Rohrmuller Romps Past Aijanen to Set Up Repeat Main Draw Fixture in Austrian Open

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Germany’s Rudi Rohrmuller sealed his place in the main draw of the 2016 Austrian Open, PSA M5 tournament after defeating Jami Aijanen in the final round of qualifying – and a quirk of fate means that the duo will also square off in the main draw’s first round.

Rohrmuller put in a composed performance and, after both players had taken a game apiece, he pushed up a gear to take a further two and settle an 11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 victory.

Aijanen joins the main draw due to Jaymie Haycocks’ withdrawal and will face Rohrmuller again as he looks to turn the tables.

Meanwhile, England’s Elliot Selby ensured that no Austrian qualifier would make it to the main draw after he eased to victory against Christoph Ressel. Selby had received a bye in the first qualifying round and came into the encounter with fresh legs against a player who had battled to a 3-2 victory the day before. After a dominant display, the World No.237 closed out the win in just 19 minutes to set up a main draw meeting with Micah Franklin.

Top qualifying seed Daniel Mekbib has also moved through to the main draw action after defeating Bradley Masters in four. Mekbib will face Masters’ brother, Joshua, in the next round and the older Masters, who turns 21 the same day, will be looking to avenge his sibling’s defeat.

Jan Ryba is the other qualifier to reach the next round thanks to victory over Iraq’s Ahmed Al Kiremli and he faces a difficult test against local hero Aqeel Rehman as he bids to reach the quarter-final stage of a PSA World Tour event for the first time in his career.

Results – Final Qualifying Round: Austrian Open 2016
[1] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) bt [6] Bradley Masters (ENG) 3-1: 7-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-5 (43m)
[L] Rudi Rohrmuller (GER) bt [5] Jami Aijanen (FIN) 3-1: 11-9, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 (45m)
[4] Jan Ryba (CZE) bt [7] Ahmed Al Kiremli (IRQ) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 13-11 (30m)
[2] Elliot Selby (ENG) bt [L] Christoph Ressel (AUT) 3-0: 11-1, 11-2, 11-5 (19m)

Main Draw – First Round
[LL] Jami Aijanen (FIN) v [Q] Rudi Rohrmuller (GER)
Tristan Eysele (RSA) v [5] Rui Soares (POR)
[4] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v [WC] Jakob Dirnberger (AUT)
[Q] Jan Ryba (CZE) v [2] Aqeel Rehman (AUT)
[3] Joshua Masters (ENG) v [Q] Daniel Mekbib (CZE)
[Q] Elliot Selby (ENG) v [7] Micah Franklin (BER)
[6] Auguste Dussourd (FRA) v Ondrej Uherka (CZE)
[8] Nick Mulvey (ENG) v [1] Sebastiaan Weenink (NED)