Czech Open SF: Mueller and Steinmann Into All-Swiss Final

Swiss No.2 Dimitri Steinmann took a surprise win over World No.19 Raphael Kandra to set up an all-Swiss men’s final at the Czech Open in Brno.

Steinmann came into the Challenger 30 level men’s event as the No.8 seed, and took on Kandra for a place in the final on Sunday afternoon. He started strongly, taking the opening game of the contest at the Centrum Viktoria in the Czech city.

The World No.31 saw Kandra fight back to win the second game, and the next two games also followed the same pattern, with the German having to come from behind to send the match into a deciding game. It was the Swiss No.2 that took it 11-4, though, to move through to the final.

He will now face compatriot Nicolas Mueller in the final on Monday afternoon, after the World No.16 defeated Portugal’s Rui Soares in straight games. The Portuguese No.1 had caused a couple of upsets already, but Mueller was too good in the semi-finals. He dropped just 14 points to secure his spot in the final.

The women’s final will see the top two seeds go face-to-face. Top seed Tessa ter Sluis defeated compatriot Juliette Permentier, while England’s Torrie Malik got the better of Scotland’s Alison Thomson. The pair both won in straight games to set up their meeting in the final.

The Czech Open comes to its conclusion on Monday, November 7, with the top two seeds in the women’s event going head-to-head before Nicolas Mueller and Dimitri Steinmann do battle for the men’s crown. All the action will be live on the Squash Viktoria YouTube channel and you can keep up to date with live scores from the event here.

Men’s Semi-Final Results: Czech Open
[1] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Rui Soares (POR) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-2 (28m)
[8] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt [2] Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-2: 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-4 (75m)

Men’s Final Draw: To Be Played Monday, November 7
[1] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v [8] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI)

Women’s Semi-Final Results: Czech Open
[1] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) bt [6] Juliette Permentier (NED) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-3 (20m)
[2] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt [3] Alison Thomson (SCO) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 (27m)

Women’s Final Draw: To Be Played Monday, November 7
[1] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) v [2] Torrie Malik (ENG)