Schraglage Squash Open: Fernandez and Downer Successful

England’s Robert Downer and Spain’s Marta Dominguez Fernandez have claimed the titles at the Schraglage Squash Open, with the pair both winning lengthy finals at the Pink Power Club in Stuttgart on Sunday afternoon.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Challenger 5 & 3 level events were run with regional entry restrictions, allowing those currently living in Europe to participate in the tournament.

Fernandez was featuring in only her second Tour event, having made her debut at the Squash Eredivisie – Speelronde 6 event in Amsterdam earlier this month, where she made the final.

She went on to do one better this time round, defeating four of the top six seeds en route to her maiden victory on the Tour. The Spaniard started her campaign against No.3 seed Saskia Beinhard before then beating No.6 seed Aylin Gunsav to make it into the last four.

In the semi-finals, the 20-year-old downed the tournament’s top seed Nadia Pfister in a four-game battle, before winning the final against No.2 seed Ambre Allinckx with the same scoreline, 3-1.

The men’s event was won by Englishman Robert Downer, who claimed his second victory of 2021, after winning at the Czech Pro Series 2 earlier this season.

The World No.90 began his week with a win over Rene Mijs in the first round, before then Toufik Mekhalfi and Joeri Hapers to move into the semi-finals.

Downer needed an hour to get the better of Switzerland’s Robin Gadola to make the final, where he came up against No.4 seed Valentin Rapp, who was playing on home soil.

The final lasted almost 90 minutes, with Downer finding himself a game down after the German had won the third on a mega tie-break, 17-15. The Englishman fought back though, winning the last two games to claim victory.

Results: Schraglage Squash Open
Men’s Final
[1] Robert Downer (ENG) bt [4] Valentin Rapp (GER) 3-2: 9-11, 11-9, 15-17, 11-6, 11-5 (89m)

Women’s Final
Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt [2] Ambre Allinckx (SUI) 3-1: 9-11, 12-10, 11-9, 12-10 (53m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Robert Downer (ENG) bt [6] Robin Gadola (SUI) 3-2: 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 (61m)
[4] Valentin Rapp (GER) bt [2] Martin Svec (CZE) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-2 (16m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt [1] Nadia Pfister (SUI) 3-1: 11-3, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6 (38m)
[2] Ambre Allinckx (SUI) bt [7] Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-6 (25m)

Men’s Quarter-Finals
[1] Robert Downer (ENG) bt [8] Joeri Hapers (BEL) 3-1: 11-8, 8-11, 11-4, 11-2 (42m)
[6] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt [3] Yannik Omlor (GER) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (34m)
[4] Valentin Rapp (GER) bt [5] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 3-2: 6-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6, 11-8 (69m)
[2] Martin Svec (CZE) bt [7] Roshan Bharos (NED) 3-2: 11-7, 12-10, 2-11, 8-11, 11-7 (70m)

Women’s Quarter-Finals
[1] Nadia Pfister (SUI) bt [5] Katerina Tycova (GER) 3-1: 11-7, 10-12, 11-8, 11-4 (34m)
Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt [6] Aylin Gunsav (GER) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-5 (26m)
[7] Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) bt [4] Taba Taghavi (FRA) 3-2: 10-12, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 (51m)
[2] Ambre Allinckx (SUI) bt [8] Stella Kaufmann (SUI) 3-0: 11-3, 11-1, 11-6 (18m)

Men’s Round Two
[1] Robert Downer (ENG) bt [9] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) 3-1: 10-12, 11-4, 11-8, 11-3 (53m)
[8] Joeri Hapers (BEL) bt [10] Cedric Kuchen (SUI) 3-0: 15-13, 11-9, 13-11 (50m)
[6] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt [16] Blessing Muhwati (ZIM) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (23m)
[3] Yannik Omlor (GER) bt [15] Nils Roesch (SUI) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-4 (20m)
[4] Valentin Rapp (GER) bt [13] Jakob Dirnberger (AUT) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-4 (33m)
[5] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [12] David Zeman (CZE) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (37m)
[7] Roshan Bharos (NED) bt [WC] Carsten Schoor (GER) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 (35m)
[2] Martin Svec (CZE) bt [11] Marek Panacek (CZE) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-5 (53m)

Women’s Round One
[1] Nadia Pfister (SUI) bt Klara Møller (DEN) 3-1: 6-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 (28m)
[5] Katerina Tycova (GER) bt Megan van Drongelen (NED) 3-1: 11-1, 7-11, 11-4, 11-2 (32m)
[6] Aylin Gunsav (GER) bt Mai-Ly Nguyen (GER) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 (20m)
Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt [3] Saskia Beinhard (GER) 3-1: 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 13-11 (48m)
[4] Taba Taghavi (FRA) bt Naomi Nohar (NED) 3-0: 0-1 rtd (4m)
[7] Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) bt Juliette Permentier (NED) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 (20m)
[8] Stella Kaufmann (SUI) bt Anna Karina Moreno Kopp (GER) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-3 (21m)
[2] Ambre Allinckx (SUI) bt Lucie Mahrle (GER) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 (16m)

Men’s Round One
[1] Robert Downer (ENG) bt Rene Mijs (NED) 3-1: 11-6, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7 (37m)
[9] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) bt [WC] Dennis Welte (GER) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-1 (15m)
[10] Cedric Kuchen (SUI) bt Heiko Schwarzer (GER) 3-1: 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 (42m)
[8] Joeri Hapers (BEL) bt Ondrej Vorlicek (CZE) 3-2: 11-1, 11-4, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9 (66m)
[6] Robin Gadola (SUI) bt [WC] Jan Wipperfurth (GER) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 (24m)
[16] Blessing Muhwati (ZIM) bt [WC] David Bernet (SUI) 3-1: 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6 (41m)
[15] Nils Roesch (SUI) bt Lukas Windischberger (AUT) 3-2: 11-5, 12-14, 11-5, 5-11, 12-10 (60m)
[3] Yannik Omlor (GER) bt David Maier (LIE) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 (29m)
[4] Valentin Rapp (GER) bt Aron Astray (ESP) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-7 (26m)
[13] Jakob Dirnberger (AUT) bt [WC] Florian Stoger (GER) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 (25m)
[12] David Zeman (CZE) bt [WC] Simon Wolter (GER) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 (27m)
[5] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [WC] Nils Herzberg (GER) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-4 (16m)
[7] Roshan Bharos (NED) bt Marc ter Sluis (NED) 3-2: 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-7 (67m)
[WC] Carsten Schoor (GER) bt [14] Tarek Shehata (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 13-11, 12-10 (36m)
[11] Marek Panacek (CZE) bt Jakob Kanel (SUI) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (27m)
[2] Martin Svec (CZE) bt [WC] Nils Schwab (GER) 3-2: 6-11, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-5 (42m)