An interesting week came to an end in Sofia Sunday with the champions crowned. On finals day, there was a lot for the home fans to get excited about, with 3 opportunities for titles.
In the men’s singles, second seeded Dimitar Yanakiev made his country proud and had a great week. The left-hander looked assured in all his matches and subsequently the final against the fifth-seeded Finn, Joonas Korhonen was an one-sided affair. Yanakiev really enjoyed the support from the crowd.
The second Bulgarian title was a pleasant surprise, as the unseeded mixed doubles pair Stilian Makarski and Diana Dimova played brilliantly and took the title. The semifinal was perhaps their best performance, as they beat number one seeds Birker and Hochmeir, who each won their respective level doubles. But the Bulgarians dispatched them with authority, 21-13, 21-15, and in the process spoiling Austria’s hope of a hat-trick of titles in Sofia.
The final itself, against another unseeded Finnish pair Von Pfaler and Nystrom was a nervy three-game shootout. Perhaps the crowd support making the difference on the day.
Finals day results:
XD – Stilian Makarski/ Diana Dimova (BUL) bt Julius Von Pfaler/ Jenny Nystrom (FIN) 17-21, 21-13, 21-17
WS – Rebecca Kuhl (2) (SWE) bt Getter Saar (3) (EST) 21-16, 21-16
MS – Dimitar Yanakiev (2) (BUL) bt Joonas Korhonen (FIN) 21-9, 21-14
WD – Serena Au Yeong/ Katharina Hochmeir (1) (AUT) bt Tanya Ivanova/ Gergana Pavlova (BUL) 21-15, 21-18
MD – Philip Birker/ Dominik Stipsits (1) bt Anton Monnberg/ Jesper Paul (FIN) 21-19, 14-21, 23-21
For the full results, click
here.