Men’s Austrian Open SF: Unseeded Peach To Meet Top Seed Wilhelmi

The final of the men’s Austrian Open is set, with unseeded Englishman James Peach knocking out the No.2 seed to make it through, and he will now take on the tournament’s top seed Yannick Wilhelmi for the Challenger 5 level title at Europark Salzburg on Saturday.

Peach had already defeated No.3 seed Ivan Perez and No.7 seed Christopher Binnie en route to making it to the semi-finals in Salzburg, and he took on defending champion and No.2 seed Yannik Omlor on the glass court at the Europark shopping centre for a place in the final.

It was the first time the two had met on Tour, and the battle of the left-handers went the distance, with Peach coming from behind after losing the first game to hold a 2-1 advantage, before the German fought back to win the fourth 11-8. In the decider, the Englishman got off to a great start and ran away with it, winning the fifth game 11-3 to book his place in the final, his first in 2022.

He will now face top seed Yannick Wilhelmi in the final on Saturday afternoon, after the World No.108 overcome home favourite Aqeel Rehman in a four-game battle. The Swiss star won the first two games, before seeing the Austrian No.1, 15 years the elder of Wilhelmi, take the third game. The fourth went all the way to a tie-break, with the top seed taking it 13-11 to book his spot in the final.

The final of the men’s Austrian Open will take place on Saturday, July 9, with England’s James Peach taking on the tournament’s top seed, Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi. You can keep up to date with live scores from the event on the PSA World Tour’s website.

*Semi-Final Results: Austrian Open (Men’s)*
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [5] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 3-1: 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 13-11 (46m)
James Peach (ENG) bt [2] Yannik Omlor (GER) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 11-3 (62m)

*Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, July 9*
[1] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) v James Peach (ENG)