Sekisui Open Preview: Merlo Aiming For Another Home Win

The third event to start on Tuesday, March 5 will be the Sekisui Open, with the men’s and women’s Challenger 10 level tournament taking place in Kriens, Switzerland over the next five days.

Spaniard Edmon Lopez will be the top seed for the men’s event at Sportpark Pilatus, with Egypt’s Yahya Elnawasany, Portuguese No.1 Rui Soares and Czech No.1 Martin Svec making up the rest of the top four seeds for the competition.

The German duo of Yannik Omlor and Valentin Rapp will both be in action, along with the English pairing of Curtis Malik and Charlie Lee. Malaysia’s Darren Rahul Pragasam and Israeli No.1 Daniel Poleshchuk will be the only non-Europeans, alongside Elnawasany.

The women’s draw will be led by Swiss No.1 Cindy Merlo, who will be the home favourite for the tournament. She is feeling confident with where her game is at the moment, and although she will feel the pressure of playing on home soil, she admits that she uses it in a positive manner.

“I feel confident about my game. I am working on few things to change in my game, so I am looking forward to seeing how I manage the change,” the Swiss No.1 said.

“I certainly do feel pressure yes, but in a positive way. Of course, playing at home is more convenient as you are playing in a known environment. So I am just happy to be playing an event at home. Not every player has the privilege of having a home tournament to play at, so I am grateful.”

The last time Merlo played on Swiss soil was in October 2021, when she was victorious at the Swiss Open & Uster Cup, beating compatriot Nadia Pfister in the final. She is hoping to use that as a boost towards another win this week, en route her goal of reaching the top 30 in the rankings come the end of the year.

“I will keep that victorious feeling in mind for sure and I will work to achieve it again at a different location on home soil,” Merlo added.

“End of the year goal will be to crack the top 30 and moving on from there, of course, but top 30 would be a good start into 2023.”

Merlo will face competition from the Egyptian trio of Malak Khafagy, Salma Eltayeb and Nadeen Kotb, along with England’s Torrie Malik and Spaniard Marta Dominguez Fernandez.

The Danish duo of Klara Møller and Caroline Lyng, along with Germany’s Aylin Gunsav, Scotland’s Katriona Allen and Austria’s Jacqueline Peychar will all be in action for the Challenger 10 level tournament.

The event takes place from Tuesday, March 5 to Saturday, March 9 at the Sportpark Pilatus in Kriens, Switzerland, where Cindy Merlo is the top seed for the women’s tournament. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on *Twitter* and *Facebook* for daily updates from the event.

Men’s First Round Draw: Sekisui Open
[1] Edmon Lopez (ESP) – [Bye]
[WC] Cedric Kuchen (SUI) v [9/16] Viktor Byrtus (CZE)
[9/16] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) v Lukas Windischberger (AUT)
[8] Yannik Omlor (GER) – [Bye]
[7] Curtis Malik (ENG) – [Bye]
[WC] Nils Roesch (SUI) v [9/16] Aqeel Rehman (AUT)
[9/16] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) v David Zeman (CZE)
[4] Martin Svec (CZE) – [Bye]
[3] Rui Soares (POR) – [Bye]
Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) v [9/16] Valentin Rapp (GER)
[9/16] Robin Gadola (SUI) v [WC] Tim Roesch (SUI)
[6] Jakub Solnicky (CZE) – [Bye]
[5] Ivan Perez (ESP) – [Bye]
Edwin Clain (ENG) v [9/16] Charlie Lee (FRA)
[9/16] Darren Rahul Pragasam (MAS) v Ondrej Vorlicek (CZE)
[2] Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) – [Bye]

Women’s First Round Draw: Sekisui Open
[1] Cindy Merlo (SUI) – [Bye]
Sara Stockli (SUI) v [9/16] Kara Lincou (FRA)
[9/16] Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) v Stephanie Muller (SUI)
[8] Rana Ismail (EGY) – [Bye]
[7] Lea Barbeau (FRA) – [Bye]
[WC] Stella Kaufmann (SUI) v [9/16] Klara Møller (DEN)
[9/16] Sofia Mateos (ESP) v [WC] Alina Poessl (SUI)
[4] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) – [Bye]
[3] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) – [Bye]
Sofie Hausknotsova (CZE) v [9/16] Ayin Gunsav (GER)
[9/16] Katriona Allen (SCO) v Caroline Bachem (SUI)
[6] Marta Domingue Fernandez (ESP) – [Bye]
[5] Torrie Malik (ENG) – [Bye]
[WC] Norina Malbasic (SUI) v [9/16] Tamara Holzbauerova (CZE)
[9/16] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) v Caroline Lyng (DEN)
[2] Malak Khafagy (EGY) – [Bye]