Czech Open Day 2: Soares and Malik Cause Big Upsets

The second day of the Czech Open was a surprising one, with England’s Curtis Malik and Portugal’s Rui Soares taking out top four seeds in Brno.

The men’s second round took place on Friday at the Centrum Viktoria in Brno, Czech Republic, and Malik took on former World No.3 Omar Mosaad, the tournament’s No.3 seed.  

The Englishman won the first couple of games 11-9 to hold a commanding advantage in the contest. Mosaad, who made the World Championship final in 2015, fought back to take the third game on a tie-break, but it was Malik who came through in the end. He won the fourth 11-6 to secure a 3-1 victory in 68 minutes.

Also causing an upset on the second day was Portuguese No.1 Rui Soares, as he got the better of Egypt’s Karim El Hammamy in a four-game contest. Soares won the first game, but saw the No.4 seed fight back to level the contest. From there, though, the World No.66 was in control, dropping just eight points over the next two games to take a 3-1 victory.

Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann came through a five-game battle with Colombia’s Ronald Palomino, while top seed Nicolas Mueller defeated Frenchman Lucas Serme in straight games. The English duo of George Parker and Nathan Lake joined Malik in the last eight, with Germany’s Raphael Kandra and Mexico’s Cesar Salazar also making their way into the quarters.

In the women’s draw, Spain’s Ona Blasco secured the only shock of the opening round. The Spaniard defeated the Czech Republic’s in five games, starting off with a 17-15 first game scoreline. Blasco then won the second game as well, but saw the home hope fight back to draw level. The fifth game went the way of the Spaniard, as she took it 11-5 to win in just shy of an hour.

The draw’s top two seeds, Tessa ter Sluis and Torrie Malik, both won in straight games in the first round. The Dutchwoman defeated Slovakia’s Klara Kohlerova in 15 minutes, with Malik taking a minute less to defeat Czech Republic’s Riana Alexova.

The quarter finals of the Czech Open will take place on Saturday, November 5, with all the action being streamed on the Squash Viktoria YouTube channel. You can also keep up to date with live scores from the tournament here.

Men’s Second Round Results: Czech Open
[1] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 12-10, 13-11 (45m)
[5] George Parker (ENG) bt Martin Svec (CZE) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 (32m)
[6] Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Sam Todd (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 (35m)
Rui Soares (POR) bt [4] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5 (54m)
Curtis Malik (ENG) bt [3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-9, 12-14, 11-6 (68m)
[8] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt Ronald Palomino (COL) 3-2: 7-11, 11-4, 11-3, 4-11, 11-1 (59m)
[7] Nathan Lake (ENG) bt Emyr Evans (WAL) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7 (51m)
[2] Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (37m)

Men’s Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, November 5
[1] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v [5] George Parker (ENG)
[6] Cesar Salazar (MEX) v Rui Soares (POR)
Curtis Malik (ENG) v [8] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI)
[7] Nathan Lake (ENG) v [2] Raphael Kandra (GER)

Women’s First Round Results: Czech Open
[1] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) bt Klara Kohlerova (SVK) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-3 (15m)
[8] Ellie Jones (SCO) bt Alina Poessl (SUI) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-0 (19m)
[6] Juliette Permentier (NED) bt Suzanne Peters (NED) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (19m)
[4] Anastasiia Kostiukova (UKR) bt Karolina Sramkova (CZE) 3-1: 3-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (33m)
[3] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt Sofie Hausknotzova (CZE) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 (20m)
[5] Tamara Holzbauerova (CZE) bt Milena Velychko (UKR) 3-2: 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 8-11, 11-9 (46m)
Ona Blasco (ESP) bt [7] Tereza Siroka (CZE) 3-2: 17-15, 11-4, 6-11, 7-11, 11-5 (57m)
[2] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt Riana Alexova (CZE) 3-0: 11-4, 11-1, 11-9 (14m)

Women’s Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, November 5
[1] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) v [8] Ellie Jones (SCO)
[6] Juliette Permentier (NED) v [4] Anastasiia Kostiukova (UKR)
[3] Alison Thomson (SCO) v [5] Tamara Holzbauerova (CZE)
Ona Blasco (ESP) v [2] Torrie Malik (ENG)