Men’s $30k PSA Copper, 29 Sep – 03 Oct, USA
Final: Said finally stopped by Brownell
[1] Timothy Brownell (USA) 3-1 Omar Said (EGY) 12-10, 16-14, 10-12, 11-7 (68m)
USA’s Timothy Brownell scored the fifth PSA title of his career yesterday as he successfully defended the Charlottesville Open title at the Boars Head Resort.
Brownell faced unseeded Omar Said for the title. Said had taken down No.2 seed Sam Todd in the semi-finals, in a five-game thriller and may have been feeling the effects in the final. But showed no sign of fatigue as the match commenced.
Brownell opened with a 6-1 lead in game one, which quickly turned to 10-4, showing the form that saw him defeat 2024 World Champion Diego Elias in the recent Qatar Classic. Said came roaring back, however, winning six points in a row to force a tiebreak. Brownell regrouped and took the game 12-10 to lead 1-0.
The second game was much more nip and tuck throughout; Brownell again held game balls but was pegged back by Said. Another tiebreak coming up. It wasn’t as straightforward for Brownell this time but he eventually took it 16-14 to double his lead.
Game three was Said’s turn to win a tiebreak, taking the game 12-10 to breathe more life in the contest.
Brownell bounced back in the following game and controlled it from the outset, running through to win the game 11-7. Securing a fifth PSA title of his career and second successive win at the Charlottesville Open.
Semis: Said creates an upset
[1] Timothy Brownell (USA) 3-1 Tom Walsh (ENG) 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 (52m)
Omar Said (EGY) 3-2 [2] Sam Todd (ENG) 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 (75m)
Unseeded Egyptian Omar Said scored a big upset win in the semi-finals of the Charlottesville Open after the 22-year-old downed No.2 seed Sam Todd in five games at Boars Head Resort.
Said, the current World No.102, had already knocked out No.4 seed Salma Khalil and No.7 seed Rowan Damming on his way to the semi-finals, and he continued his sublime form with a 6-11, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8 win over the World No.34.
After seeing Todd force a decider from 2-1 down, momentum seemed to be in the Englishman’s hands as he raced into a quickfire 3-0 lead in the fifth game. However, Said recovered to clinch the fifth game 11-8 and advance to the final after 75 minutes of play.
The Egyptian will face top seed Timothy Brownell in the final after he came from a game behind to end the run of Tom Walsh.
The defending champion, who was forced to save three match balls during his quarter-final contest against Finnlay Withington, made more clinical work of his match-up with World No.71 Walsh, moving through to a 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 victory after 52 minutes of play.
