Today at the YONEX Swiss Open it was all about diving deep into the first round. Some of our European players had to face tough opponents right from the start but still came on the winning side.
Christo Popov faced Chou Tien Chen once again. Having met each other in the first round of the All England just last week — where Popov lost in straight games — they met once more, in a similar way to the first-round clash from this event last year.
Mirroring last edition's intense match, today’s stretched to one hour and 19 minutes. However, this time, the French player got the win. “I’m happy to get my revenge here. It was again some good level on court and I’m happy to rise my level from last week. I’ve gotten into my rhythm,” Popov reflected.
He now advances to the second round, where he’ll face Japan’s Yushi Tanaka. He's set for a busy day tomorrow, also playing in the men’s doubles with his brother Toma.
Jakobsen surprises with a strong start: “I did not expect that”
Julie Dawall Jakobsen faced no easy task in her first match in Basel either. The Dane met the 2022 Swiss Open champion Pusarla V. Sindhu, marking their first encounter since 2021. “I actually did some of the same things as last time, and of course watched some new matches as well. I think we had a relly good plan before the match,” Jakobsen shared.
Her preparation paid off as she secured the win in straight games, 21-17 21-19. “I’m really happy. I didn’t expect to win today but I knew that if I played my best, I had good chances. I did not expect that,” she said. Tomorrow, Jakobsen will face Ukraine's Polina Buhrova, whom she defeated at the Hylo Open last October. Will Jakobsen extend her lead in their head-to-head, or will Buhrova turn the tables this time?
You can see all of today’s results
here. Matches start at 12 PM (CET) tomorrow;
click here to see the full order of play.