Mozart Open: Herbert Downs Gadola To Claim Title

England’s Simon Herbert secured his first title of the 2022-2023 campaign, beating Switzerland’s Robin Gadola in the final of the Mozart Open in Austria.

The Challenger 5 level tournament featured both a men’s and women’s event, with Torrie Malik claiming the women’s crown last week. Herbert made it double delight for England at the Europark Shopping Centre in Salzburg by taking the title on Saturday afternoon.

The Englishman came into the tournament as the top seed, and came through the majority of the competition with flying colours. He started his week with a confident performance against Ondrej Vorlicek of the Czech Republic. That was then followed by another straight games victory, this time against compatriot Robert Downer.

The semi-finals saw Herbert’s toughest test. He had to go the distance to defeat 2019 champion Miko Aijanen. The Finn fought back from behind twice to send the match into a deciding game, but Herbert was able to fight through. He took the fifth on a tie-break, 12-10, to move through to the final in Salzburg.

The Englishman then came up against Switzerland’s Robin Gadola in the final on Saturday afternoon. The pair had met once before on Tour, with Herbert winning 3-2 in the second round of the 3rd Silvester Trophy last year. He went on to take the title there as well. This contest in Salzburg was much more straight forward for the tournament’s top seed, as he won 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 to secure his third Tour title.

Results: Mozart Open (Men’s)
Final
[1] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt [5] Robin Gadola (SUI) 3-0: 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 (34m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Miko Aijanen (FIN) 3-2: 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 12-10 (62m)
[5] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt [4] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 3-1: 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-7 (50m)

Quarter Finals
[1] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt [8] Robert Downer (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 (34m)
Miko Aijanen (FIN) bt [3] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) 3-1: 14-12, 5-11, 11-7, 11-3 (53m)
[4] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt Jakub Solnicky (CZE) 3-1: 11-3, 7-11, 11-9, 11-9 (51m)
[5] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 3-0: 13-11, 11-4, 11-6 (35m)

First Round
[1] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Ondrej Vorlicek (CZE) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (26m)
[8] Robert Downer (ENG) bt [WC] David Maier (LIE) 3-1: 12-10, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8 (54m)
Miko Aijanen (FIN) bt [6] Andres Herrera (COL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 11-8 (46m)
[3] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt Yuri Farneti (ITA) 3-1: 11-5, 2-11, 11-6, 11-8 (33m)
[4] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt Elijah Thomas (NZL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-6 (32m)
Jakub Solnicky (CZE) bt [7] Valentin Rapp (GER) 3-2: 9-11, 11-4, 11-2, 8-11, 11-5 (64m)
[5] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt Nilo Vidal (ESP) 3-2: 6-11, 10-12, 11-6, 14-12, 11-5 (62m)
Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [2] Yannik Omlor (GER) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 13-11 (32m)