Men’s Austrian Open QF: Wilhelmi & Omlor Survive, Rehman & Peach Surprise

The quarter finals of the men’s Austrian Open saw four high-quality matches, categorised into either surprises or survivals, to set up the semi-finals of the Challenger 5 level tournament in Salzburg.

Starting with the survivals, and for the second day in succession, Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi had to come through a five-gamer to advance. The top seed downed England’s Perry Malik in five on Thursday afternoon, and he then took on compatriot and No.8 seed Robin Gadola on Friday in Salzburg.

He fell two games behind after his fellow Swiss took the opening couple of stanza, including the first on a tie-break 13-11. However, from there, Wilhelmi was able to produce some of his best squash, dropping just 13 points across the next three games to win 3-2. It went to five but it was quick time, lasting just under the hour mark, with Wilhelmi through to the semis.

He will now take on one of the surprise winners from the second day of competition, in home favourite Aqeel Rehman. The Austrian No.1, and No.5 seed for the Challenger 5 level tournament, downed No.4 seed Diego Gobbi in the quarters, winning on home soil in straight games in just 30 minutes. A 12-10 tie-break victory in the third game sealed the victory for the World No.128, who moves through to the last four.

The other major survival of the last eight in Salzburg came from No.2 seed Yannik Omlor, who spent 90 minutes on court during his quarter final contest with Spain’s No.6 seed Sergio Garcia Pollan, coming from behind twice to eventually win in a fifth game decider.

The German lost the first game on a tie-break 12-10, before coming back to win the second game 11-8 to level the match. The same pattern followed over the next two games, with Omlor fighting back for a second time to win the fourth and to send the match into a fifth. He eventually came through that 11-5 to win in five, to move through to the quarters.

He will now face the unseeded James Peach in the last four of the tournament, after the Englishman got the better of No.7 seed Christopher Binnie. He had already taken out No.3 seed Ivan Perez on the opening day, and he would come from behind to defeat the Jamaican No.1. Binnie. Peach lost the first game 11-6, but then dropped just 13 points over the next three games to win in four, in just 36 minutes.

The semi-finals of the men’s Austrian Open will take place at Europark Salzburg on Friday, July 8, and you can keep up to date with all the live scores from the competition on the PSA World Tour’s website.

*Quarter Final Results: Austrian Open (Men’s)*
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [8] Robin Gadola (SUI) 3-2: 11-13, 9-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 (59m)
[5] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [4] Diego Gobbi (BRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 12-10 (30m)
James Peach (ENG) bt [7] Christopher Binnie (JAM) 3-1: 6-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 (36m)
[2] Yannik Omlor (GER) bt [6] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) 3-2: 10-12, 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5 (90m)

*Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Friday, July 8*
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) v [5] Aqeel Rehman (AUT)
James Peach (ENG) v [2] Yannik Omlor (GER)