Romanian Open SF: Smith and Panacek To Contest Final

England’s Ben Smith and the Czech Republic’s Marek Panacek will contest the final of the Romanian Open in Cluj-Napoca, after coming through contrasting semi-final clashes.

Top seed Smith took on No.8 seed Nilo Vidal in the last four. The Englishman needed just 25 minutes on the glass court at the VIVO in Cluj-Napoca, winning 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 to make it through to another final.

He will face Panacek, the No.2 seed, after the Czechian downed Scotland’s Alasdair Prott in an up-and-down battle. The match only lasted for 50 minutes, but it went the distance on Saturday evening. Panacek took the lead twice, only to see Prott fight back to level the match on both occasions. In the fifth game, the Czechian took an early lead, one he kept through to the end, to book his place in the final.

The final of the Romanian Open will take place on Sunday, November 20 in Cluj-Napoca, with England’s Ben Smith and Czech Republic’s Marek Panacek set to do battle for the Challenger 5 level title. You can watch the action live on their website, and keep up to date with live scores here.

Semi-Final Results: Romanian Open
[1] Ben Smith (ENG) bt [8] Nilo Vidal (ESP) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 (25m)
[2] Marek Panacek (CZE) bt Alasdair Prott (SCO) 3-2: 11-3, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 (50m)

Final Draw: To Be Played Sunday, November 20
[1] Ben Smith (ENG) v [2] Marek Panacek (CZE)