Odense Open: Khafagy and Stewart Victorious On Danish Soil

Egypt’s Malak Khafagy and Scotland’s Rory Stewart took the titles at the Challenger 10 level Odense Open this weekend.

The Egyptian came into the tournament as one of the unseeded players, and caused upset after upset to take the title. Khafagy, who is just 18-years-old, started her week with a tight five-game victory over Frenchwoman Ella Galova, but from there, she went from strength to strength.

In the second round, the Egyptian defeated the tournament’s top seed, Cindy Merlo, before then getting the better of England’s Torrie Malik in the quarter finals, with both wins coming in four games. Khafagy downed Spain’s Marta Dominguez Fernandez in the last four to reach her third final on Tour.

The final saw Khafagy come up against Finnish No.1 Emilia Soini in Odense. The opening game was the crucial one, with the 18-year-old Egyptian winning it on a tie-break 12-10. From there, she was in control, winning the second 11-6 before cruising to the third game 11-2. The win is her first on Tour, and she joins a growing list of young Egyptians to taste success prior to turning 19.

In the men’s event, Scotland’s Rory Stewart came in as the No.3 seed, and he went on to win for the third time in the 2022-2023 campaign. After receiving a first-round bye, the Scot started with straight games wins over Malaysia’s Mohammad Syafiq Kamal and Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi.

That was followed by a semi-final victory over Englishman Ben Coleman to see Stewart move into the final. Spain’s Bernat Jaume was his opponent in the final on Saturday, and although the Spaniard won the third game on a tie-break, the Scot was able to win the fourth to secure the victory, his third this season.

Results: Odense Open
Men’s Final
[3] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt [5] Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-1: 11-4, 11-8, 10-12, 11-6 (57m)

Women’s Final
Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt [2] Emilia Soini (FIN) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-2 (30m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
[5] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [1] Balazs Farkas (HUN) 3-1: 7-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-3 (55m)
[3] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-9 (53m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt [4] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) 3-1: 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-4 (41m)
[2] Emilia Soini (FIN) bt [6] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 15-13, 11-9 (48m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Balazs Farkas (HUN) bt [7] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-2 (31m)
[5] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (39m)
[3] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 3-0 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (42m)
Ben Coleman (ENG) bt Owain Taylor (WAL) 3-1: 10-12, 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 (57m)

Women’s Quarter Finals
Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt [8] Torrie Malik (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9 (42m)
[4] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt [7] Alicia Mead (ENG) 3-1: 5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (41m)
[6] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt [3] Nadia Pfister (SUI) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (25m)
[2] Emilia Soini (FIN) bt [5] Xin Ying Yee (MAS) 3-2: 10-12, 5-11, 11-6, 11-6, 13-11 (40m)

Men’s Second Round
[1] Balazs Farkas (HUN) bt Emyr Evans (WAL) 3-0: 11-5, 13-11, 11-6
[7] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) 3-2: 8-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7
[5] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt Yannik Omlor (GER) 3-1: 6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-9
Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt [4] Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) 3-1: 12-10, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6 (48m)
[3] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 (29m)
Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [8] Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-1: 2-11, 14-12, 11-2, 11-9 (45m)
Ben Coleman (ENG) bt [6] Mazen Gamal (EGY) 3-1: 11-4, 6-11, 11-6, 11-1
Owain Taylor (WAL) bt [2] Rui Soares (POR) 3-2: 10-12, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9

Women’s Second Round
Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt [1] Cindy Merlo (SUI) 3-1: 11-7, 13-11, 7-11, 11-3
[8] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt Au Yeong Wai Yhann (SGP) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-5
[7] Alicia Mead (ENG) bt Katerina Tycova (GER) 3-2: 8-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8 (45m)
[4] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt Ambre Allinckx (SUI) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-8 (27m)
[3] Nadia Pfister (SUI) bt Nadeen Kotb (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 (31m)
[6] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt Klara Moller (DEN) 3-1: 11-4, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9 (47m)
[5] Xin Ying Yee (MAS) bt Lea Barbeau (FRA) 3-1: 11-5, 2-11, 11-5, 11-1
[2] Emilia Soini (FIN) bt Taba Taghavi (FRA) 3-1: 11-4, 11-2, 8-11, 11-9 (30m)

Men’s First Round
Emyr Evans (WAL) bt Valentin Rapp (GER) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (28m)
Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) bt Mohamed Nasser (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-7, 15-13, 11-8 (54m)
Yannik Omlor (GER) bt Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 3-0: 11-8, 13-11, 11-4 (37m)
Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt Joeri Hapers (BEL) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-4 (25m)
Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bt [WC] Joakim Jepsen (DEN) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-3 (23m)
Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [WC] Marcus Soby Jepsen (DEN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 (26m)
Ben Coleman (ENG) bt [WC] Theis Houlberg (DEN) 3-0: 12-10, 11-7, 11-6 (35m)
Owain Taylor (WAL) bt Andres Herrera (COL) 3-1: 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 14-12 (78m)

Women’s First Round
Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt Ella Galova (FRA) 3-2: 11-6, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-3 (45m)
Au Yeong Wai Yhann (SGP) bt Jelena Dutina (SRB) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 (21m)
Katerina Tycova (GER) bt [WC] Sarah Lauridsen (DEN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-5 (23m)
Ambre Allinckx (SUI) bt Sofia Mateos (ESP) 3-0: 14-12, 11-9, 11-3 (34m)
Nadeen Kotb (EGY) bt Caroline Lyng (DEN) 3-1: 11-3, 11-2, 7-11, 11-1 (24m)
Klara Moller (DEN) bt Ali Loke (WAL) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-3 (26m)
Lea Barbeau (FRA) bt Chloe Foster (WAL) 3-2: 12-10, 11-7, 6-11, 11-13, 11-6 (37m)
Taba Taghavi (FRA) bt Elise Romba (FRA) 3-2: 8-11, 11-1, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9 (39m)