Marek Manik SVK
5-11, 7-11, 6-11
(6) Bernat Jaume ESP
(7) Yuri Farneti ITA
11-8, 11-5, 11-7
Xavi Blasco ESP
Yuri Farneti
12-14, 9-11, 11-6, 4-11 Ondrej Uherka
Ondrej Uherka
5-11, 5-11, 3-11 Auguste Dussourd
Ondrej Uherka CZE
11-8, 11-5, 11-7
Tomas Toth SVK
Auguste Dussourd FRA
11-7, 11-8, 11-13, 11-4
David Kubicek SVK
Auguste Dussourd
11-8, 11-9, 11-9
Jan Koukal
Enzo Corigliano FRA
7-11, 15-13, 11-13, 11-1, 5-11
(2) Jan Koukal CZE
Fuller
Fells Jaume to Lift IMET Open Title
Top
seeded Englishman Chris Fuller (right) played to his seeding
to capture his first PSA World Tour title in over two years,
beating Spain’s Bernat Jaume in the final of the IMET Open,
PSA M5 event.
Fuller was in devastating form throughout the tournament,
dropping just one game en-route to the semi-final before
sweeping past the promising Daniel Poleshchuk in a superb
performance. Jaume had gone one better, failing to lose a
game although he didn’t meet any seeded players on his way
to the showpiece event.
It was the 20-year-old Spaniard who took a highly-charged
opener which saw both players push each other to the limits
as the rallies hit all four corners of the court with
regularity. Jaume eventually rose to claim a one-game
advantage courtesy of some fine winners that put Fuller
under pressure.
The Englishman recovered though in the second and third.
Despite being dogged by a tenacious Jaume throughout, Fuller
managed to keep his opponent at arm’s length and took both
games without reply to establish a lead for the first time
in the encounter.
Game four was again a hard-fought battle but it was to be
Fuller who eventually made the breakthrough, completing an
11-13, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 victory to earn his second career
PSA World Tour crown.
The main draw of the IMET Open, PSA M5 event begins on Friday
December 11 and sees a multi-national draw battle it out for honours
in Bratislava, Slovakia.
England’s Chris Fuller is the title favourite and is on the hunt for
his first PSA World Tour silverware since November 2013.
The 25-year-old has had a promising year and has reached five PSA
World Tour finals but Fuller has been unable to convert those final
appearances in to titles thus far, missing out narrowly with four of
those matches going all the way to five games.
If he is at the top of his game, Fuller will be a force to be
reckoned with in the latter stages of the event and he lines up
against compatriot Richard Williams in the opening round.
Defending champion Jan Koukal is also one of the players most likely
to take the title and he will be hoping to add to the 33 PSA World
Tour titles he has won throughout his career, a figure that has put
him joint third on the list of current PSA World Tour title winners.
Koukal, who has won this tournament on three occasions, gets his
tournament off to a start against a qualifier and could face
Frenchman Auguste Dussourd in round two if both players win.
Israel’s Daniel Poleshchuk meanwhile will be hoping to channel the
form that has seen him lift both the Global Relocations Israel Open
and the LOC Charing Cross Classic earlier this year.
He dropped out of his last event at the quarter-final stage due to
injury but will be hoping to stay fit when he meets Sam Ellis in the
opening round.
Manuel Wanner is a dark horse for the crown and recently reached the
semi-final of the Airport Xmas Challenger before losing out in
straight games to Benjamin Fischer. Wanner is yet to claim a PSA
World Tour title but could have a strong run if he plays to his
potential. He does battle with Emyr Evans for a place in the second
round.
