RESULTS:PSA Challenger 5
Charlotte Open, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Galvez
On A Roll In Charlotte
#PSAWorldTour
Mexican veteran Eric Galvez won back-to-back PSA World Tour titles
for the first time in his career when he beat England’s Lewis
Walters in the final of the Charlotte Open, the inaugural PSA
Challenger 5 squash event at Charlotte Squash Club in Charlotte in
the US state of North Carolina.
Seeded three, the 31-year-old from Puebla arrived in North Carolina
direct from New York, where he picked up the Rochester ProAm title,
his first of the year.
Former Mexican number one Galvez rolled back the years in the
Charlotte semi-finals to upset Tom Ford, the 21-year-old top seed
from England, to reach the 28th Tour final of his career.
Walters, the US-based fourth seed from Nottingham, survived an
all-English affair to make the ninth final of his career – needing
more than an hour to see off unseeded Reuben Phillips.
“The final of the Charlotte Open was the longest and most excellent
match of the tournament,” said tournament promoter Connie Barnes.
“The wily Walters and the ‘pirate’ Galvez were gladiators as they
moved around the court - the energy for and from the crowd, most of
whom had not seen a PSA match before, was palpable.”
It was nip and tuck throughout the 97-minute battle which went the
full distance, with Galvez ultimately prevailing in the decider to
win 11-6, 12-14, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8.
“Congratulations to Lewis and thanks to everyone for coming here on
a usual family day,” said Galvez after securing the 13th PSA World
Tour title of his career – and establishing a new career-high
eight-match winning streak. “I hope to see a bigger and better event
next year!”
Walters echoed the Mexican’s thanks to the crowd: “And thanks too to
Eric for the final match, even if he did win! We all hope Connie
will continue putting on these tournaments. Thank also to my
sponsors MB-Nottingham, Salming and Prince Squash.”