Lot’s of exciting matches on a snowy day two of the IWT RSL Finnish Open 2023. The finals were decided and the mixed and men’s elite doubles came to a conclusion. Also the head sponsor RSL came by with a badminton stand and had a great view of all the Racketlon action.
Women’s Elite Singles – Ahlmer & Jacobsen to face each other
Ahlmer and Jacobsen made the final of the 2023 RSL Finnish Open, both dominating in all their matches. Ahlmer won her first match against Anttila +32 (21-8 21-10 21-13) only giving a few points more per sport, and not having to go to tennis. Ahlmer went on to play Eisler, who overcame Makela +21 (15-21 21-7 21-8 2-2) in her quarter-final, only losing in table tennis. Ahlmer started strong in the semi-finals, taking table tennis 21-13 before a tight badminton match which went to 21-17. Ahlmer proved too strong in squash, winning 21-9, and proving to be in good form after her long injury break. She will face her doubles partner Jacobsen in the final. Jacobsen also started well, beating Finnish player Emilia Kostiainen +36 (21-4 21-4 22-20) Showing her strength in table tennis and badminton before finishing off with a very tight squash match. Jacobsen went on to play Puksu in the semi-final who had a surprise win by beating America’s Stephanie Chung (9-21 21-10 21-6 16-17) in a very entertaining match. This was Paksu’s first IWT tournament, and she did well to come back in tennis after being 13-10 down. Jacobsen’s experience proved to be too much for Paksu in their semi-final, who put up a great fight but Jacobsen won +18 (21-8 21-5 9-21 5-4). The final will be played tomorrow at 12:30 EET and will be shown live on our facebook page.
Men’s Elite Singles – Wildcard Mustonen defies the seedings and reaches the semi-finals, a Finnish player is guaranteed for a spot the final
A day of surprises and good Racketlon in the men’s elite draw. Top seed Jaksland won his first match before tennis before facing a very fast Mandrin Mouchet in the quarter-finals. In an entertaining match with long rallies and some dives from Mouchet, Jaksland managed to win +19 (21-13 7-21 21-8 15-3). He will now face Radermacher who overcame no 3 seed Lindberg from Sweden. Radermacher started strong in table tennis and badminton and managed to win squash by two points which meant he only needed three points in tennis. He won +17 (21-15 21-10 21-19 3-5). The bottom half of the draw saw wildcard Henrik Mustonen defeat the no 2 seed from Switzerland. Mustonen, the winner of the 2019 edition, did well to stay close in table tennis and badminton, and did not drop a single point in squash before closing the match with a 21-3 victory in tennis +16 (8-21 11-21 21-0 21-3). He will face fellow Fin Luka Penttinen in the semi-finals, who overcame his doubles partner Joel Pennanen. Pennanen had a very tough first match against Duthuillé, winning +8 (21-18 14-21 21-16 21-14). The semi-finals will be played tomorrow morning at 10:30 and 10:45, Jaksland vs Radermacher will be streamed on our Facebook page. We will definitely see a Fin in the final of the Finnish Open!
Mixed Doubles – Jacobsen and Radermacher too strong
After some great battles yesterday it was time for the final. All players had quite a hectic schedule, especially the men as they also had their men’s doubles matches to play. The final was between Jacobsen/Radermacher and Eisler/Lenggenhager. Jacobsen/Radermacher took table tennis 21-17, and were showing their strength in badminton beating Eisler/Lenggenhager 21-4. The Swiss duo got off to a good start but couldn’t hang on. It also didn’t help that Lenggenhager had just played a very long match against Henrik Mustonen in the men’s quarter-finals, but that is of course also part of Racketlon. Jacobsen/Radermacher continued their good form in squash, winning 21-9 which meant they didn’t have to play tennis anymore. The overall score was +33 (21-17 21-4 21-9). The 3/ 4 playoff was won by Ahlmer/Thyregod. Thyregod had a hectic schedule, finishing his singles match, to play mixed doubles and men’s doubles afterwards. They beat American duo Chung/Moran +31 (21-14 21-3 21-15).
Men’s Doubles – Jaksland/Thyregod take the title in a nail-biting final
The Danes showed some nerves of steel in a thrilling matchup against Finnish duo Pennanen/Penttinen. It was the last match of the day, originally planned at 5 but due to everyone’s playing schedule didn’t start till 7. Jaksland/Thyregod did well to take table tennis 21-17, it was very even but were helped by some rushed smashes from the Fins. Badminton was a strength of theirs and they managed to take it 21-10. Pennane/Penttinen took charge in squash and also won 21-10. A lot of emotions from both sides, as every point counts in Racketlon. When it came to tennis, Jaksland/Thyregod needed 18 points to take the match. It started very even, 3-3, 5-5 before Pennanen/Penttinen took the lead 12-10 before the Danes turned it around with some great attacking shots. They stayed calm and managed to win 18-14 to take the IWT RSL Finnish Open title. The overall score was +8 (21-17 21-10 10-21 18-14). The 3/4 playoff was between Laine/Tennilä and Moran/Radermacher. This was also a very even matchup, where Laine/Tennilä showed their superiority in table tennis by taking it 21-8. Moran/Radermacher bounced back in badminton, after being 11-9 down on the changeover Moran said that Radermacher was an excellent coach, and he definitely proved himself because they went on to win the next twelve points in a row winning 21-9. A hard fought squash match saw them win 21-15 before they took the match in tennis winning 17-13. The overall score was +7 (8-21 21-11 21-15 17-13).
Seniors and the open categories
Next to the elite matches the other single categories also kicked off today. The men’s B saw a variety of upsets, Ruokanen beat no 1 seed Pichler +5 (21-12 13-21 13-21 21-9) causing quite the upset before losing to UK’s Peter Barton in the semi-finals. Ruokanen started strong in table-tennis and stayed close to Barton in badminton, but Barton proved to be too strong in squash. The sore was +11 (10-21 21-19 21-2 12-11). He will meet a very well-known opponent in the final, no other than his son Ollie Barton, who managed to beat the no 2 seed Szlazak, especially showing good form in squash and badminton. He took the match +19 (9-21 21-7 21-4 3-3) to set up a family affair. In the women’s B it looks like Elma Vuorinen is headed for a 3-0 victory. She will play her last box league match tomorrow against Nina Penttinen, who currently stands at no 3. Both seeds were also knocked out of the men’s C, as Markus Elomäki lost to Nussbächer in a close encounter +5 (21-8 21-17 10-21 16-17). He will meet Sauli Sundell in the final after he overcame compatriot Ismo OIkarainen also with a +5 score (1-21 21-7 21-7 13-16). The men’s D are also in a box league, and still have two matches tomorrow. Stefan Steckermeier and Walle Vuorinen are currently tied for first place, both having won two of their matches. They will face each other at 9:00 tomorrow. In the seniors +40 Peter Barton and Markus Elomäki are currently at the top of the table, having won both their matches. They still have two to go, and Barton has a chance to win two titles tomorrow. The seniors +50 is also very close, Szlazak is currently top of the table, but Penttinen and Pennanen can still make up some ground tomorrow. The +60 was divided into two groups. Graham King won group A convincingly, +25 and +34. He will face Ostenfeld Larsen in the final who also won both his matches with big numbers.
Tomorrow will be the final day of this year’s Finnish Open. The men’s and women’s finals will be streamed on our Facebook page, as well as the first men’s semi-final starting at 10:30.
Sanne Veldkamp / Fir Media Officer
