Tennis Europe | Seniors Tennis
European Seniors Outdoor Championships
Early June saw many of the world's top senior and super-senior players assemble for the European Outdoor Seniors Championships, held at their traditional homes of Baden-Baden, Germany (seniors) and Pörtschach, Austria (super-seniors). The 52nd annual edition of the events saw no shortage of drama with both venues witnessing some surprise winners and shock defeats for some of the ITF Senior Circuit's most renowned players.
Arguably the biggest surprise came in Baden-Baden, where Christian Araya of Chile blasted his way through the Men's 40s draw, besting top seed and twice-defending champion Robert Eisele in the semi finals before going on to account for unseeded Swede Jörgen Aberg 60 76(4) in the final to record his first tournament win on the circuit.
In the Men's 45s event, top seed Girts Dzelde of Latvia also won his first European title, improving on last year's semi final spot to breeze past Markus Bart 61 62. Meanwhile, 2008 runner-up Glen Busby of Australia won the 50's title in style, losing just twelve games in five matches as he closes in on the top spot in the world rankings.
Yet another first-time European champion was sure to be crowned in the Men's 55s event, where Alfred Böckl of Germany took on second-seeded Czech Jiri Ettler. The home player emerged victorious after an exhausting encounter, winning 61 16 63.
The women's events went slightly more according to the form-book. Lucie Zelinka Schwab of Austria defended her Womens 40 title with a hard-fought 75 76(2) win over 2005 winner Olga Shaposhnikova of Russia. Barbara Koutna of Czech Republic showed her fighting qualities on the road to defending her 45s title. Having had to come from a set down to win both her quarterfinal and semifinal matches, the top seed was once again taken to three sets in the final, but recovered to beat Petra Danziger 61 26 63.
Home players triumphed in both the 50s and 55s events. Dagmar Anwar beat compatriot Gabriele Chop 64 75 for the 50s title, while Heide Eisterlehner beat Australia's Lyn Mortimer to win an incredible 16th European title. With the win, Eisterlehner completed the impressive feat of winning 5 consecutive 55's titles, despite being the oldest woman in the draw.
At the Super Seniors event in Portschach, Austria, top seed and world #1 Jorge Camino Borda of Spain defended his Mens 60s title in style, despatching all five of his opponent in straight sets, including a 63 62 win over fourth seeded German Horst-Dieter Van de Loo in the final. The win stretches Camino Borda's winning streak to 22 matches and is his fourth European Outdoor title, following back-to-back wins at the 55s event from 2004-2005.
Another German, Peter Adrigan, ended home hero Peter Pokorny's quest for a record-equalling 24th European title, with an upset win in the final of the Mens 65s event, edging the Austrian in two tie-break sets. It was the second Portschach title for Adrigan, who also triumphed in the 60s event in 2006.
Top seed Klaus Haas overcame Australia's Bob Howes to wrap up the Men's 70s title, his second European title of the season, having also triumphed at the indoor event in Seefeld in January. Fellow Australian John O'Brien took the 75's crown after opponent Jiri Dobes was forced to retire after losing the first set.
Austrian players were pipped to the post in the two most seniors age categories. American Clement Hopp fought back from a set down to oust Laci Legenstein 36 64 61 for the 80s title while Hungary's Laszlo Lenart survived a second set revival to beat Oskar Jirkovsky for the 85s crown.