Sjövall Suffers Semifinal Defeat in Melbourne FIP Silver Tournament

Finnish Max Sjövall and his Australian partner Dominic Bechard lost their semifinal match on Sunday, 12.1.2025, in the FIP Silver Melbourne tournament. The third-seeded Spanish pair Roberto Belmont and Victor Tur took the match in straight sets with clear scores of 6–1, 6–3.

With the semifinal victory, Belmont and Tur advanced to the final, where they will face another Spanish duo, the fourth-seeded Joel Olivera and Guillem Figuerola, who won their semifinal. The final will be played later on Sunday.

Sjövall and Bechard played two FIP Silver tournaments during their two weeks in Australia. Last week in Sydney, the pair reached the quarterfinals, earning them both 11 FIP ranking points. The semifinal spot in Melbourne added another 22 points to their total.

Before the Australian tournaments, Sjövall was ranked 279th in the FIP ranking (45 points). Two successful tournaments will elevate Sjövall almost 50 places higher, and he will have a total of 78 points in the ranking published next week.

The tournament success gives Sjövall an excellent starting point for the new year and strengthens the Finnish player's position on international courts.