Senior Tennis

European Senior Open in Seefeld

European Senior Open in Seefeld

The European Senior Open in Seefeld acts as the curtain-raiser for high-level senior tennis in Europe each year, and the 2014 edition was no exception with 615 players from 28 nations worldwide gathering in the Austrian mountains for the 38th edition of the prestigious indoor event.

With 22 different categories in action across men’s and women’s events, the tournament takes place across two weeks, with the super seniors taking centre stage during the first days.

The hotly contested Men’s 65s category saw an all-German final with eighth seed Peter Marklstorfer claiming his first European title with a 6-4 6-2 win over Gerd Dahmen. Home player Sigurd Fragner caused some huge upsets in the Men’s 70s, ousting second seed Peter Adrigan (GER) in the quarterfinals before ending compatriot Peter Pokorny’s hopes of adding to his record-breaking tally of 34 European titles with a 7-5 7-6(5) win in the final.

Klaus Haas of Germany avenged a loss to Rolf Westman in last year’s final before going on to beat top seed Giovanni Argenti (ITA) to claim the Men’s 75s title. Wim Heeremans of the Netherlands defended his Men’s 80s crown with a 6-0 7-5 win over Gabriel Ryzhevskiy (RUS). Another Russian went one better as last year’s finalist Michael Novik claimed the Men’s 85 title when Ake Eriksson (SWE) retired while trailing 7-6(5) 5-2.

Some key players have moved up an age category on the women’s side and they wasted no time in making their presence felt. Last year’s 55s champion Renata Tomanova (GER) lost just 16 games in four matches on her way to the Women’s 60s title, while the previous owner of the 60s crown - Heide Eisterlehner – claimed her first 65s title. The German was made to work hard for victory in a three set final with compatriot Silvia Bauwens, but came through to claim her 13th Seefeld title.

Michele Bichon of France successfully defended the Women’s 70s championship, but had to recover from a set down to outlast Heide Orth (GER) in the final. The 75s category saw a rematch of the 2013 final with a repeat result as Elisabeth van Boemmel saw off Brigitte Jung in an all-German final. Ilse Michael made it 4 German titles out of 5 events during the Super-Seniors week by winning the Women’s 80s, which was played with a round-robin format.

The second week saw the younger age groups take the spotlight and a number of new names made their presence felt, joining the long list of Seefeld winners. Unseeded Czech Jan Hejtmanek won the Men’s 35s with a 6-4 6-1 victory over top seed Daniel Dolbea (GER). Last year’s 35s runner-up Matthias Mueller (GER) fell at the final hurdle once again, this time in the Men’s 40s, where compatriot Gerhard Fahlke lifted the trophy.

2013 45s finalist Jorgen Aberg of Sweden fared better in his first year in Men’s 45s category, beating both of last year’s finalists Luca Vigani and Simone Vismara (ITA) to claim the title. The extended Men’s 50s draw saw some huge surprises along the way, with all of the top four seeds eliminated by the quarterfinals. Unseeded home player Gerald Kaiser beat Italian wild card Paolo Zingale for the loss of just two games in the final.

Belgium’s Pierre Godfroid claimed his tenth European title with victory over Paul French (GBR) in a battle between the top two seeds for the Men’s 55s championship. Meanwhile, last year’s 55s champion had no trouble transitioning to the Men’s 60s as Alan Rasmussen (DEN) lost just 18 games in six matches including a 6-1 6-1 win over Peter Heller (SUI) in the final.

The women’s 35s and 40s tournaments took the form of round robin events, with Germans Stefanie Kolar and Sonja Kaspers  the respective winners, Kolar winning for a second successive year. Gabi Kirchner made it a hat trick for Germany by beating Annemeik Wissink (NED) to win the 45s event, while Ingrid Gutmann-Resch of Austria extended her record to an impressive four Women’s 50s titles with a 6-1 6-0 win over Carole de Bruijn (NED).

Full draws and results from the super seniors event can be found on the ITF website here, with week 2 results here.

Click here for a photo gallery from the tournament.

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