Heroes Austrian Open QF: Seeds All Beaten In Surprise Quarter Finals

It was a surprising quarter finals day in Graz, with none of the top seeds making it through to the last four of the Heroes Austrian Open.

The big surprise result saw the Czech Republic’s Viktor Byrtus get the better of top seed Mazen Gamal in a five-game battle. The Czech man was behind after three games. However, he fought back brilliantly, and was able to win both the fourth and fifth games by a scoreline of 11-9 to turn the match on its head and to book his semi-final spot.

His compatriot, Martin Svec, was another of those to be knocked out. The No.4 seed lost out to England’s James Peach in four games on Friday. The pair were level after two games, but Peach was able to then pull away from the Czech man. He won the next two games quite comfortably to win 3-1 and to set up a clash with Byrtus.

Israel’s Daniel Poleshchuk made it three unseeded players in the semi-finals, as he backed up his second round win over No.2 seed Bernat Jaume. In the last eight, he got the better of England’s Simon Herbert, fending off a fightback from the No.5 seed to win in four.

The Israeli will now take on the only seed left in the draw. Japanese No.1 Ryunosuke Tsukue defeated No.3 seed Abhay Singh, fighting off the Indian in five games. Tsukue led 2-1, but saw Singh take the fourth game 11-8 to level the contest. The No.6 seed was able to regroup, winning the deciding game 11-7 to book his semi-final berth.

The semis of the Heroes Austrian Open will take place on Saturday, June 3. Action from Graz is being streamed throughout the week on the PSA Challenger Tour YouTube channel, where you can watch Challenger Tour action, and interviews with rising stars.

You can keep up to date with daily updates from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook. Live scores are available on the PSA World Tour website here.

Quarter Final Results: Heroes Austrian Open
Viktor Byrtus (CZE) bt [1] Mazen Gamal (EGY) 3-2: 7-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9 (65m)
James Peach (ENG) bt [4] Martin Svec (CZE) 3-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3 (48m)
[6] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt [3] Abhay Singh (IND) 3-2: 5-11, 11-3, 11-9, 8-11, 11-7 (54m)
Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt [5] Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8 (36m)

Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, June 3
Viktor Byrtus (CZE) v James Peach (ENG)
[6] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) v Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR)