Draw – Final Qualifying Round [1] Eleanor Epke (NZL) v [7] Xisela Aranda (ESP)
[5] Jasmin Ballmann (SUI) v [4] Julie Rossignol (FRA)
[3] Nadia Pfister (SUI) v [8] Marta Latorre Ramirez (ESP)
[L] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) v [2] Marina de Juan Gallach (ESP)
Indian World No.65 Mahesh Mangaonkar lifted his first PSA World Tour
title since 2014 after coming through a dramatic five-game affair
against defending champion and number three seed Kristian Frost
Olesen in the final of the Sekisui Open, PSA M15 tournament.
Mangaonkar, who hails from Mumbai, was superb throughout the event
and dropped just one game, against German second seed Raphael Kandra,
on his way to the showpiece finale. Olesen, who defeated Tom Ford in
last year’s final, was also in strong form from the outset of the
tournament and, a tense battle against top seed Greg Lobban in the
semi-final aside, earned his place in the final fairly comfortably.
Mangaonkar prevailed in a long and hard-fought opening game which he
took on the tie-break after a succession of gruelling rallies.
The next three games saw the unrelenting action continue unabated
with intense, fast pace shots being hit with skill and power by both
competitors. The lead changed hands multiple times with Olesen
taking two of the three games by the narrowest of margins to set up
a deciding fifth game.
Mangaonkar had already relinquished his lead on two occasions but a
determined display in the final game saw him edge ahead to close out
a 12-10, 7-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-8 victory, claiming his fifth PSA
World Tour title in the process.
"Finally, I’ve won a PSA title after a year of brutal losing,"
Mangaonkar said on social media.
"I’m happy with the result and the performance but the work is still
in progress."
South Africa’s Alexandra Fuller captured a maiden PSA World Tour
title in the final of the Women’s Sekisui Open, PSA W5 tournament
after a 3-1 victory over number three seed Chloe Mesic in Kriens,
Switzerland.
Fuller went up against tournament surprise package Xisele Aranda in
the previous round and, despite Aranda causing the biggest upset of
the event when she defeated top seed Cyrielle Peltier, Fuller
remained strong to defeat the Spaniard and seal her spot in the
final. Meanwhile, Mesic defeated Jasmin Ballmann, Birgit Coufal and
Sina Wall to set up a showdown with Fuller.
The opening game was a tightly contested affair with both players
moving each other around court well as they looked to seize the
initiative. Fuller took the first game 11-8 but soon found herself
pegged back by a resurgent Mesic in game two.
From there, Fuller upped her game magnificently, with Mesic
struggling to keep up with the pace and expert shot-making that the
World No.70 was exhibiting.
As a result, Fuller motored to the victory, dropping just five
points in the final two games to record an 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 11-1
triumph.
Spanish qualifier Xisela Aranda came up with the greatest win of her
career in the first round of the Sekisui Open, PSA W5 tournament
after a stunning 3-2 win over number one seed Cyrielle Peltier.
An excellent start to the match from World No.171 Aranda put her on
the brink of victory but Peltier came storming back to level things
up and send the tie into a climactic fifth game. Aranda wasn’t done
there though and, as Peltier failed to carry her momentum into the
decider, she took advantage to complete an intense 11-8, 11-9, 9-11,
6-11, 11-3 victory.
“Today, I've won one of the most important matches of my life,” said
Aranda.
“She is a really good player but I knew that I can do it. To beat
the number one seed and a player that is ranked 57th in the world
rankings is very important for me. I'm really happy because I can
continue playing the tournament.”
Up next for Aranda is a quarter-final fixture against Latvia’s Ineta
Mackevica who eliminated Nadiia Usenko in another of the day’s
surprising results.
Czech Republic player Anna Klimundova only arrived in Switzerland on
the day of the first round action but showed no signs of fatigue
from the travelling as she overcame English qualifier Rachael
Chadwick. Klimundova dropped the opener but fought back in the next
three games to progress and set up a quarter-final fixture with
second seed Sina Wall, who defeated Marija Shpakova.
Elsewhere in the draw, number six seed Birgit Coufal overcame Milnay
Louw in five and she will line up against Chloe Mesic after the
Frenchwoman dispatched Jasmin Ballmann, while Alexandra Fuller and
Enora Villard will go head-to-head in the other quarter-final.
Fuller saw off Marta Latorre Ramirez and wildcard Cindy Merlo was
put to the sword by Villard.
World No.104 Geoffrey Demont bridged a large gap in the world
rankings to take out number four seed Ivan Yuen in the second round
of the Sekisui Open, PSA M15 tournament and secure his place in the
last eight.
The Frenchman, who has achieved both a runner-up and a semi-final
finish in his last two PSA World Tour events, lost out in the pair’s
only previous fixture back in 2012 but put in a mature display as he
recovered from a game down to claim a 9-11, 11-7, 15-13, 11-9
victory over the World No.63.
“I’m so happy to win that one,” said Demont.
“Last time we played I lost 13-11 in the fifth game with a match
ball so I was expecting a tough game and it was. I feel I made too
many mistakes but I still got the win and that is what matters the
most today.”
Demont will face off with Australia’s Joshua Larkin for a place in
the semi-final after Larkin followed up a fine opening round win
over Piedro Schweertman with a strong display against Hong Kong’s
Tang Ming Hong.
South Africa’s Tristan Eysele is the only qualifier to remain in the
tournament after he upset Reiko Peter with a stunning comeback from
2-0 down. Eysele was on the ropes early on after four-time PSA World
Tour title winner Peter built up a seemingly unassailable lead to
take the opening two games, but Eysele came back from the brink to
edge to victory in the next three games, sealing his spot in the
next round. Defending champion Kristian Frost Olesen is set to meet
Eysele in the last eight after the Dane overcame Dimitri Steinmann.
Edmon Lopez Moller, the World No.136, caused the day’s other big
upset with an impressive straight games triumph over eighth seed
Evan Williams, a player ranked 47 places above him. An even tougher
fixture against title favourite Greg Lobban beckons for Moller in
the quarter-final after the Scotsman dispatched Czech qualifier
Daniel Mekbib.
There were also wins for second seed Raphael Kandra and number five
seed Mahesh Mangaonkar who will do battle for a place in the last
four after they prevailed over Mark Fuller and Bernat Jaume,
respectively.
Number one qualifying seed Eleanor Epke advanced through to the
final qualifying round of the 2016 Women’s Sekisui Open, PSA W5
tournament after a superb display against Elise Romba enabled her to
take the win with a 3-0 triumph.
Epke took the opening two games fairly comfortably but was pushed
all the way by a resilient Romba in the third game. That still
wasn’t enough though to prevent Epke walking away with a 11-8, 11-6,
12-10 victory which has put her within one win of reaching only the
fourth PSA World Tour main draw of her career.
The New Zealander is set to face Xisela Aranda in the next round
after the Spaniard dispatched Simona Frevel in the previous round,
dropping just four points in a one-sided contest.
Joining Epke in the final round of qualifying is Marina de Juan
Gallach after she downed Eva Fertekova in straight games. Gallach
overcame some early resistance from Fertekova to power to victory
and set up a next round meeting with England’s Rachael Chadwick who
defeated Tereza Svobodova.
Meanwhile, home player Nadia Pfister overturned a 1-0 deficit
against Sarah Ludin to progress to the next round. Pfister will come
up against Marta Latorre Ramirez after the number eight qualifying
seed beat Farah Momen.
Julie Rossignol and Jasmin Ballmann will contest the other fixture
in the final round of qualifying after they achieved respective wins
against Nadine Frey and Ambre Allinckx.
Wanner
Secures Sekisui Open Main Draw Berth In Switzerland
#PSAWorldTour
Switzerland’s Manuel Wanner sealed his spot in the main draw of the
Sekisui Open, PSA M15 tournament with a straight games triumph over
compatriot Christoph Zust on home soil in the final round of
qualifying.
The 20-year-old World No.166 nearly went behind early on after a
fearless display from Zust almost saw him take the opening game, but
Wanner closed it out on the tie-break and moved on to take the next
two games without reply and wrap up a 12-10, 11-5, 11-6 victory.
“It was a great performance by Christoph,” said Wanner.
“I had to dig in deep in the first game, then he luckily gave some
points away with a few errors. I’m looking forward to playing
tomorrow.”
Wanner’s opponent in the first round of the main draw will be Bernat
Jaume, the Spanish 20-year-old who reached the final of the IMET
Open three months ago on his last PSA World Tour appearance.
Dimitri Steinmann was the other Swiss player to progress through
qualifying to reach the main draw after he comfortably saw off the
challenge of Frenchman Enzo Corigliano. Corigliano looked to be
suffering from an illness and Steinmann took full advantage to claim
the win for the loss of just five points throughout the whole
encounter. An all-Swiss fixture against Benjamin Fischer awaits
Steinmann in the next round.
Elsewhere, second qualifying seed Martin Svec reached the main draw
after a titanic tussle against Victor Crouin saw the man from the
Czech Republic prevail in five games to set up a tie against the
experienced Englishman Mark Fuller.
South Africa’s Tristan Eysele was another victor in the final
qualifying round and his victory over Jakob Dirnberger sees the
World No.204 through to face Zust in the main draw after Zust
benefitted from lucky loser status thanks due to some main draw
withdrawals.
Qualifying
Commences In Sekisui Open
#PSAWorldTour
Swiss World No.166 Manuel Wanner secured his place in the final
qualifying round of the 2016 Sekisui Open, PSA M15 tournament after
a comfortable 3-0 victory over Spain’s Aitor Zunzunegui.
Wanner controlled proceedings to wrap up a 12-10, 11-3, 11-6 triumph
and put himself within a single win of reaching the main draw.
He will line up against compatriot Christoph Zust in the final round
of qualifying after Zust also defeated Spanish competition with a
3-2 win against Xavi Blasco.
Martin Svec is also through to the next round after a strong
performance against Roman Allinckx saw him take the win in straight
games. Svec surged to a two-game lead after a dominant display early
on and he fended off a late revival from Allinckx to seal the
victory and set up a meeting with France’s Victor Crouin who
dispatched England’s Miles Jenkins.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s Brian Byrne fell to a shock defeat against
Dimitri Steinmann who bridged a 64-place gap in the world rankings
to battle to supremacy courtesy of a 3-0 triumoh. Steinmann’s final
qualifying round opponent, Enzo Corigliano, beat local player Cedric
Kuchen to advance.
World No.204 Tristan Eysele was also in action and he managed to
down Jan Kurzmeyer in four games. Eysele will go head-to-head
Austria’s Jakob Dirnberger for a place in the main draw after the
Vienna-based 35-year-old saw off Luca Wilhelmi.
