World
No.9 Miguel Rodriguez has won the XII Torneo International PSA Sporta
crown for the second successive year, as he beat Peru’s Diego Elias in
the final.
It was a rematch of last year’s final, in which the ‘Colombian
Cannonball’ overcame the ‘Peruvian Puma’ in straight games.
This was the fourth meeting between the pair, with last year’s final
victory continuing Rodriguez’s 100% record over his fellow South
American.
This time round it was more difficult, as the tournament’s No.2 seed
took the first game on a tie-break, winning it 10-12. Rodriguez fought
back in the second, also winning it on a tie-break, 13-11.
From there on in, it was much easier for Rodriguez to take the victory,
as he won both the third and fourth games to claim the win, and his 29th
title on the PSA World Tour.
It caps an impressive season for the Colombian, who has spent the entire
twelve months in the top ten of the World Rankings. Elias will play in
the CIB PSA World Tour Finals next week, after finishing in the top
eight of the points list this season.
Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez and Peru’s Diego Elias will meet in the
final of the XII Torneo Internacional PSA Sporta for the second year in
succession after they claimed respective semi-final wins over Mexican
duo Cesar Salazar and Alfredo Avila in Guatemala.
Rodriguez,
the defending champion, had beaten Salazar in four games during last
week’s Allam British Open and the World No.9 repeated that scoreline at
Sporta Guatemala, winning 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-5 to book a place in a
39th PSA final.
Elias, the World No.8, recovered from a game down to beat surprise
semi-finalist Avila, winning 3-11, 11-7, 11-7, 12-10.
Avila had shocked No.4 seed Greg Lobban earlier on in the tournament and
took a surprise one game lead against the Peruvian, but Elias recovered
to come out on top in the end, and he will aim to avenge a 3-0 defeat to
Rodriguez in last year’s title decider.
The final will take place on Sunday June 2 at 16:30 (GMT-6).
The semi-finals of the XII Torneo Internacional PSA Sporta will feature
two Mexicans after No.3 seed Cesar Salazar and the unseeded Alfredo
Avila booked their last four spots courtesy of wins over America’s Chris
Hanson and Colombia’s Juan Camilo Vargas, respectively, in Guatemala.
Salazar,
the World No.23, dropped a surprise game against Portugal’s Rui Soares
in the previous round, but had a much easier time of things against No.8
seed Hanson as he cruised to an 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 victory.
Salazar will take on top seed and World No.9 Miguel Rodriguez next in a
repeat of their captivating third round clash at the British Open last
week. Rodriguez, the defending champion, beat Egypt’s Karim El Hammamy
in straight games.
The other semi-final will see Avila go head-to-head with 2018 runner-up
Diego Elias. Avila had shocked fourth seed Greg Lobban in round two, and
picked up where he left off against the Scotsman as he recovered from a
game down to defeat Vargas.
Meanwhile, Elias prevented the semis from featuring a Mexican trio as he
got the better of Salazar’s twin brother, Arturo, winning 11-6, 11-7,
9-11, 11-5.
Mexico’s Alfredo Avila and Colombia’s Juan Camilo Vargas upset the
seedings on day two of the XII Torneo Internacional PSA Sporta PSA World
Tour Bronze event held in Guatemala and will now face each other for a
place in the semi-finals.
World No.72 Avila came from a game down against Scotland’s No.4 seed
Greg Lobban to win 3-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-6 and reach the quarter finals.
Meanwhile, his opposition in the last eight – World No.105 Vargas – also
upset the seedings as he prevailed against Egypt’s No.7 seed Mazen Gamal.
The Colombian was in dominant form against the Egyptian World No.67 to
prevail an 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 winner.
Elsewhere,
top seeds Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez and Peru’s Diego Elias both
prevailed to advance to the quarter finals of the tournament.
Rodriguez was forced to come from a game down against United States’
World No.76 Shahjahan Khan to win 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-6. While, Elias
put in a strong performance against Mexico’s Mario Yanez to prevail in
straight games.
Rodriguez will now face Egypt’s Karim El Hammamy for a place in last
four after the World No.53 prevailed in a five-game thriller with
Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann. Elias, meanwhile, has set up a meeting
with Mexico’s Arturo Salazar after he defeated France’s Victor Crouin in
round two.
The other quarter final will see United States’ Chris Hanson face
Mexico’s Cesar Salazar after they recorded respective wins over France’s
Auguste Dussourd and Portugal’s Rui Soares.
The
first round of the XII Torneo International PSA Sporta saw 16 players
battle it out for a spot in the second round of the tournament in
Guatemala.
Rui Soares’ route into the second round was much tougher than he would
have expected, as he had to come from two games down to beat Canada’s
David Baillargeon.
The World No.109 won the first two games relatively comfortably before
Soares started his comeback. Portugal’s No.1 then won the third and
fourth to take it into a decider, before then winning the fifth to
scrape into the second round.
There was a shock in the first round, as Robert Downer overcame Mexico’s
Alfredo Avila, who is ranked 54 places above the Englishman in the
world.
Downer’s reward is a clash with Scotland’s Greg Lobbam in the second
round, as the only two Brits in the competition go face-to-face this
evening.
Elsewhere, both Shahjahan Khan and Christopher Gordon made sure there
was US interest in the second round, with the former setting up a clash
with No.1 seed Miguel Rodriguez.
There is also a pair of Frenchman through to the last 16, as Auguste
Dussourd and Victor Crouin succeeded against Josue Enriquez and Jesus
Camacho, respectively.
Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann and Mexico’s Mario Yanez are the other
two men into the last 16, the stage of the competition where the seeded
players enter the fray.
Yanez set up a battle with World No.8 Diego Elias, while the Salazar
brothers, Karim El Hammamy, Chris Hanson and Mazen Gamal also start
their campaigns later today.
The
main draw for this month’s XII Torneo Internacional PSA Sporta has been
released with Colombia’s World No.7 Miguel Rodriguez seeded to meet
Peru’s World No.8 Diego Elias in the final of the PSA World Tour Bronze
tournament, when the event takes place between May 29- June 2.
2018 British Open champion Rodriguez is seeded to meet Peru’s Elias in
the final, in what would be a repeat of last year’s ending where
Rodriguez got the better of the Peruvian in straight-games to claim the
title in Guatemala.
Defending champion Rodriguez headlines the tournament and receives a bye
into round two, along with the other top eight seeds, where he will face
either Mexico’s Mario Yanez or Pakistan’s Shahjahan Khan.
The Colombian will also have to navigate a tough side of the draw which
includes the likes of Mexico’s Cesar Salazar, Egypt’s Karim El Hammamy
and United States’ Chris Hanson if he is to defend his crown.
Situated at the opposite end of the draw, Elias will first have to
overcome the challenge of either Egypt’s Mohamed ElSherbini, who has
claimed three titles in 2019, or the Czech Republic’s Martin Svec in
round two if he is to go one better this year and win the trophy.
The Peruvian, who won the Macau Open title last month, also has a tough
route to the final, with Elias on the same side of the draw as the likes
of Scotland’s World No.30 Greg Lobban, Mexico’s World No.45 Arturo
Salazar and Egypt’s World No.67 Mazen Gamal.
Meanwhile home interest Josue Enriquez, from Guatemala City, will face
France’s Auguste Dussourd for a place in the last 16.
Colombia’s World No.7 Miguel Rodriguez will headline the XII Torneo
Internacional PSA Sporta when the PSA Bronze tournament takes place from
May 29- June 2 in Guatemala.
Defending champion Rodriguez will be back in action at this season’s
tournament after claiming last year’s title when he defeated Peru’s
Diego Elias in the final.
The Colombian enjoyed a formidable month in May last year when he
claimed the prestigious 2018 British Open title, before going on to
claim his second successive PSA title at the Sporta Guatemala XI Torneo
Internacional PSA.
This year will see another stellar line-up with Peru’s World No.9 Elias
looking to go one step further than last year, with Mexican twins Cesar
and Arturo Salazar and Scotland’s Greg Lobban also all featuring in the
draw.
They will face tough competition from the likes of Egyptian trio Karim
El Hammamy, Mazen Gamal, Mohamed ElSherbini, United States’ Chris Hanson
and Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann.
Meanwhile, home interest comes in the form of World No.122 Josue
Enriguez, who was born in Guatemala City and will hope to produce a
strong showing at his home event.
Entry List
1. Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
2. Diego Elias (PER)
3. Cesar Salazar (MEX)
4. Greg Lobban (SCO)
5. Arturo Salazar (MEX)
6. Karim El Hammamy (EGY)
7. Mazen Gamal (EGY)
8. Chris Hanson (USA)
9. Dimitri Steinmann (SUI)
10. Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY)
11. Alfredo Avila (MEX)
12. Victor Crouin (FRA)
13. Shahjahan Khan (PAK)
14. Auguste Dussourd (FRA)
15. Christopher Gordon (USA)
16. Rui Soares (POR)
17. Mario Yanez (MEX)
18. Michael McCue (CAN)
19. Jesus Camacho (MEX)
20. Martin Svec (CZE)
21. Juna Camilo Vargas (COL)
22. David Baillargeon (CAN)
23. Josue Enriquez (GUA)
24. Robert Downer (ENG)