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13/05/2016
IG Open de Paris 2016

 

REPORTS

 

Latest

 

DRAW

IG Open de Paris 2016
09-15 May
Paris, France, $25k
Round One
11 may
Quarters
12 may
Semis
13 may
Final
14 may
[1] Chris Simpson (ENG)
11-8, 7-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9 (87m)
Joe Lee (ENG)
Chris Simpson
11-8, 11-8, 12-10 (50m)
Lucas Serme
Chris Simpson
11/7 11/9 11/9 (62m)
Paul Coll
Chris Simpson
11-8, 11-8, 11-4 (50m)
Declan James
[WC] Baptiste Masotti (FRA)
5-11, 11-8, 11-2, 5-0 ret. (60m)
[7] Lucas Serme (FRA)
[5] Paul Coll (NZL)
6-11, 11-6, 6-11, 12-10, 11-5 (85m)
Charles Sharpes (ENG)
Paul Coll
11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 14-12, 11-5 (110m)
Alan Clyne
Todd Harrity (USA)
11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6 (51m)
[4] Alan Clyne (SCO)
[3] Adrian Waller (ENG)
9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-7 (57m)
[Q] Tom Ford (ENG)
Adrian Waller
11-6, 11-13, 12-10, 11-9 (85m)
Declan James
Declan James
11/7, 8/11, 11/7, 3/11, 13/11 (65m)
Nicolas Mueller
[Q] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND)
9-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-3 (80m)
[8] Declan James (ENG)
[6] Greg Lobban (SCO)
11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 14-12 (70m)
[Q] Richie Fallows (ENG)
Greg Lobban
11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-4 (48m)
Nicolas Mueller
[Q] Geoffrey Demont (FRA)
9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-6 (55m)
[2] Nicolas Mueller (SUI)

Qualifying


Results – Final Qualifying Seed: IG Open de Paris 2016
[1] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [8] Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) 3-2: 6-11, 11-9, 11-3, 10-12, 12-10 (79m)
[3] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt [7] Christophe Andre (FRA) 3-2: 4-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5 (60m)
[6] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) bt [4] Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 12-14, 11-8, 11-7 (80m)
[2] Tom Ford (ENG) bt Victor Crouin (FRA) 3-1: 11-2, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 (45m)
 

 

REPORTS

Simpson Prevails in Open de Paris Final

World No.22 Chris Simpson ended his season on a high after overcoming compatriot Declan James with a masterful performance in the final of the IG Open de Paris, PSA M25 tournament to claim his second PSA World Tour title of the season.

Simpson was in excellent form in the buildup to the final and, after narrowly avoiding a first round exit at the hands of Joe Lee, powered past both of last year’s finalists, Lucas Serme and Paul Coll, to seal his place in the showpiece final.

Meanwhile, James, the World No.39, was contesting his second successive PSA World Tour final after reaching the same stage at the GillenMarkets Irish Squash Open just a few weeks previously and achieved his final berth after an impressive 3-2 win over second seed Nicolas Mueller.

Simpson was highly accurate and consistent throughout the 50-minute final against an opponent making his first ever appearance in a PSA M25 final after a breakthrough season which has seen him win four PSA World Tour titles.

However, James could do little to prevent Simpson from overpowering him and the man from Guernsey duly took the win in straight games, with an 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 victory yielding the 10th PSA World Tour crown of Simpson’s career.

"Every match has been different this week," said Simpson.

"After a few rallies, I saw that Declan was a bit tired and not moving as well as usual, but that’s when he can be the most dangerous. My focus was to stay disciplined and to extend the rallies, even when I had opportunities, and it paid off. Winning two 25k tournaments was actually one of my main goals this season.

"I am very happy to win here in this unique club and also because the depth of the draw was quite phenomenal. I can’t wait to come back and take a picture next to the wall with my name on it.”

James was magnanimous in defeat, saying: "I lost to a better player. Chris doesn’t give you anything and I couldn’t hurt him. But I am still very happy with my week, it's been a mini-breakthrough for me.

"It gives me motivation to work even harder".
 
Coll Comes Back From Brink To Defeat Clyne In Paris

#PSAWorldTour

Defending champion Paul Coll overturned a two-game deficit and saved two match balls to record a stunning victory over Scotland’s Alan Clyne in the quarter-final of the IG Open de Paris – setting up a semi-final clash with top seed Chris Simpson in the process.

New Zealander Coll, who conquered Frenchman Lucas Serme in last year’s final, came through a dramatic five-game thriller against England’s Charles Sharpes in the previous round and was forced into another gargantuan encounter by World No.35 Clyne.

Both players faced off in an enthralling battle, with a mix of attritional and high-octane rallies lighting up the court in front of a captivated crowd. After going 2-1 up, Clyne found himself with two match balls, but was unable to convert as a determined Coll charged round court to make a number of stunning retrievals. The 24-year-old duly levelled things up before surging to victory in game five to bring an end to a gruelling 110-minute spectacle.

He is set to face England’s Chris Simpson – the man who he lost to in last month’s El Gouna International – in the next round after the man from Guernsey saw off Serme in straight games.

“I’m happy I managed to play better than yesterday, I backed up well,” said Coll

“It was a physical match with some very long rallies. I was more aggressive at the beginning of the fifth because I knew the player who would take the initiative was likely to get on top. It’s not my usual game so maybe I took him by surprise.

“Now it’s time to recover before tomorrow’s match. It’d be nice to have a shot at getting my revenge against Chris.”

England’s Declan James recorded a superb win over third seeded compatriot Adrian Waller and the World No.39 will go head-to-head with Nicolas Mueller, the swiss number two seed who beat Greg Lobban, in the last four.
 
Seeds Battle Through To Quarters

#PSAWorldTour

All eight seeded players fought through to the quarter-final stage of the IG Open de Paris, PSA M25 tournament – with six of the eight matches going all the way to five games on a stunning opening day of action.

World No.38 Lucas Serme is the only Frenchman to reach the last eight after he saw off compatriot and wildcard Baptiste Masotti. The number seven seed dropped the opening game but recovered to take the next two without reply. After Serme surged into a 5-0 lead in the third, Masotti was forced off court with an injury and was unable to recover, ensuring that Serme will move on to the next round.

His opponent will be title favourite Chris Simpson who overcame fellow Englishman Joe Lee in a nail-biting spectacle. The man from Guernsey fell to a 2-1 deficit but turned things around to prevail after 87 minutes of high-quality squash and set up a fixture with a player he beat just last week in the European Team Championship final.

“Joe has had a bad season so far, but I knew he could play well and I was prepared for that, but maybe not to the standard he was at today, he played brilliantly,” said Simpson.

“He was beating me in all departments, including accuracy, which is usually one of my strengths. I had a five setter against [Borja] Golan last night in the PSL [Premier Squash League] and I only arrived this afternoon in Paris so I was obviously a bit tired, but somehow I managed to win this one. So I’m up against Lucas again tomorrow, but I expect the match to be very different to Saturday’s in the ETC [European Team Championship] finals.

“Playing a team event is another kind of pressure, and the court is very different as well.”

Second seed Nicolas Mueller was also pushed to the limit against Geoffrey Demont and went 2-0 down after a fast start from the Frenchman caught Mueller off guard. He steadied the ship with victory in the third game, and that win gave him the impetus to move on and complete the comeback, ensuring he will face Scotland’s Greg Lobban for a place in the last four.

Elsewhere, England’s Adrian Waller overturned a one-game deficit against compatriot Tom Ford and he will do battle with Declan James in the next round after he achieved a come-from-behind victory over India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar.

New Zealand’s Paul Coll and Scotland’s Alan Clyne have set up a mouth-watering clash in the other quarter-final, after respective wins over Charles Sharpes and Todd Harrity saw them progress to the last eight.
 
Demont Defies Haycocks To Reach Main Draw

#PSAWorldTour

French World No.85 Geoffrey Demont sealed his place in the main draw of the IG Open de Paris, PSA M25 tournament for the first time since 2014 after he dug deep to defeat England’s Jaymie Haycocks 3-1 in the final round of qualifying.

25-year-old Demont, who bowed out in the first stage of qualifying last year, started the better of the two and, a second game defeat on the tie-break aside, held firm to record an 11-7, 12-14, 11-8, 11-7 victory which sees him complete an English double after also beating Ben Coates in the previous round.

Demont will take on Swiss number two seed Nicolas Mueller in the opening round of the main draw in what looks set to be a difficult encounter given the 54-place World Rankings gap between the pair.

Elsewhere, India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar came out on top against Kuwait’s Abdullah Al Muzayen in a brutal 79-minute affair. The clash of styles made for an intriguing spectacle, with the power and attrition of Mangaonkar going up against the shot-making skills of Al Muzayen. After going to a nail-biting fifth game, Mangaonkar eventually took it courtesy of a 12-10 triumph and the World No.58 will line up against talented Englishman Declan James for a place in the quarter-final.

The crowd did witness two home hopes fall though as Christophe Andre and Victor Crouin both exited the competition. Andre, on a run of four title wins in his last five PSA World Tour events, came up against third qualifying seed Richie Fallows in his match, but relinquished a 2-1 lead after the frantic pace finally caught up with him, allowing Fallows to advance to the main draw where he will meet Scotland’s Greg Lobban.

Crouin, meanwhile, had earned his place in the final qualifying round thanks to a superb scalp of 2013 World Junior Champion Karim El Hammamy but the 16-year-old’s campaign was brought to an end by World No.64 Tom Ford who took the win in four. Ford will now face fellow Englishman Adrian Waller in round one of the main draw.