[2] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-1 [1] Victor Crouin (Fra) 11-9, 11-4, 6-11, 12-10 (73m)
Diana Garcia (Mex) 3-1 [2] Nicole Bunyan (Can) 5-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 (46m)
Makin downs top seed Crouin to claim title in Calgary
Wales’ Joel Makin produced a quality performance to defeat top-seed Victor Crouin in four brutal games and claim the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open Bronze event title at Bow Valley Square in Calgary.
From 9-all in the opening game it was second seed Makin who managed to hold his concentration the better and closed out the game 11-9 then raced to a 9-2 lead in the second before doubling his advantage 11-4. Crouin fought back to take the third 11-6 and built a 7-5 lead in the fourth before Makin struck back to earn two match balls at 10-8. Those were saved but Makin took his third opportunity to claim s second World tour title after winning the Manchester Open Silver event last April.
“I’ve had a great week here this week,” said Makin. “There was no hiding place in that match. I had to push hard in that fourth game, Victor has been sharp all week and all season so I’m happy to take that win. I’ve not been in the form I’ve wanted to be in but I was glad to put a week like that together and get a win and get a step in the right direction.
“A massive thank you to the Bow Valley Athletic Club, thanks to Sam Cornett and everyone for organising. I’ve had a great week and thank you for everything.”
In the women’s event unseeded Mexican Diana Garcia completed her spectacular run as she beat second seed Nicole Bunyan in four games.
[1] Victor Crouin (Fra) 3-1 [4] Miguel Rodriguez (Col) 11-3, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11 (85m)
[2] Joel Makin (Wal) 3-0 Leonel Cardenas (Mex) 11-5, 13-11, 11-5 (54m)
Top seeds Crouin & Makin to contest Final In Calgary
Top-seeds Victor Crouin and Joel Makin reached the final of the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open after beating Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas and Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez in challenging semi-finals.
Crouin eased through the first, but Rodriguez struck back to level before the Frenchman got the better of two close games to clinch the victory.
“What can I say? Miguel is unbelievable,” said Crouin. “When you’re on court with Miguel, you just want to have fun. He’s been doing that on court for 20 years. He’s making the fans happy, you all have smiles on your faces when he plays. I’m excited for tomorrow, I am the top seed and my goal was to make the final and win the title. once more step to achieve that, Joel and I are very close in the rankings.”
Makin overcame Mexico’s surprise semi-finalist Leonel Cardenas in straight games, although the Welshman had to fight back from 6-10 down in the second to keep on track.
“He’s been dangerous this week, his signs have been there for the past few months that he’s been playing at a high level,” said Makin. “It’s happening a bit too often, getting behind in the latter stages of games but sometimes that threat of losing the game makes me play better but I stepped it up and took a few more balls on and it was definitely better after that.”
In the BVAC women’s open second seed Nicole Bunyan kept home hopes alive as she beat Marie Stephan in four, while unseeded Mexican Diana Garcia took out another seed as she beat Kaitlyn Watts in straight games.
Quarters : Cardenas Gatecrashes Canadian Men’s Open Semi-Finals
Mexican #1 Leonel Cardenas produced the only upset in the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open quarter finals as he overcame Switzerland’s third seed Nicolas Mueller for the second time this year to reach the Bronze event semi-finals in Calgary.
The 23-year-old Mexican defeated Mueller for the first time just last month at the Houston Open Gold event and was looking to repeat that success to earn a spot in his biggest semi-final to date on the PSA World Tour.
“It feels great. I’m playing good squash and I’m feeling really good on the court this week,” said Cardenas. “I’ll sleep well tonight and maybe use an ice bath to prepare for tomorrow. I’ll prepare some tactical stuff with my coach back in Mexico. Cesar [Salazar] is helping me, he has so much experience and it’s great to have him with me. But, I know tomorrow will be hard, he’s a top player. I know I have to be at my best.”
Cardenas will face Wales’ Joel Makin in the semi-finals after the second seed won an all-British battle with England’s Nick Wall. Despite winning in straight games, the Welshman didn’t have things all his own way and was tested in the opening two games but managed to close them out 11-9, 12-10 before comfortably taking the third game 11-1 to reach his third World Tour semi-final of the season.
The other semi-final will be a match-up between Victor Crouin and Miguel Rodriguez came through their quarter finals both in four games. Fourth seed Rodriguez was involved in a brutal affair with Auguste Dussourd and needed a staggering 101 minutes to defeat the 27-year-old Frenchman.
“Auguste has been playing great this season,” said Rodriguez. “All credit to him. He was putting me under a lot of pressure. He was playing really well today at altitude and on a bouncy court. He had a good strategy against me and I had to really push to win these points. I kept believing in myself, just doing the right things. I used my experience and I think that might have been the key to winning today.”
Top seed Crouin was forced to recover from a game down against the dangerous Mohamed ElSherbini to earn his place in the semi-finals. The top-seeded Frenchman knuckled down after losing the opening game and asserted himself in the middle of the court and used his accurate hitting to the back corners to set up attacking opportunities, which he finished with great style.
In the BVAC women’s open there was also a big Mexican upset as Diana Garcia came from a game down to beat top seed Enora Villard. Garcia meets sixth seeded Kiwi Kaitlyn Watts for a place in the final, with second and third seeds Nicole Bunyan and Marie Stephan meeting in the other semi-final.
Round Two : Wall downs Steinmann to reach quarters
England’s Nick Wall recorded his best victory to date on the PSA World Tour as he overcame Dimitri Steinmann to reach the quarter finals in Calgary.
There were also upset wins for Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas and France’s Auguste Dussourd as they took out fifth and sixth seeds Raphael Kandra and Shahjahan Khan.
Wall now meets second seeded Welshman Joel Makin while Cardenas faces third seed Nicolas Mueller, Dussourd meets fourth seed Miguel Rodrigues while top seed Victor Crouin faces the sole Egyptian in the draw, Mohamed ElSherbini.
In the women’s BVAC Open Diana Garcia and Cheng Nga Ching upset seeds to reach the quarter-finals.
Round One : Salazar survives scare
Mexico’s Cesar Salazar survived a scare in round one of the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open as he needed five games and 67 minutes to overcome wildcard Nick Sachvie to reach the second round of the Bronze event in Calgary.
The only seeding upset of the day came in the all-US match which saw Andrew Douglas prevail over Faraz Khan.
Meanwhile the Women’s $12k event got under way with all the seeded players reaching round two.
