A rainy first day at the IWT London Open, which saw some upsets early on in the elite draws. There were still plenty of matches on the grass in the morning, but unfortunately, we had to switch to the clay and indoor courts later during the day. There was a nice player party at the end of the evening at the Roehampton clubhouse, with some nice food and nice drinks.
Men’s Elite
The men’s draw started early this morning and had three rounds to be played. Read what happened here
Round 1 – upsets in round 1
The men’s elite draw had quite a few upsets early on in the draw, as world no 20 Matthew Davidson defeated German Open winner and world no 14 Cornelius Radermacher +6 (21-17 21-15 12-21 21-16) to set up an all British clash with top seed and world no 1 Leon Griffiths. Narayanaswamy also booked his place in the second round by beating Böhm +26 (21-15 21-6 21-16) to play world no 9 and sixth seed Luke Griffiths in the second round.
World no 23 Sion Wiggin came through a close first-round encounter against Matle Thyregod, taking it +3 (9-21 5-21 21-5 21-6). His second round was against Luka Penttinen . The other first round match on the top half of the draw was between Mouchet and Léon Mamié. Mamié was leading the match but unfortunately, Mouchet had to retire after squash. Mamié’s to play Hageraats in the second round.
On the bottom half of the draw, wildcard and world no 109 Mustonen caused another upset by beating world no 16 Plettenberg +17 (6-21 21-9 21-5 9-5) to play third seed Lenggenhager in the second round. World no 31 Joel Pennanen beat world no 22 Duthuillé +19 (21-13 25-23 21-15 6-3) to play seventh seed Hougaard. Eight-seed Harca is playing Langworthy who defeated wildcard Ross Wilson +31 (21-7 21-16 21-14). Noah Mamié beat Pekka Kainulainen +33 (21-7 21-9 21-14) to book a spot in the second round to face world no 2 Jaksland.
Round 2 – Wildcard Mustonen beats the no 3 seed
Top seed Leon Griffiths got off to a strong start, beating fellow countryman Matthew Davidson +24 (21-16 21-7 21-16) to book his spot in the quarter-finals. He knows his opponent very well as it is no other than his brother Luke, who had to battle past Narayanaswamy. Luke won table-tennis 21-13 but lost badminton and squash 19-21 14-21. He then managed to win tennis 21-5 to set up a match against his brother. Leon is leading 4-2 in the head-to-head, he beat Luke 24-22 21-5 21-14 the last time they played in La Santa.
The other quarter-final on the top half of the draw will be between Luka Penttinen, who beat Sion Wiggin +7 (21-7 21-6 4-21 10-15) and Koen Hageraats. Wiggin got a lead in tennis but Penttinen fought back to win the match. Hageraats defeated Léon Mamié +21 (21-8 12-21 21-4 1-1). Hageraats is 3-0 up in the head-to-head.
On the bottom half of the draw, Florian Harca got the better of James Langworthy beating him +27 (21-7 24-22 21-10) to set up a quarter-final against world no 2 Morten Jaksland. Jaksland overcame Noah Mamié +16 (11-21 21-15 21-3 8-6). Harca beat Jaksland the last time they played, so Jaksland will be extra motivated to take the win. The other quarter-final will be between Henrik Mustonen and Kresten Hougaard. Mustonen took out no 3 seed Lenggenhager +7 (8-21 11-21 21-6 21-6). Hougaard battled past Joel Pennanen, squash was 23-21, and tennis 12-12 in a close match.
Quarter-finals – Mustonen beats another seed, Jaksland gets his revange and a thrilling match between the Griffiths brothers
Defending Champion Hageraats and Penttinen were on first after some rescheduling due to Luke Griffiths playing (and winning) the mixed u21 world doubles final. Hageraats got off to a superb start, winning table tennis 21-3, and did well in badminton getting 16 points. He then blazed through squash taking it 21-1 and + overall. He will now face Leon Griffiths who beat his brother Luke by only two points in the last match of the day. Luke won table tennis and badminton, Leon created a +3 lead going into tennis, but Luke stayed ahead for most of the match. He got to 20-16 but didn’t manage to win his final point, as Leon took the match +2 (19-21 16-21 21-11 19-20).
The second quarter-final was between Mustonen and Hougaard. Hougaard took a quick lead in table tennis, 21-6, but Mustonen managed to scrape badminton 23-21. He then made quick work of squash, taking it 21-1 to go into tennis with a +7 lead. He won the match +17 (6-21 23-21 21-1 15-5). His opponent will be world no 2 Jaksland. Jaksland played Harca and managed to take table-tennis 21-19, and won badminton 21-12. He then took an early lead in squash, 9-4 and closed it out 21-6. The overall score was +26 (21-19 21-12 21-6) and got his revenge for the last time they played.
Men’s Elite draw
Women’s Elite
Pauline Cavé caused the day’s first upset as she beat fourth seed Kaptein +24 (21-17 21-12 21-10). She now plays Flatman who beat Steiner +9 (21-5 8-21 10-21 21-4). Schickerling also played well and defeated world no 36 Lau, who is 25 places above her on the ranking +22 (21-9 6-21 21-1 5-0). Schickerling will now play Jacobsen in the quarter-finals, as Jacobsen came through her first round against Parslow +16 (21-7 21-2 6-21 4-6).
On the bottom half of the draw, Myriam Enmer beat world no 9 Ogram +38 (21-7 21-4 21-14) to set up an all-French quarter-final with Allègre. Allègre beat world no 11 Stephanie Chung +15 (12-21 21-2 21-15 6-7) in her first match. World no 2 and reigning Champion Anna-Klara Ahlmer won her first match +36 (21-9 21-9 21-9) against Dara Ladner. She now faces Marie Jaussein in the quarter-finals, as Jaussein defeated Joyce Chan +7 (15-21 13-21 21-16 21-5) in a very close encounter.
Quarter-finals – Cavé makes her first IWT semi-final
Jacobsen stormed through the first two sports against Schickerling taking table tennis 21-4 and badminton 21-2. She then managed to take 14 points in squash to book her spot in the semi-finals. She won +29 (21-4 21-2 14-21). Her opponent will be Cavé who beat Alice Flatman +17 (8-21 21-12 21-2 7-5) to make her first semi-final appearance tomorrow.
In an all-French battle, it was Allègre who got off to a good start, taking table tennis and badminton 21-12 21-12. Enmer bounced back in squash taking it 21-13. The last time they played Enmer won table-tennis 21-17, but she got a lot more points in badminton compared to 2-21 when they played in Switzerland. Allègre went into tennis with a +10 lead, but Enmer produced some high-quality tennis to take it 21-5. The overall score was +6 (12-21 12-21 21-13 21-5). Anna-Klara Ahlmer won +18 (21-12 14-21 21-5 4-4) against Marie Jaussein to make yet another final this year. She’s playing well and is one step closer to retaining her title.
The semi-finals start tomorrow at 11:40.
The other draws can be found here.
Sanne Veldkamp/ FIR Media Officer
