The HYLO Open 2024 starts with the first successes for the German players in the doubles disciplines.
A German-German duel in the first round of the HYLO Open – curse or blessing? “The way the game ended was a blessing,” said Marvin Seidel after the opening win together with Daniel Hess. The two players from 1. BC Bischmisheim met Marvin Datko and Patrick Volkmann in their first encounter (21:13, 21:12). “We are happy that we won quite clearly. The nerves always play a part,” said Seidel on the TV show HYLO Open Live (daily and free on hylo.sport, Wednesday from 2 p.m.). And Hess asked: “Oh, the interview was live? Then I would have had to say hello to my mom.”
The second round match between Hess/Seidel will also be shown live on hylo.sport. On Thursday the two DBV athletes will meet the vice-European champions Andreas Søndergaard/Jesper Toft from Denmark.
Bundeswehr presents a new men’s doubles
Bjarne Geiss and Jones Jansen are also in the round of 16 at their home tournament. Because Geiss’ partner Jan Völker is attending a Bundeswehr course in North Rhine-Westphalia at the same time, the 26-year-old is playing with Jansen instead. He says: “Normally I only play mixed. I’ve been asked if I can do it physically. I think it’s nice to play doubles again – and it worked out well.” Because the newly formed duo clearly won against the strong Spaniards Ruben Garcia and Carlos Piris (21:12, 21:11). In the next round we face the Scotland twins Christopher and Matthew Grimley.
Malik Bourakkadi and Kenneth Neumann are no longer there. The youngsters lost to the French Lucas Ducrot and Quentin Ronget (18:21, 19:21). Bourakkadi on the HYLO Open Live broadcast: “It wasn’t our best game, there was a lack of energy. And in the end we deserve to go out.” The other two men’s doubles teams of David Eckerlin/Simon Krax and Jonathan Dresp/Aaron Sonnenschein will only play their first round games on Wednesday.
The first hurdle has been overcome – and Linda Efler is thinking about the round of the top eight. “We have a pretty good chance of getting to the quarter-finals,” she said after the two-set win alongside Thuc Nguyen. The women’s doubles, in their first game together on the international stage, beat Simona Pilgaard and Mette Werge from Denmark (21:19, 23:21). Nguyen: “It’s so much fun being on the court with Linda! I felt really comfortable.”
Efler and Nguyen are playing together because Isabel Lohau – Efler’s usual partner – is becoming a mother for the first time and is skipping the home tournament in Saarbrücken this year. The newly formed pairing of Efler/Nguyen lost a seven-point lead in the first set and fended off set points in the second round. And yet the victory was on the debut. Efler: “We solved it well, especially in the tight situations.” On Thursday, the DBV athletes will meet Serena Au Yeong/Anna Hagspiel (Austria) in the round of 16.
Meyer/Michalski miss revenge against England
The other two German women’s doubles teams were eliminated in the first round. Julia Meyer and Leona Michalsky lost to England’s Chloe Birch and Estelle van Leeuwen – three days after the doubles faced each other at the Dutch Open in s’Hertogenbosch. There was no revenge, 10:21, 11:21 from the German perspective. Michalski: “Unfortunately, we have never won a set against them – which is simply because they are better at the moment.” Selin Hübsch and Amelie Lehmann lost against the 4th seeded Danes Julie Finne-Ipsen and Mai Surrow (10:21 , 17:21).
In the men’s singles, the two German qualifiers Kian-Yu Oei and Aaron Sonnenschein made it into the main field in the morning. Sonnenschein will face top seed Taiwanese and former world number two Chou Tien Chen on Wednesday. Oei has to deal with Misha Zilberman from Israel.
On Wednesday, Olympic participant Fabian Roth will also start the HYLO Open. In his first round match he will face the Dane Mads Christophersen, who plays for Saarbrücken-Bischmisheim in the Badminton Bundesliga.
Yvonne Li misses Saarbrücken due to injury – again
Meanwhile, the women’s singles at this year’s HYLO Open will take place without German participation. Miranda Wilson failed in qualifying on Tuesday and missed the main draw. Yvonne Li had to cancel the home tournament due to injury. Bitter for the SV Dortelweil player, she had already missed the European Championships in April.
The mixed games start on Wednesday – five times with German participation. The mixed doubles games at a glance:
Game 4, Court 1: Patrick Volkmann & Franziska Volkmann vs. Callum Hemming & Estelle Van Leeuwen (England)
Game 5, Court 1: Malik Bourakkadi & Leona Michalski vs. William Villeger & Flavie Vallet (France)
Game 9, Court 1: Kenneth Neumann & Linda Efler vs. Ruben Garcia & Lucia Rodriguez (Spain)
Game 10, Court 1: Marvin Datko & Julia Meyer vs. Andy Buijk & Meerte Loos (Netherlands)
Game 12, Court tba: Jones Jansen & Thuc Nguyen [6] vs. Oleksii Titov & Yevheniia Kantemyr (Ukraine)
All information about the HYLO Badminton Open can be found at www.hylo-open.de
