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Lorient Open 2022

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Lorient Open 2022
Men's Draw
04 - 07 MAY
Lorient, France, $6k

ROUND TWO
04 MAY
QUARTERS
05 MAY
SEMIS
 06 MAY
FINAL
07 MAY

[1] Ivan Perez (ESP)
12-10, 11-7, 11-9 (50m)
Abhay Singh (IND)

Abhay Singh
11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 10-12, 11-8 (64m)
Ben Smith
Abhay Singh
7-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 11-5 (55m)
Yannick Wilhelmi
Abhay Singh
11-6, 14-16, 9-11,
11-9, 16-14 (95m)
 Robin Gadola
Ben Smith (ENG)
11-7, 11-6, 11-1 (29m)
[6] Joeri Hapers (BEL)
[8] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA)
17-15, 4-11, 11-8, 11-6 (60m)
Joel Arscott (NZL)
Toufik Mekhalfi
11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10 (52m)
Yannick Wilhelmi
[4] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI)
11-9, 11-6, 11-2 (31m)
Roshan Bharos (NED)
James Peach (ENG)
11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (27m)
[3] Valentin Rapp (GER)
James Peach
11-6, 11-8, 11-4 (33m)
 Robin Gadola
 Robin Gadola
11-3, 11-3, 1-1 ret. (21m)
Daniel Poleshchuk
[5] Robin Gadola (SUI)
11-3, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6 (39m)
Elliott Morris Devred (WAL)
[7] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR)
11-6, 11-7, 11-5 (32m)
Fergus Richards (SCO)
Daniel Poleshchuk
13-11, 5-11, 10-12, 11-9, 10-6 rtd (85m)
Curtis Malik
Edwin Clain (FRA)
11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (36m)
[2] Curtis Malik (ENG)

ROUND ONE

Abhay Singh (IND) bt Baptiste Bouin (FRA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-6 (21m)
Ben Smith (ENG) bt Manu Paquemar (FRA) 3-1: 11-2, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9 (40m)
Joel Arscott (NZL) bt Laszlo Godde (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-2 (29m)
Roshan Bharos (NED) bt Pablo Dolz (ESP) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (35m)
James Peach (ENG) bt Perry Malik (ENG) 3-2: 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5 (57m)
Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) bt Alasdair Prott (SCO) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 12-10 (31m)
Fergus Richards (SCO) bt Quint Mandil (FRA) 3-1: 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-2 (37m)
Edwin Clain (FRA) bt Laouenan Loaec (FRA) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 (23m)

REPORTS

Singh Wins First Title After Monster Final



The Archi Factory Open Lorient came to its conclusion on Saturday evening, with India’s Abhay Singh winning in five games for the third successive day to claim his first Tour title, taking the victory after a 95-minute final over Switzerland’s Robin Gadola.

Singh came into the Challenger 5 level tournament unseeded, and started the week with a victory over the top seed, Ivan Perez, before then going on to defeat England’s Ben Smith in his first five-game encounter for the week, holding off a comeback from his opponent before claiming the deciding game.

His semi-final encounter also went to five, as he came up against Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi for a place in the final. He found himself behind after the third game, but fought back to win both the fourth and fifth games to take the victory, and set up a meeting with another Swiss player in the final.

The final saw Singh take on Switzerland’s Robin Gadola for the title, and the match lasted a whopping 95 minutes. The Indian took the first game comfortably, before losing the second on a lengthy tie-break 16-14. After going behind for the first time, he fought back to win the fourth, before both men had match balls in the deciding game, with Singh eventually coming out on top in another 16-14 score line to lam his maiden Tour title.
 
Singh And Gadola To Meet In Final

The semi-finals of the Archi Factory Open Lorient took place on Friday evening in Larmor Plage, France, with the unseeded Abhay Singh causing another upset to make his way into the final, where he will play Switzerland’s No.5 seed Robin Gadola.

In the last four of the Challenger 5 level competition, the Indian came up against No.4 seed Yannick Wilhelmi, and he fell behind to the Swiss player twice in the contest. A day after having to go the distance against Englishman Ben Smith, Singh went all the way to five once more, and he came out on top again, winning in 55 minutes to book his spot in the final of the tournament.

The World No.152 will face Switzerland’s Robin Gadola, the tournament’s No.5 seed, in the final on Saturday evening at Top Form Squash & Fitness, after the Swiss man overcame Israeli Daniel Poleshchuck in straight games. He won the first two games to the loss of just six points in total, before the Israeli had to retire from the contest through injury early in the third game.

The final between Singh and Gadola will take place on Friday evening at Top Form Squash & Fitness in Larmor Plage, France, with the action being streamed live on the club’s Facebook page.
Semis Set In Larmor Plage

The quarter finals of the Archi Factory Open Lorient took place on Thursday evening in Larmor Plage, France, with more surprise results coming at Top Form Squash & Fitness.

The day stated with a battle between two unseeded players, as India’s Abhay Singh and Englishman Ben Smith went toe-to-toe for more than an hour. The Indian took the first two games, both by an 11-8 scoreline, but saw Smith fight back to level the match, after taking the fourth game on a tie-break. However, it was Singh who eventually came through to win after 64 minutes on court, taking the fifth 11-8 to win 3-2.

He will now face Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi, after the tournament’s No.4 seed got the better of No.8 seed Toufik Mekhalfi in a four game battle. The pair were level after two games, and both the third and fourth were tight contests, but it was the Swiss player who came out on top in both, and by a scoreline of 12-10 in the fourth, to advance to the semi-finals.

The big surprise of the day saw Israeli No.1, and the tournament’s No.7 seed, Daniel Poleshchuk, get the better of No.2 seed Curtis Malik after a marathon 85 minute battle. After winning the first on a tie-break, the Israeli found himself 2-1 down, but fought back to win the fourth 11-9 to send the match into a decider. He then led 10-6 before Malik had to retire with injury, sending the No.7 seed through to the semis.

Poleshchuk will now take on Switzerland’s Robin Gadola in the last four of the competition, after he defeated England’s James Peach in the only three-game contest of the day, winning 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 in 33 minutes.

The semi-finals of the Archi Factory Open Lorient will be held on Friday, May 6, with the last four men standing battling it out to reach the finals of the Challenger 5 level competition.

 
Singh, Smith And Peach Cuase Upsets

There were a trio of upsets to end the opening’s day action at the Archi Factory Open Lorient, with India’s Abhay Singh and the English duo of James Peach and Ben Smith all knocking out higher-ranked players to reach the last eight of the Challenger 5 level tournament.

After beating Frenchman Baptiste Bouin in his first match of the day, Indian Abhay Singh took on the tournament’s top seed, Spaniard Ivan Perez, for a place in the quarter finals. The Indian was able to win in three games, with a first game tie-break crucial to keep the momentum in his favour. He won 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 in 50 minutes to book his place in the last eight.

Singh will now face another unseeded player in the quarters, in Englishman Ben Smith, after he downed Belgian No.1, and the event’s No.6 seed, Joeri Hapers, in straight games. The young Englishman spent less than half an hour on court in his second round match, winning in three to advance to the last eight of the competition.

Another Englishman, in James Peach, was the third man to cause an upset in the second round of the Challenger 5 level tournament, as he defeated Germany’s Valentin Rapp, the No.3 seed, in straight games. He spent just 27 minutes on court to book his place in the last eight, where he will now face Switzerland’s Robin Gadola.

The quarter finals of the Archi Factory Open Lorient will take place on Thursday, May 5, with the last eight going head-to-head for places in the semi-finals of the competition.
 
Archi Factory Open Lorient: Tournament Preview

The sole Challenger Tour event to take place on European soil this week will be the Archi Factory Open Lorient, which will be held at Top Form Squash & Fitness in Larmor Plage, France from Wednesday, May 4 to Saturday, May 7.

Spain’s Ivan Perez will be the top seed for the Challenger 5 level tournament, but it will be World No.91 Curtis Malik who will be the highest-ranked player in the tournament, and the Englishman will be the No.2 seed.

Germany’s Valentin Rapp, the Swiss pairing of Yannick Wilhelmi and Robin Gadola, Belgian No.1 Joeri Hapers, Israeli No.1 Daniel Poleshchuk and Frenchman Toufik Mekhalfi make up the remainder of the top eight seeds for the competition.

Mekhalfi will be the leading Frenchman in action, with Edwin Clain, Manu Paquemar, Laouenan Loaec, Quint Mandil and Baptiste Bouin all flying the flag for the home nation.

The event takes place from Wednesday, May 4 to Saturday, May 7 at Top Form Squash & Fitness in Larmor Plage, France. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.