Bremer Schlussel RD2: Unseeded Quartet Cause Surprises

The second round of the Bremer Schlussel threw up a load of surprises on Tuesday afternoon, with four of the eight matches going the way of the unseeded and lower-ranked player, including seeing the top seed and defending champion be knocked out.

Spain’s Bernat Jaume won this tournament in 2021, but he fell by the wayside in his opening match of the competition this time round, as the Czech Republic’s Viktor Byrtus took a surprise victory in four games. The pair were level after two games, before Byrtus took the third 12-10 to hold the advantage, one he would take through the fourth as well to secure the win, moving through to the quarter finals.

He will now face England’s James Peach, to guarantee an unseeded player will make it through to the last four of the Challenger 10 level tournament. Peach got the better of compatriot and No.6 seed Robert Downer, also in four games, holding off a comeback, to advance to the last eight of the competition.

There were two other surprises in the bottom half of the draw, with England’s Stuart MacGregor and Colombia’s Andres Herrera both taking wins. MacGregor won the first two games of his contest with the Czech Republic’s Jakub Solnicky on tie-breaks, and although he lost the third game comfortably, he fought back to win the fourth to advance. Herrera, meanwhile, got the better of Belgium’s Joeri Hapers in four to book his spot in the last eight.

Elsewhere, Egypt’s Mazen Gamal, the No.2 seed for the tournament, had to survive a five-game battle against Germany’s Valentin Rapp, winning eventually in just over an hour to reach the last eight, where he will face Herrera. There will be German interest in the quarter finals, with No.5 seed Yannik Omlor set to take on No.4 seed, and Hungarian No.1, Balazs Farkas.

The quarter finals of the Bremer Schlussel will take place on Wednesday, August 10, with the last eight doing battle for places in the semi-finals of the Challenger 10 level competition. All of the action from ULC Sportwelt will be shown live and free on the PSA Challenger Tour YouTube channel, while you can also follow live scores from the tournament on the PSA World Tour’s website.

Second Round Results: Bremer Schlussel
Viktor Byrtus (CZE) bt [1] Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-1: 11-8, 6-11, 12-10, 11-8 (49m)
James Peach (ENG) bt [6] Robert Downer (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 11-2, 8-11, 11-2 (38m)
[5] Yannik Omlor (GER) bt David Zeman (CZE) 3-0: 15-13, 11-7, 12-10 (52m)
[4] Balazs Farkas (HUN) bt Yuri Farneti (ITA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 14-12 (43m)
[3] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) bt Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (32m)
Stuart MacGregor (ENG) bt [7] Jakub Solnicky (CZE) 3-1: 13-11, 14-12, 1-11, 11-3 (49m)
Andres Herrera (COL) bt [8] Joeri Hapers (BEL) 3-1: 12-10, 11-8, 2-11, 11-6 (48m)
[2] Mazen Gamal (EGY) bt Valentin Rapp (GER) 3-2: 11-2, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6 (61m)

Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Wednesday, August 10
Viktor Byrtus (CZE) v James Peach (ENG)
[5] Yannik Omlor (GER) v [4] Balazs Farkas (HUN)
[3] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) v Stuart MacGregor (ENG)
Andres Herrera (COL) v [2] Mazen Gamal (EGY)