Top seed Aqeel Rehman has lifted back-to-back PSA World Tour titles
for the first time in his career after coming through a dramatic
five-game thriller against Spain’s Edmon Lopez Moller in the final
of the Raanana Squash Center 30th Anniversary Festival, PSA M5
tournament.
Rehman overcame Joeri Hapers, Nir Zisman and Bernat Jaume to achieve
his final berth, while Lopez recovered from a two-game deficit to
dispatch compatriot Iker Pajares Bernabeu in the semi-final.
Rehman, competing in his third PSA World Tour final in a row, looked
to be sailing towards a comfortable victory after powering to a 2-0
lead, with the second game being won without dropping a solitary
point.
But Lopez rallied and, after improving the consistency of his shots,
clawed a game back in the third before maintaining his improvement
into the fourth to bring the fixture back to all square.
Rehman was soon back in the ascendancy though, and the World No.99
moved up through the gears to sail to victory in the fifth game for
the loss of just three points, seeing out an 11-9, 11-0, 6-11, 9-11,
11-3 victory to capture his second PSA World Tour crown of 2016
after winning the Keith Grainger Memorial UCT Squash Open last
month.
Fifth seeded Spaniard Bernat Jaume sealed his place in the last four
of the Raanana Squash Center 30th Anniversary Festival, PSA M5
tournament with a strong display over Frenchman Auguste Dussourd
setting up a meeting with top seed Aqeel Rehman for a place in the
showpiece finale.
The duo were meeting for the first time since the 2015 IMET Open,
where Jaume prevailed to reach his first ever PSA World Tour final.
However, it was to be Dussourd who made the early running and he
soon built up a one-game lead to give him a chance of reaching a
third Tour semi-final.
Jaume fought back impressively though, and halted Dussourd’s early
momentum as he levelled proceedings by taking the second. A vital
third game also went in Jaume’s favour and he cantered to victory in
the fourth to close out the win courtesy of a 9-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4
triumph.
Meanwhile, Rehman achieved a straightforward 3-0 win over Israeli
qualifier Nir Zisman to ensure that he will put his wits against
Jaume in an exciting semi-final clash.
Second seed Iker Pajares Bernabeu will also participate in the last
four after an injury to England’s Julian Tomlinson cut short their
encounter, and he will do battle with Edmon Lopez Moller, who swept
past Roee Avraham.
Top seed Aqeel Rehman sealed his place in the last eight of the
Raanana Squash Center 30th Anniversary Festival, PSA M5 tournament
with a comfortable 3-0 win over Belgium’s Joeri Hapers in Israel.
Rehman is bidding to win a second PSA World Tour on the bounce after
triumphing at last month’s Keith Grainger Memorial UCT Squash Open,
and showcased his title credentials with a devastating 11-7, 11-3,
11-4 victory to reach the quarter-final.
Local qualifier Nir Zisman, the only qualifier left in the
tournament, will take on Rehman for a place in the semi-final after
he achieved a fine win against Austria’s Jakob Dirnberger in round
one.
Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu is also through to the next round
after he overcame England’s Richard Williams 3-1. Pajares stormed
into a two-game lead and, despite conceding the third to his
opponent, went up a gear in the fourth to see out the win and set up
a quarter-final clash with another Englishman, Julian Tomlinson, who
downed wildcard Nir Cohen.
Pajares’s compatriot, Edmon Lopez Moller, will join his fellow
Spaniard in the last eight after he shrugged off the attentions of
Ron Levy. He will go up against Israel’s Roee Avraham in the next
round, with the World No.229 progressing thanks to a 3-1 win over
England’s Alex Noakes.
France’s Auguste Dussourd will take on Spain’s Bernat Jaume in the
other quarter-final fixture after they managed respective triumphs
against qualifying duo Hendrik Vossing Nadav Raziel.
The final qualifying round of the Raanana Squash Center 30th
Anniversary Festival, PSA M5 tournament saw three local players
secure their spots in the main draw in Israel.
Nadav Raziel earned his place in the main draw after toppling the
number one qualifying seed, Dan Bergin, in four games. Raziel went
2-0 up after a confident start to the match and, despite losing the
third on the tie-break, remained steadfast as he saw out an 11-3,
11-4, 13-15, 1-2 triumph to progress.
He will do battle with Spanish number five seed Bernat Jaume in the
main draw’s opening round, with Jaume in decent form recently after
a semi-final finish in his last PSA World Tour outing at the Lviv
Karakal Lion Squash Cup.
Ron Levy and Nir Zisman are the other Israelis to advance to the
main draw after they rose to respective victories over compatriots
Ido Avron and Dovi Haruzi.
Levy will go head-to-head with the main draw’s number three seed,
Edmon Lopez Moller, in the next round, while Zisman will do battle
with Austria’s Jakob Dirnberger.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Hendrik Vossing was the sole non-Israeli player
to make it through the qualifying stages unscathed after he defeated
both Idan Hare and Tiago Goriely en route to the main draw. The
World No.402, who is appearing in only his second PSA World Tour,
will play France’s Auguste Dussourd as he bids to reach a first ever
quarter-final.
