Bremer Schlussel: Jaume and van der Heijden Victorious

The first titles of the week on the Challenger Tour have gone to Spain’s Bernat Jaume and Dutch No.1 Milou van der Heijden, with the pair victorious at the Bremer Schlussel at ULC Sportwelt in Bremen, Germany.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Challenger 10 & 5 level tournament was held with regional entry restrictions, meaning only those currently based in Europe were permitted to participate.

Jaume came into the men’s event as the No.2 seed, and after receiving a bye through to the second round, he overcame Switzerland’s Robin Gadola in a four-game, 55-minute battle.

The Spaniard then defeated compatriot Hugo Varela in the quarter-finals, and Czech Republic’s Martin Svec in the semis, with the pair of matches both secured in straight games.

He then came up against the tournament’s top seed, Mahesh Mangaonkar, in the final in Germany, and needed just 41 minutes to secure the title, winning 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 to secure his fifth title on Tour.

The women’s event was won by top seed Milou van der Heijden, who started her campaign in the quarter-finals of the Challenger 5 draw after receiving a bye through the first round.

She then came up against Denmark’s Klara Møller, and after losing the first game, she came back to win 3-1 to advance to the last four. There, she got the better of Spaniard Cristina Gomez by the same scoreline.

In the final, the Dutch No.1 faced the tournament’s No.7 seed Katerina Tycova, after the German had defeated the No.2 and No.4 seeds to make that stage. Van der Heijden took the win in less than half an hour, to take her first win of 2021, and the tenth of her professional career.

Results: Bremer Schlussel
Men’s Final
[2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [1] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 (41m)

Women’s Final
[1] Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt [7] Katerina Tycova (GER) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-3 (29m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [3] Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) 3-1: 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5 (50m)
[2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [7] Martin Svec (CZE) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 (39m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt [3] Cristina Gomez (ESP) 3-1: 12-10, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5 (37m)
[7] Katerina Tycova (GER) bt [2] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) 3-2: 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (50m)

Men’s Quarter-Finals
[1] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [6] Farkas Balazs (HUN) 3-2: 11-5, 11-2, 8-11, 7-11, 11-7 (66m)
[3] Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) bt Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 12-10 (42m)
[7] Martin Svec (CZE) bt Marek Panacek (CZE) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (32m)
[2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [8] Hugo Varela (ESP) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-8 (38m)

Women’s Quarter-Finals
[1] Milou van der Heijden (NED) bt Klara Møller (DEN) 3-1: 9-11, 11-4, 11-3, 12-10 (35m)
[3] Cristina Gomez (ESP) bt [5] Saskia Beinhard (GER) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-3 (26m)
[7] Katerina Tycova (GER) bt [4] Hannah Chukwu (HUN) 3-1: 8-11, 12-10, 11-4, 11-5 (36m)
[2] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) bt Tamara Holzbauerova (CZE) 3-1: 11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 11-2 (33m)

Men’s Round Two
[1] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt Cedric Kuchen (SUI) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 (39m)
[6] Farkas Balazs (HUN) bt Valentin Rapp (GER) 3-0: 11-7, 14-12, 11-9 (34m)
Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [5] Robert Downer (ENG) 3-1: 12-10, 11-6, 6-11, 11-9 (51m)
[3] Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) bt Ivan Perez (ESP) 3-1: 11-6, 7-11, 18-16, 11-3 (61m)
Marek Panacek (CZE) bt [4] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 3-1: 11-7, 13-11, 7-11, 11-8 (39m)
[7] Martin Svec (CZE) bt Roshan Bharos (NED) 3-2: 11-7, 11-3, 9-11, 9-11, 11-9 (62m)
[8] Hugo Varela (ESP) bt Joeri Hapers (BEL) 3-2: 9-11, 11-6, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2 (54m)
[2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt Robin Gadola (SUI) 3-1: 7-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 (55m)

Women’s Round One
Klara Møller (DEN) bt [6] Eva Fertekova (CZE) 3-2: 4-11, 11-2, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8 (43m)
[5] Saskia Beinhard (GER) bt Andrea Fjellgaard (NOR) 3-0: 11-1, 11-4, 11-0 (14m)
[3] Cristina Gomez (ESP) bt Naomi Nohar (NED) 3-0: 11-1, 11-2, 11-1 (16m)
[4] Hannah Chukwu (HUN) bt Juliette Permentier (NED) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-3 (18m)
[7] Katerina Tycova (GER) bt Ella Galova (FRA) 3-0: 11-3, 12-10, 11-5 (29m)
Tamara Holzbauerova (CZE) bt [8] Aylin Gunsav (GER) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-8 (43m)
[2] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) bt Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (26m)

Men’s Round One
Cedric Kuchen (SUI) bt Jakob Dirnberger (AUT) 3-0: 11-7, 13-11, 11-5 (39m)
Valentin Rapp (GER) bt David Zeman (CZE) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 (44m)
Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt Blessing Muhwati (ZIM) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 11-5 (26m)
Ivan Perez (ESP) bt [WC] Heiko Schwarzer (GER) 3-1: 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6 (35m)
Marek Panacek (CZE) bt Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) 3-1: 7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-9 (47m)
Roshan Bharos (NED) bt Marc Lopez (ESP) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-3 (26m)
Joeri Hapers (BEL) bt [WC] Felix Gobel (GER) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-6 (18m)
Robin Gadola (SUI) bt Marc ter Sluis (NED) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 (27m)