It was a great first day in Australia where the doubles kicked off earlier today. Talking to Racketlon Australia president Leigh Sands he said: “I’m really grateful to Colette and the team for holding the first ever Australian Open. It’s so strange but wonderful to be playing international racketlon, finally, in my own country so I’m really happy with that”. A great day for Racketlon players and fans in Australia, so let’s see what happened on day 1.
First ever Australian Open title
It’s a first ever Australian Open title for Amke Fischer and Duncan Stahl in the Mixed Elite Doubles, and their second title together after winning the Finnish Open a few years ago. They beat Angela Edwards and Sion Wiggin +17 (21-7 21-13 15-21 6-5) in their first round to set up a final against Hong Kong Open Champions Joyce Chan and Kevin Ng. Chan and Ng defeated Lijana Sultana and Feanor Siaguru +23 (21-4 21-0 6-21).
An exciting match to look forward to and one that did not dissapoint. Ng/Chan took the lead in table tennis, taking it 21/14 and went on to take badminton 21/10. Fischer/Stahl regained some ground by taking squash quite comfortably 21-5. This meant that Ng/Chan went into tennis with a +2 lead. It was in tennis where the huge racketlon experience from Fischer/Stahl came into play. They kept it steady and stayed focused, to take the match 21/11 and claim their second title.
Angela Edwards and Sion Wiggin took the bronze medal, beating Sultana/Siaguru +22 (21-2 21-12 8-21 9-2).
Men’s Doubles final still to be played
The men’s doubles final will be played Saturday 8:30 am (GMT+10). The final will be between Hindle/Sands and Thailand Open Champions Li/Ng. Hindle/Sands defeated King/Raiski by +18 (11-21 21-17 21-3 10-4) whilst Li/Ng beat Canty/Wiggin +19 (21-5 21-4 6-21 4-3).
Singles matches to kick off tomorrow
The singles matches will kick off tomorrow after the men’s doubes final. World no 12 Sion Wiggin is top seed for this event and will take on Feanor Siaguru from Papua New Guinea. He will potentially face Hong Kong Open Champion Kevin Ng in the semi-finals if all goes to seeding. Home favourite Leigh Sands is the 3/4 seed for this event and he will take on Julian Main from New Zealand. Duncan Stahl is on his side of the draw and the no 2 seed will play Graham Badcock in his first round.
The women are split into two groups where Hong Kong Open Champion Joyce Chan is the no 1 seed. She heads group A and plays her first match against Angela Edwards. Former European Champion Amke Fischer is the no 2 seed for this event, she faces Maz Moxey in her first match before taking on Lijana Sultana from Malta.
