It’s all kicking off in Norway on Friday as we get ready for the IWT Norwegian Open. After the success from last year, the tournament has upgraded from a Challenger to an IWT.
Kresten Hougaard will be looking to claim back-to-back titles after winning the IWT Racket Masters Augsburg two weeks ago, he comes into this tournament as the no 2 seed. His first match will be against the winner of Gupta vs Ng. A potential semi-final clash with Joerg Kanonenberg awaits, provided they both win their first match. Kanonenberg is also in top form, having his best season to date. He plays either Ulmo or Thyregod in his first match.
René Lindberg comes in as the top seed and will be ready to take on the winner between Matt Davidson and Anna-Klara Ahlmer (who will play in both men’s and women’s elite categories). Meanwhile, Greg Lorkiewicz and Andreas Kotala will battle for a place in the quarter-finals against world no 16 Noah Mamié.
In the women’s elite world no 1 Anna-Klara Ahlmer is looking strong to win yet another title this season and secure her position in the FIR RACE standings. She plays her first group match against Victoria T, before taking on Kirsten Atkinson and no 2 seed Kirsten Kaptein.
The tournament starts on Friday with the mixed elite doubles in the morning and the men’s and women’s doubles later that day. Anna-Klara Ahlmer and Kirsten Kaptein are the heavy favourites to claim the women’s doubles draw, as the women’s doubles world no 1 and 2 team up together. They play Rørvik and Torp in their first group match before taking on Atkinson and T later in the afternoon.
Kaptein and Lorkiewicz are top seeds in the mixed doubles, but they will face tough opposition from Ahlmer and Kanonenberg. They play first thing in the morning at 9AM in what will be a very exciting match-up.
Danish duo Hougaard/Thyregod are top seeds in the men’s doubles. They play the winner between Håkansson/Ulmo and Davidson/Gupta. The Lorkiewicz brothers will also try to make the semi-finals but they have to battle past Mamié/Moran first. The winner will play no 2 seeds Kanonenberg and Ng for a place in the final.
Women’s doubles | Mixed Doubles | Men’s Doubles
Photo: Gerhard Nel
