminton (7-21 21-9) Squash was a hard-fought battle as well, which they took 21-14 before closing out tennis with a 17-6 win. Pennanen/Penttinen will face Jaksland/Thyregod in the final tomorrow at 5:30 PM EET.
Mixed Elite Doubles – Top seeds in the final
Top seeds Jacobsen/Radermacher overcame a strong Ahlmer/Thyregod in the semi-finals winning +3 (21-19 9-21 21-17 11-6). Ahlmer/Thyregod showed good form beating Kosonen/Sundell +49 (21-4 21-6 21-4). Their semi-final was straight on after Ahlmer/Jacobsen won their doubles title, so this time they were facing each other. It was a very tight match from the start, Jacobsen/Radermacher edged table tennis by 2 points, before losing badminton. Squash was very even, with Jacobsen/Radermacher just taking the win 21-17. This meant they only needed 11 points in tennis. They kept their head cool and won tennis 11-6 to set up a meeting with the no 2 seeds Eisler/Lenggenhager. Eisler/Lenggenhager played American duo Chung/Moran in their semi-finals. Just as Ahlmer/Jacobsen, Eisler/Chung played together in the women’s elite doubles. Chung/Moran won their first match +22 (21-13 21-16 21-13 1-0) over Kostianen/Pichler. The semi-final was a close one, Chung/Moran took the lead in table tennis in a thriller match that was 20-22. However, Eisler/Lenggenhager proved to be strong in badminton, winning 21-9, before battling it out on the squash court. Squash was won by the swiss duo 21-16 which meant they only needed 7 points in tennis which they won 7-9. They will face Jacobsen/Radermacher in tomorrow’s final at 5:00 PM EET.
Seniors +55 Doubles – Raiski/Pennanen defy the seeds and take the title
There were four pairings in the +55 draw. Top seeds Tennila/Kujala won their semi-final convincingly before tennis, beating Stevenot/Rauber +25 (21-16 21-5 21-17). The No 2 seeds lost to their fellow countrymen Raiski/Pennanen. Raumanni/Koskela lost +16 (14-21 13-21 21-5 21-6) to Rasiki/Pennanen. Raiski/Pennanen proved to be in form as they also went on to beat top seeds Tennila/Kujala +13 (21-12 15-21 21-11 9-9) for the title.
Men’s B Amateur Doubles – Austrian pair Pichler/Urban take the win
The men’s B doubles was a box league with three pairings. The first match of the day went to Pichler/Urban, beating King/Korer +31 (21-12 21-9 21-11) before going on to beat Niemelainen/Oikarainen +33 (21-15 21-9 21-6). King/Korer finished 2nd after beating Niemelainen/Oikarainen +23 (21-12 21-12 21-16).
All results can be found here
We’re back tomorrow for day 2 which promises to be an exciting day with the Men and Women’s Elite Singles! Keep an eye on our social media channels and website. We’re streaming a lot of the matches on our facebook page
