Second seed Arturo Salazar downed number one seed Christopher Gordon
in straight games in the final of the Asociacion Chaquena de Squash
Tour de las Americas - Regatas Resistencia Open, PSA M10 tournament
to lift his ninth PSA World Tour title.
Salazar was in fine form en route to the final, defeating Juan Pablo
Roude in the opening round, ending Robertino Pezzota’s 19-match
unbeaten run in the last eight and then dispatching local hope
Leandro Romiglio to secure his place in the showpiece finale.
Gordon, meanwhile, began his tournament with a dramatic 3-2 win over
Mexico’s Edgar Zayas, before wins against Nicolas Caballero and New
Zealand’s Martin Knight, the latter of which also went to five, saw
him set up a deciding clash with Salazar in Club Regatas
Resistencia.
Salazar, the World No.62, began well and rapidly ascended into a
two-game lead against an opponent ranked a single place above him in
the World Rankings.
He fended off an improvement from Gordon in the latter stages to
close out a narrow victory in the third, which gave the 28-year-old
an 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 triumph to win his third PSA World Tour crown of
the season.
There was double delight for home supporters in the quarter-final of
the Asociacion Chaquena de Squash Tour De Las Americas – Regatas
Resistencia Open 2016, PSA M10 tournament, as home duo Robertino
Pezzota and Leandro Romiglio booked their places in the semi finals.
Qualifier Robertino Pezzota extended his unbeaten run to 20 matches
as he shocked second seed Arturo Salazar in four.
Pezzota took the opening game, but soon found himself pegged back by
the Mexican, who last month won the Northern Open. However, Pezzota
ensured that his rich vein of form continued as he rallied to take
the next two games without reply, completing an 11-7, 5-11, 11-4,
11-2 triumph to seal his place in the last four.
Meanwhile, 2015 runner-up Romiglio fought off the challenge of
Federico Cioffi in his fixture, and will go head-to-head with
Pezzota in an all-Argentine semi-final clash as he hopes to end a
run that has seen him bow out to his compatriot in each of his last
two PSA World Tour events.
Elsewhere, top seed Christopher Gordon safely evaded the lucky loser
for the event, Nicolas Caballero, courtesy of a 3-0 success, and he
will take on New Zealand’s Martin Knight after he demolished Jonas
Daehler in straight games.
Number one seed Chris Gordon staved off a huge upset in the opening
round of the Asociacion Chaquena de Squash Tour de las Americas –
Regatas Resistencia Open, PSA M10 tournament after overturning a 2-1
deficit to defeat Mexico’s Edgar Zayas.
Gordon, who at 61 in the world is ranked 183 places above Zayas in
the World Rankings, took the first game in comfortable style, before
conceding the next two to leave him staring down the barrel of an
unlikely defeat. But the 29-year-old dug in and used all of his 14
years of experience to mount a comeback, eventually claiming the win
with an 11-6, 6-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9 scoreline to reach the next
round.
Paraguay’s Nicolas Caballero, who received lucky loser status to
advance past the qualifying stages, will go up against Gordon for a
place in the last eight, after he dispatched Ireland’s Stuart Hadden
in straight games.
Mexico’s Arturo Salazar is also into the last eight after cantering
to victory against Argentina’s Juan Pablo Roude in a comfortable
three-game salvo. He will do battle with Robertino Pezzota in the
next round, with Pezzota currently in the midst of some of his best
ever form, with title wins in his last three PSA World Tour events
in addition to a current unbeaten streak of 19 matches after Juan
Gomez Dominguez became the latest player to be put to the sword.
New Zealand’s Martin Knight moved beyond Bryan Cueto to seal his
quarter-final berth and he will line up against Jonas Daehler for a
place in the last four after the Swiss number five seed overcame
Francisco Obregon in five.
Elsewhere, Leandro Romiglio and Federico Cioffi will face off in an
all-Argentine affair after Romiglio saw off wildcard Gonzalo
Miranda, and Cioffo upset Brazil’s Diego Gobbi.
Argentina’s Robertino Pezzota led three of his compatriots through
to the main draw of the Asociacion Chaquena de Squash Tour de las
Americas – Regatas Resistencia Open, PSA M10 tournament – extending
his unbeaten run to 18 matches in the process.
The World No.451 has lifted three PSA World Tour titles on the
bounce, and triumphed on both stages of the 2016 Tour de las
Americas in the last fortnight. He continued his fine form into his
clash with Paraguay’s Nicolas Caballero to record an 11-4, 11-5,
11-7 victory, which has seen him advance to the main draw.
Pezzota will take on Mexico’s Juan Gomez Dominguez in the opening
round of the main draw as he looks to maintain his momentum and
capture a fourth consecutive PSA World Tour crown.
His brother, Rodrigo, didn’t have the same fortune however, as he
succumbed to Juan Pablo Roude in four games. Roude dropped the
opener, but recovered to take three games without reply and set up a
main draw meeting with second seed Arturo Salazar.
Federico Cioffi and Francisco Obregon were the other victors in the
final round of qualifying after they rose to wins over Daniel
Alejandro Lomaglio and Francesco Marcantiono, respectively.
Cioffi is set to face off against Brazil’s Diego Gobbi in the next
round, while Obregon will go head-to-head with Jonas Daehler for a
place in the quarter-final.
A number of local players triumphed in the opening qualifying round
of the Asociacion Chaquena de Squash Tour de las Americas – Regatas
Resistencia Open, PSA M10 tournament, with six Argentineans
progressing to the next stage.
Francisco Obregon came up with the biggest shock of the day after he
overcame top qualifying seed Mohamed Saeed in straight games. Saeed
looked to be suffering from a thigh injury early on, and Obregon
responded by making it a physical contest as a number of
hard-hitting shots enabled him to record an 11-2, 11-2, 11-6 victory
to move to within a single win of the main draw.
Obregon will come up against Francesco Marcantonio, one of only two
non-Argentine players, in the final round of qualifying after the
Paraguayan downed Agustin Silva 3-0.
World No.451 Robertino Pezzota, who has won both stages of the Tour
de las Americas in recent weeks, extended his win streak to 17
matches with a routine win over Rodrigo Obregon, the brother of
Francisco, and his reward is a final qualifying round clash with
Nicolas Caballero, who defeated Ignacio Gutierrez.
Elsewhere, Daniel Alejandro Lomaglio and Federico Cioffi are set to
go head-to-head in an all-Argentine encounter after they achieved
respective wins over Nahuel Hernan Ramos and Guido Fontanazzi.
Rodrigo Pezzota will join his sibling, Robertino, in the next round
after he dispatched Dylan Tymkiw comfortably, and he will take on
Juan Pablo Roude, who came through in five against Gonzalo Miranda,
for a place in the main draw.