Swiss Open RD1: Wildcards Hafez and Bachem Through

It was a busy opening day at Squash Arena Uster, with 24 matches taking place in the Swiss Open first round. Wildcards Louai Hafez and Caroline Bachem caused upsets on home soil to advance to the second round.

Hafez took on Germany’s No.16 seed Tobias Weggen in the opening round of the Challenger 5 level competition, and fell behind after the first game. He then dropped just seven points over the course the next two games, before seeing the German fight back to win the fourth on a tie-break 14-12. Hafex regrouped, winning the fifth 11-6 to secure a great win on home soil, and to advance to the last 16, where he will take on No.4 seed Marek Panacek.

There was one other surprise result in terms of seeding on the opening day in the men’s draw, with Ireland’s Conor Moran taking down Austrian No.14 seed Jakob Dirnberger. The Irishman dropped 15 points in a straight games victory, one that lasted just 20 minutes on court.

Like Hafez, Caroline Bachem came into the tournament as one of the wildcards. Switzerland’s Bachem took on Hungarian Kincso Szasz in the opening round, and dropped just nine points in a stunning victory to book her spot in the last 16. She will now face top seed Katie Malliff on Thursday.

Bachem is joined in the second round of the Challenger 5 level competition by compatriot Alina Poessl. Her fellow Swiss player got the better of the USA’s Arisha Khan in a four-game battle to take the tally of Swiss players in the second round to seven.

The second round of the Swiss Open will take place on Thursday, October 27, with 16 matches in action at Squash Arena Uster in Switzerland. You can keep up to date with live scores from the tournament here.

Men’s First Round Results: Swiss Open
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [WC] Noah Mannhart (SUI) 3-0: 11-1, 11-4, 11-2 (17m)
Conor Moran (IRL) bt [14] Jakob Dirnberger (AUT) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (22m)
[13] Nils Roesch (SUI) bt David Bernet (SUI) 3-1: 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 11-6 (51m)
[6] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt [WC] David Maier (LIE) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, 11-5 (24m)
[7] Sam Buckley (IRL) bt [WC] Lasse Widmer (SUI) 3-0: 11-0, 11-4, 11-2 (19m)
[12] Augusto Ortigosa (ESP) bt Laouenan Loaec (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 (37m)
[WC] Louai Hafez (SUI) bt [16] Tobias Weggen (GER) 3-2: 8-11, 11-3, 11-4, 12-14, 11-6 (53m)
[4] Marek Panacek (CZE) bt Filip Jarota (CZE) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 (32m)
[3] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt [WC] Jakob Kanel (SUI) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (33m)
[15] Joel Arscott (NZL) bt Noah Meredith (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-9 (34m)
[11] Nilo Vidal (ESP) bt [WC] Miguel Mathis (SUI) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 (43m)
[8] Sean Conroy (IRL) bt Adam Sinkule (CZE) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-1 (22m)
[5] Yuri Farneti (ITA) bt [WC] Joel Siewerdt (SUI) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 (29m)
[9] David Zeman (CZE) bt [WC] Luca Zatti (SUI) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-2 (18m)
[10] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) bt Lukas Windischberger (AUT) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 16-14 (35m)
[2] Ben Smith (ENG) bt Alex Smith (IRL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (22m)

Men’s Second Round Draw: To Be Played Thursday, October 27
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) v Conor Moran (IRL)
[13] Nils Roesch (SUI) v [6] Robin Gadola (SUI)
[7] Sam Buckley (IRL) v [12] Augusto Ortigosa (ESP)
[WC] Louai Hafez (SUI) v [4] Marek Panacek (CZE)
[3] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) v [15] Joel Arscott (NZL)
[11] Nilo Vidal (ESP) v [8] Sean Conroy (IRL)
[5] Yuri Farneti (ITA) v [9] David Zeman (CZE)
[10] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) v [2] Ben Smith (ENG)

Women’s First Round Results: Swiss Open
[WC] Caroline Bachem (SUI) bt Kincso Szasz (HUN) 3-0: 11-3, 11-1, 11-5 (16m)
Juliette Permentier (NED) bt [WC] Stephanie Muller (SUI) 3-1: 11-8, 11-2, 4-11, 11-5 (25m)
Ella Galova (FRA) bt Ana Munos (FRA) 3-1: 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3 (37m)
Kara Lincou (FRA) bt Andrea Fjellgaard (NOR) 3-0: 11-2, 11-1, 11-4 (11m)
Alina Poessl (SUI) bt Arisha Khan (USA) 3-1: 11-4, 11-13, 11-8, 11-7 (28m)
Lowri Roberts (WAL) bt [WC] Stella Kaufmann (SUI) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 13-11 (24m)
Teresa Siroka (CZE) bt [WC] Kate Gadola (SUI) 3-2: 7-11, 11-8, 11-3, 4-11, 11-7 (39m)
Tamara Holzbauerova (CZE) bt Jasmin Kalar (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 11-4, 6-11, 11-7 (33m)

Women’s Second Round Draw: To Be Played Thursday, October 27
[1] Katie Malliff (ENG) v [WC] Caroline Bachem (SUI)
Juliette Permentier (NED) v [8] Polly Clark (ENG)
[7] Taba Taghavi (FRA) v Ella Galova (FRA)
Kara Lincou (FRA) v [3] Alison Thomson (SCO)
[4] Celine Walser (SUI) v Alina Poessl (SUI)
Lowri Roberts (WAL) v [6] Breanne Flynn (IRL)
[5] Emilia Korhonen (FIN) v Teresa Siroka (CZE)
Tamara Holzbauerova (CZE) v [2] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP)