Austrian Open Qualifying Begins

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The first qualifying round of the 2016 Austrian Open, PSA M5 tournament saw a solitary home player move through to the next round with Christoph Ressel coming out on top in an all-Austrian affair with Alexander Harml.

The tournament takes place on an all-glass court staged in the Europark shopping mall in Salzburg and the gathered spectators were treated to an entertaining and dramatic five-game battle that eventually saw Ressel recover from a game down to win, recording the victory courtesy of a 6-11, 11-3, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 scoreline.

Up next for Ressel is a fixture against second qualifying seed Elliot Selby, with the latter eyeing up a first main draw spot of 2016 after receiving a bye in round one of qualifying.

Local player Rudi Rohrmuller is also through after defeating 17-year-old Englishman Kyle Finch in four. Finch went a game to the good after triumphing during a tense tie-break but German-born Rohrmuller soon found his rhythm and went up a gear to take three games without reply and complete the win in 45 minutes. Jami Äijänen lies in wait for Rohrmuller in the next round thanks to his win against Kevin Walander.

Elsewhere, Czech World No.251 Jan Ryba overcame Michael Zanner in a straightforward 3-0 victory to set up a final qualifying round clash with Iraq’s Ahmed Al Kiremli after the 34-year-old dispatched Manuel Kurzweil.

Bradley Masters saw off Stephan Stocker to reach the next round and will line up against Daniel Mekbib who will be hoping to take advantage of a rest after he too was the recipient of a bye.

Results – First Qualifying Round: Austrian Open 2016
[1] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) (bye)
[6] Bradley Masters (ENG) bt [L] Stephan Stocker (AUT) 3-0: 11-2, 11-2, 11-5 (19m)
[5] Jami Äijänen (FIN) bt [L] Kevin Walander (AUT) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-2 (20m)
[L] Rudi Rohrmuller (GER) bt [3] Kyle Finch (ENG) 3-1: 13-15, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3 (45m)
[4] Jan Ryba (CZE) bt [L] Michael Zanner (AUT) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-1 (20m)
[7] Ahmed Al Kiremli (IRQ) bt [L] Lukas Rosner (AUT) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (15m)
[L] Christoph Ressel (AUT) bt [L] Alexander Harml (AUT) 6-11, 11-3, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 (43m)
[2] Elliot Selby (ENG) (bye)

Draw – Final Qualifying Round
[1] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) v [6] Bradley Masters (ENG)
[5] Jami Äijänen (FIN) v [L] Rudi Rohrmuller (GER)
[4] Jan Ryba (CZE) v [7] Ahmed Al Kiremly (IRQ)
[L] Christoph Ressel (AUT) v [2] Elliot Selby (ENG)