Men & Women $6k PSA Challengers, 25-29 Jun, Gibraltar
Finals
Finals day saw two exciting line-ups in the Gibraltar PSA Squash Open.
First up in the Women’s draw, England’s Amelie Haworth faced South Africa’s Hayley Ward, both players are improving in the world rankings but with Ward currently ranking 100 places higher in the world at 81, Haworth needed to be on her best game.
Ward started more consistently and built up a small lead inn the first game, but Haworth slowly closed the gap to draw level at 9-9 and went on to close the first game 11-9. Ward started the second stronger, building a 6-3 lead. Better consistency saw Ward continue to pile the points on, winning the game 11-5 to level the tie.
The third game saw Ward keeping the pressure on Haworth building a 6-0 lead, Haworth recovered to 6-9 and fought off two game balls before Ward finished the game to take a 2-1 lead. The fourth again saw Ward develop the lead, but this time Haworth could not respond, Ward taking the game and the title 3-1 (9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3).
The men’s final saw French number one seed Brice Nicolas take on Canada’s Karim Aguib.
The Canadian, who has been rising through the rankings, faced his toughest opponent of the tournament so far, Nicolas, ranking 80 places higher in the world rankings.
Nicolas started strongly, developing a faultless 7-0 lead. Aguib recovered well to 8-9, but Nicolas re-asserted himself to take the first game 11-9. Nicolas kept the pressure on in the second to earn a 6-2 lead, but Aguib had no answer this time, Nicolas winning the game 11-2.
A tighter start to the third saw the players exchange points to 5-5, but Nicolas again opened a gap to take the next 6 points, the game, the match and the championship.
READ THE FULL
GILBRALTAR CHRONICLE ARTICLE
Round One
The Gibraltar Squash Association together with GibYellow and Anglo Hispano hosted the annual Gibraltar Open. Featuring World top 100 players Hayley Ward (RSA) and Brice Nicolas (FRA), the players compete over 5 rounds at Europa Sports Park for the title.
With the top seeds receiving byes for the first round, the remaining players played for the opportunity to gain a spot in the second round. In the Men’s draw, 8 matches were played with Joshua Phinera (FRA), Ryan Gwidzima (ZIM) and Valentin Rapp (GER) all booking their the spots in the second round with 3-0 wins against their respective opponents in the afternoon session. Manuel Paquemar (FRA) took an extra game to defeat his Czech opponent Adam Sinkule 3-1.
In the Women’s draw, Gibraltar regular Siena Hall (ESP) looked to progress against Sanika Choudhari (IND) but the Indian was too strong for Hall, with Choudhari progressing to the second round.
In the evening session, Karim Aguib (CAN) and Jared Carter (ENG) were the only two to sail through to the next round in three games. Victor Reguera (ESP) took 4 games to overcome higher ranked compatriot Nilo Vidal (ESP), whilst Hugo Jaen took 65 minutes and 5 games to overcome Mateo Restrepo (COL) in the longest game of the day. Jaen recovering from a 2-1 deficit to win the match 3-2.
In the Women’s draw, Irune Peinado (ESP) faced Siana Zhileva (BUL) to decide the final slot in the second round. Zhileva, however, was too strong for the Spaniard and won the game in 3 straight games.
