Remeo Men's Open 2018
12-16 Sep, Helsinki, Finland, $11k

Mahesh beats Olli in Helsinki final
Mika Monto reports, photos by Petteri Repo

Another busy day at Talihalli, Helsinki with over 50 Finnish Junior Open matches and the Remeo Open final between Olli Tuominen and Mahesh Mangaonkar as a climax.

It was Mahesh, who started off better this time, with Olli struggling a little bit with his accuracy. First game to Indian 11-6. After that it was extremely tight all the way ‘til the end. Olli managed to clinch the second after a long tie break 15-13. Mahesh responded the same way, taking the third in another lengthy tie break 14-12.

The fourth was no different. Brutal rallies one after another with both players leading in turns. Mahesh got to the championship ball at 10-9 and didn’t waste the opportunity but closed the game 11-9 and the entire match 3-1 after 68 gut-wrenching minutes.

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* = 9/16 seed

Olli & Mahesh make Helsinki final
Mika Monto reports, photos by Petteri Repo

A busy day at Talihalli Helsinki with 60 juniors and their entourage, PSA Remeo Open semifinalists and a nearly packed crowd of Finnish squash enthusiasts.

First on were the local hero Olli Tuominen against England’s Charlie Lee. Tuominen started off well as usual and took the first game 11-7. In the second Lee started better and it looked like the oxygen didn’t flow properly into the Finn’s brain and he made 7 unforced errors.

In the beginning of the third Tuominen got a grip of himself again and took the game quite clearly 11-6. Lee couldn’t recover anymore after that and Tuominen sealed his victory with 11-3 scoreline in the fourth.

In the second semifinal, India’s third seed Mahesh Mangaonkar faced Iker Pajares from Spain. Pajares had played the last match on the previous day, where he overcame Portugal’s Rui Soares in a close 5-game battle. Mangaonkar had beaten Czech Republic’s Martin Svec a bit easier in his own quarterfinal.

Despite of tight and high paced rallies throughout the match, it somehow always looked that the Indian was controlling the match more. Pajares showed his retrieving skills at times, but then on the other hand hit some uncharacteristic errors at crucial stages of the match.

Match to Mangaonkar 6, 7, 6, and it looked exactly like the scoreline: quite tight but never in doubt.
 

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Semis decided in Helsinki
Mika Monto reports, photos by Petteri Repo

Remeo Open quarterfinal day welcomed also the Finnish Junior Open players to Talihalli. 4 interesting matches played on a glass court attracted a big number of squash enthusiasts to the venue.

In the first quarterfinal, the national squash icon, Olli Tuominen showed once again, that the age is just a number. Despite of a slight flu, Olli produced a quality performance against Spain’s Carlos Cornes.

With a characteristic high pace, Olli took the first game 11-4. Cornes responded in the second, taking it 12-10 in the tie break. The third game was tight again, with Olli being sharper in the end. In the fourth Olli cruised to clear 8-2 and 10-3 lead. Carlos fought for a couple of points back, but Olli closed the game 11-6 and secured his place in the semis.

In the second match, Miko Äijänen tried to upset the higher seeded Charlie Lee of England. Lee started off well taking the first game 11-6. Miko got his game together in the second and leveled the match. It was tight all the way after that, Charlie being a little bit sharper and more patient in the end of the both games. 11-8 and 11-7 to the Englishman and place in the semis against Tuominen.

Next on were India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar and Czech Republic’s Martin Svec. In the first game Svec was extremely sharp, while Mangaonkar didn’t really find his game. The second was quite opposite with Mahesh taking it clearly 11-2. The third and fourth were decent squash, but Mahesh clearly on driver’s seat. 11-8 and 11-6 to the Indian and he was through to the semis.

In the last match of the day Spain’s second seed Iker Pajares took Portugal’s Rui Soares. The first game took almost half an hour with Pajares on top in the end, 14-12. In the second the Spaniard was leading all the way, closing it 11-2 and it looked like Soares was changing his flight reservation.

All of a sudden in the third Soares started to find his short game and made Pajares run miles in every rally. The games were still tight, but Soares took the next two 11-9 and 11-6.

The final game was tight from the beginning. Unreal retrieving from Pajares and unbelievably soft counter drops from Soares. Arguably the best quality quarter final finished with Pajares taking the fifth 11-7 in a really great match played with mutual respect and fairness.
 

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Down to the Quarters inHelsinki
Mika Monto reports, photos by Petteri Repo

The Remeo Open continued on Thursday with 2nd round matches. 8 matches, all on full glass court in Talihalli Helsinki.

In the first match of the day Norway’s Adrian Ostbye faced Martin Svec of Czech Republic, seeded 6th in the tournament. Svec was in sharp form and Ostbye looked a bit sluggish as the match went on. Clear 3-0 win for Svec on 26 minutes.

In the second match two Englishmen, Charlie Lee and Mark Fuller were up for a place in the quarters. It was expected to be a tight encounter. Lee was sharper in the last rallies of the first two games, taking them 12-10 and 13-11. He had a match ball in the third, but Fuller saved it and too the game eventually 13-11. That seemed to have taken the sharpest edge of him and despite of his endless fighting spirit, he went down 11-7 in the fourth and had to search for a flight back home.

In the third match India’s third seed Mahesh Mangaonkar took England’s Stuart MacGregor. Mangaonkar was straight on the second round where Macgregor had to battle 5 games the day before to overcome Switzerland’s Roman Allinckx. Mangaonkar kept the pace high in the beginning and disarmed Macgregor, who made too many unforced errors at the end of the games.

In the last match of the morning session Spain’s Iker Pajares proved too strong for England’s Nick Mulvey. Despite of Mulvey’s occasional brilliant killing shots, Pajares’ high pace was too much for the young Englishman and he closed the match in 29 minutes.

All the Finns were scheduled to play in the evening session to attract more people to the audience. Miko Äijänen was the first player on, against England’s Alex Noakes. Miko was extremely sharp throughout the match and didn’t give Noakes much chances. Clear 3-0 win for Miko.

Next on court were Olli Tuominen, 17-time national champion and the number one seed in this tournament, against Miles Jenkins from England. Tuominen started firing as usual taking the first two games 11-2 and 11-3. A little concentration lapse from the Finn kept the third game tight and Jenkins managed to clinch it 13-11. In the fourth Tuominen was back on track and finished the match in 34 minutes.

The third match saw Heke Mustonen playing against the skilled Portuguese Rui Soares. Heke started off well taking the first game 11-5. Soares found his targets better after that and Heke began to open up the court too much. Soares took the second 11-6. The third and the fourth game were tight, with Soares being a little bit more patient at the end of the games. 3-1 to Soares and a place in the quarters against Iker Pajares.

In the last match of the day Jami Äijänen had a mission to continue his winning streak agains Carlos Cornes from Spain. The first two games were tight, Cornes edging both of them in the tie break. In the third game Cornes was on a cruising mode while the older brother Äijänen had lost his belief. Match to Cornes 3-0 and a place in the quarters against Tuominen.
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Under way in Helsinki
Mika Monto reports, photos by Petteri Repo

The Remeo Open kicked off today with 8 matches played on glass court in Talihalli Helsinki.

In the first match Miles Jenkins from England proved too strong for the first local hero Ville Karsikas. Jenkins took the match in 31 minutes 3-0.

In the second match Swizerland’s Roman Allinckx was 2-0 up against Stuart MacGregor from England. MacGregor was able to refocus after a poor start and Allinckx started to show signs of tiring. The Englishman completed his comeback with 3-2 win in 68 minutes.

Next on were Norway’s Adrian Ostbye against the Finnish Junior national Atte Stengård. Ostbye didn’t give the 17-year-old Finn much chances and closed the match in 26 minutes 3-0.

The last match of the morning session was between Mark Fuller from England and Ondrej Uherka from Czech Republic. Uherka’s luggage had gone missing on a flight from London and he had to borrow a racket and pair of shoes. This may have affected his performance and Fuller too the match in straight games.

The first match of the evening session saw Claudio Pinto of Portugal facing the current Finnish National Champion Jami Äijänen. The Finn had just won the Russia Open on previous week in Moscow and continued his winning streak with a 3-0 win over Pinto.


In the next match, Finnish under 19 champion Samuli Niskala was against Nick Mulvey of England. Niskala was a bit nervous in the beginning and made too many unforced errors. Mulvey cruised the first 2 games quite easily. Niskala found his targets better in the third, but got tired in the end and Mulvey closed the match in three.



Next Finn on court was Miko Äijänen, playing agains England’s Tom Walsh. They had played against each other in the previous weeks’ Russia Open in Moscow, where Miko had been better in five close games. This time was no different. Tom had the upper hand in the beginning and Miko had to come back from 1-2 down. The match of the day finished with Miko winning the last two games 11-6 and 11-4 to secure his place on the second round.



Last match of the day saw the encounter of two Finns, Matias Tuomi and Henrik “Heke” Mustonen. Heke had not played an event in Finland for long time and it was interesting to see his current form. The first two games were reasonably tight with Heke being up 11-8 and 11-6. The third game was clearer with Matias getting a bit frustrated and Heke finding his targets around the court.
 

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