The opening day of the 50th Wojciech Fibak Grand Prix was scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM. The first balls were not struck until after 2:30 PM. Despite the delay, all 25 first-round qualifying matches were completed — 15 in the boys’ singles and 10 in the girls’ singles.
The heroes of the day, however, were not the tennis players. They were the court crew. Three times, the technical team brought the courts back to full playing condition, and three times another band of rain undid all their work. Each time, they had to start again from scratch: remove the water, level and roll the surface, and reset the lines.
The court crew were the heroes of the first part of the day. Three times they had the courts ready, only for the rain to return and force them to start all over again
emphasised tournament director Jacek Muzolf.
Play began in stages: at 2:30 PM on Courts 3 and 4, at 3:00 PM on Courts 1, 2 and 5, and at 3:30 PM on Court 6. From that moment on, the tournament made up for lost time without a single minute of downtime.
SEVEN SUPER TIE-BREAKS
One number best illustrates how evenly matched the field was: seven matches were decided by a super tie-break — three in the boys’ competition and four in the girls’. The longest of them was contested by Lidia Filipowicz and seventh seed Nadia Stawowiak. Filipowicz lost the opening set, took the second 6–1 and finally closed out the deciding super tie-break 11–9
The biggest talking point in the boys’ draw was Antoni Szary, who eliminated fourth-seeded Latvian Ralfs Upenieks. After losing the opening set, the Pole won the second without dropping a game and confidently closed out the super tie-break.
There was no shortage of excitement in the all-Polish clash between Dawid Kielb and Łukasz Andrzej Maliszewski either. Fifth seed Kielb won the opening set, lost the second in a tie-break and only pulled away from his opponent for good in the deciding super tie-break.
THE STANDOUT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY
The organisers unanimously selected Wiktoria Szychowska’s match as Monday’s best performance. The AZS Poznań player swept past Switzerland’s Inge Szczepanik, dropping only one game in the entire match. Such a dominant scoreline is rare in qualifying at a tournament of this level.
The second AZS Poznań player through to the next round is second seed Martyna Sikora, who received a first-round bye.
A STRONG DAY FOR THE POLISH CONTINGENT
From the host nation’s perspective, Monday was an excellent day. Ten Polish boys and eight Polish girls advanced to the second round of qualifying — a total of 18 players occupying 32 places across the two draws.
Not everyone made it through, however. Among those eliminated was Franciszek Goerick, who won the opening set against Ulad Dalbusin in a tie-break but eventually lost in the super tie-break. Wanda Kuszak also bowed out after surrendering the opening set to Polina Kutuzova in a tie-break that ended 9–7, while wild card Maja Maksimowicz lost to American Ania Zabost 5–7, 1–6.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
Two more rounds of qualifying remain. Only after they have been completed will we know the four boys and four girls who will earn places in the main draw of the jubilee 50th edition.
One player to watch on Tuesday will be fifth-seeded American Karolina Kriek in the girls’ draw. She is the daughter of Johan Kriek, the two-time Australian Open champion from 1981 and 1982. She received a bye on Monday, so Tuesday will mark her first appearance on court.
The complete order of play and all results are available in the Order of play and Results sections. Everyone currently in Poznań, or planning to visit the city, is warmly invited to support the players at our courts at 25 Noskowskiego Street.
