Home favourite Suljovic through as Smith and Van Barneveld exit Austrian Open
Mensur Suljovic progressed through to the second round on home soil as he dumped Cameron Menzies out of the Austrian Darts Open on Friday.The Austrian delighted his adoring crowd with a ruthless display, pinning 75 per cent of his attempts at double to celebrate a resounding 6-2 victory.
Suljovic made a semi-final and a quarter-final during this week's ProTour double-header in Hildesheim, and he built on that momentum to set up a showdown against third seed James Wade in the second round.
Image:
Michael Smith suffered a disappointing first-round defeat in Austria
Ian White claimed a major scalp in the form of 2023 world champion Michael Smith, running out a 6-4 victor to set up a meeting against Daryl Gurney for a place in the last 16.Dave Chisnall was another high-profile casualty on Friday evening, losing 6-3 to Spain's Cristo Reyes.
Elsewhere, Peter Wright swept aside Austrian veteran Zoran Lerchbacher 6-2 to register his first European Tour victory in 2026, which sees him through to face defending champion Martin Schindler on Saturday.
Alan Soutar also triumphed 6-2, seeing off a dismal display from Raymond van Barneveld.
Image:
Raymond van Barneveld was dumped out in the first round by Alan Soutar
There were mixed fortunes elsewhere among the Dutch contingent in Graz, with Dirk van Duijvenbode succumbing at the expense of Latvia's Madars Razma, despite averaging over a ton in defeat.Razma's reward is a clash against top seed Gian van Veen, while Niels Zonneveld will face last year's runner-up Ross Smith after piling in a magical 135 checkout to sink James Hurrell in a decider.Kevin Doets also impressed, averaging 99 to dump out his quick-fire compatriot Chris Landman, having celebrated his maiden PDC ranking title at Players Championship 11 on Monday.Earlier in the day, Niko Springer landed a trio of ton-plus checkouts - including a fabulous 167 - to seal a 6-3 victory over Nick Kenny, and Wessel Nijman now awaits the German in a fascinating tussle.However, Springer's fellow countrymen Gabriel Clemens and Ricardo Pietreczko crashed out at the first hurdle, losing out to Ryan Joyce and Hungarian qualifier Patrik Kovacs respectively.Poland Krzysztof Ratajski came through a stiff test against Aaron Hardy to set up a blockbuster showdown against three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen on Saturday, who will be among the star attractions on day two in Graz.2026 Austrian Darts Open schedule/resultsFriday May 8Round OneAfternoon SessionRyan Joyce 6-3 Gabriel ClemensPatrik Kovacs 6-4 Ricardo PietreczkoNiels Zonneveld 6-5 James HurrellAndrew Gilding 6-4 Nick ZwittniggWilliam O'Connor 6-3 Anton OstlundKrzysztof Ratajski 6-3 Aaron HardyNiko Springer 6-3 Nick KennyKevin Doets 6-3 Chris LandmanEvening SessionCristo Reyes 6-3 Dave ChisnallRob Owen 6-5 Joe CullenKim Huybrechts 6-3 Karel SedlacekPeter Wright 6-2 Zoran LerchbacherAlan Soutar 6-2 Raymond van BarneveldMensur Suljovic 6-2 Cameron MenziesMadars Razma 6-4 Dirk van DuijvenbodeIan White 6-4 Michael SmithSaturday May 9Round TwoAfternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)Jermaine Wattimena v Andrew GildingMike De Decker v Ryan JoyceRob Cross v William O'ConnorRyan Searle v Kevin DoetsRoss Smith v Niels ZonneveldDamon Heta v Cristo ReyesLuke Woodhouse v Rob OwenChris Dobey v Kim HuybrechtsEvening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)Daryl Gurney v Ian WhiteJosh Rock v Patrik KovacsJames Wade v Mensur SuljovicMichael van Gerwen v Krzysztof RatajskiDanny Noppert v Alan SoutarGian van Veen v Madars RazmaMartin Schindler v Peter WrightWessel Nijman v Niko SpringerSunday May 10Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)Round ThreeEvening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)Quarter-FinalsSemi-FinalsFinal
