New
Zealand’s Evan Williams and Egypt’s Hana Ramadan claimed silverware
at the Bendigo International, PSA M5 & W5 tournaments, beating
Dimitri Steinmann and Jessica Turnbull, respectively, in the final
in Australia.
Top seed Williams reached the final of the Men’s event courtesy of
wins over Jong Myoung Park, Mithran Selvaratnam and Vincent
Droesbeke, the latter of which saw Williams recover from 2-1 down to
advance. Steinmann, meanwhile, was appearing in his maiden PSA World
Tour final and upset the odds against second seed Elvinn Keo in the
last four to seal his final berth.
Williams, the World No.87, started on the front foot and rattled off
a succession of points as he surged into a two-game lead to put him
on the cusp of victory.
A determined Steinmann fought back though and dominated games three
and four, dropping just three points as he levelled proceedings at
the Bendigo Squash Centre to set up a climactic decider.
However, Wiliams dug in and wrestled back momentum of the fixture in
the fifth game to close out the win with an 11-7, 11-7, 1-11, 2-11,
11-5 scoreline, lifting his fifth PSA World Tour title in the
process.
Elsewhere, sixth seed Ramadan and home hope Turnbull contested the
Women’s final, with Ramadan full of confidence after causing the
shock of the tournament in the quarter-final stage with her surprise
win over pre-tournament title favourite Millie Tomlinson.
World No.89 Ramadan had also staged a superb comeback from two games
down to win her semi-final encounter with compatriot and number
three seed Nouran El Torky, but showed no signs of fatigue in the
final as she powered into a 2-0 lead.
Turnbull gained a foothold in the fixture after clawing a game back
in the third, but a composed Ramadan held her nerve and the
19-year-old wrapped up the fourth to record an 11-6, 11-4, 9-11,
11-9 triumph that sees her claim a second PSA World Tour crown.
French World No.232 Vincent Droesbeke swept to the semi-final stage
of a PSA World Tour event for the third time in his career after
downing India’s Sandeep Ramachandran in an impressive display in the
quarter-final of the Bendigo International, PSA M5 tournament.
Droesbeke, 24, captured his maiden PSA World Tour title a fortnight
ago in the South Australian Open and he sealed his quarter-final
spot in Bendigo courtesy of a gruelling 3-2 win over South Korea’s
Ko Youngjo in the previous round.
He showed no signs of fatigue against Ramachandran though as a
virtuoso display saw him power to an 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 victory to
reach the last four.
Top seed Evan Williams lies between Droesbeke and a place in the
final after the New Zealander bested Mithran Selvaratnam by a 3-1
scoreline.
Second seed Elvinn Keo and number four seed Dimitri Steinmann will
contest the other semi-final fixture after they defeated Patrick
Miescher and Mohamed Saeed, respectively.
Top seeds Mille Tomlinson and Siyoli Waters fell to shock defeats in
the quarter-final stage of the Bendigo International, PSA W5
tournament after 3-1 losses against Egypt’s Hana Ramadan and South
Korea’s Yura Choi, respectively.
World No.37 Tomlinson came into her fixture with Ramadan having won
her last four PSA World Tour events and the Derby-based 24-year-old
has been playing some of the best squash of her career in the midst
of a 16-match unbeaten streak.
But 18-year-old Ramadan, who is ranked 79 places below Tomlinson in
the World Rankings, surged into a two-game lead and, despite
dropping the third to a resilient Tomlinson, held off her opponent
in a nail-biting fourth game tie-break to close out an 11-8, 11-8,
5-11, 14-12 triumph that leaves her one win away from reaching a
second PSA World Tour final.
Her semi-final opponent will be number three seed and compatriot
Nouran El Torky, who overcame Stephanie Wighton in straight games.
Waters, meanwhile, was appearing at her first PSA World Tour event
since February, but couldn’t capitalise on a one-game advantage as
she eventually succumbed to Choi in four. Choi’s unexpected triumph
sends her through to the semi-final where she will do battle with
Jessica Turnbull, who will be flying the flag for host nation
Australia after she downed India’s Sachika Ingale.
Title favourite Evan Williams moved through to the last eight of the
Bendigo International, PSA M5 tournament courtesy of a 3-0 triumph
over South Korea’s Jong Myoung Park in Australia.
The New Zealander had received a bye in the opening round and came
into his second round fixture against Park with fresh legs. Game one
went in Williams favour by a narrow margin, but he eased to victory
in the second game to double his advantage.
Williams then held off an improved Park in the third to wrap up the
win by an 11-9, 11-3, 11-8 margin and set up a quarter-final clash
with Malaysia’s Mithran Selvaratnam, who saw off Remo Handl.
Second seed Elvinn Keo will join compatriot Selvaratnam in the next
round after he overcame World No.245 Luke Jones. Both players took a
game apiece in the early stages before Keo found his rhythm and
pulled away in games three and four to ensure that he will take on
Switzerland’s Patrick Miescher, with Miescher axing Syed Azlan Amjad
in straight games.
Meanwhile, India’s World No.273 Sandeep Ramachandran came up with a
surprise victory over Ben Grinrod to advance, despite Grindrod
sitting 121 places above Ramachandran in the World Rankings. The
19-year-old progresses to face France’s Vincent Droesbeke for a
place in the semi-final after he defeated Ko Youngjo 3-2.
Dimitri Steinmann and Mohamed Saeed will contest the other
quarter-final fixture after respective wins against Daehoon Jeong
and Lachlan Coxsedge, the latter of whom was the only Australian
left in the tournament.
Australian World No.454 Lachlan Coxsedge made it past the opening
round of a PSA World Tour event for the first time in his fledgling
career after upsetting compatriot David Clegg on home soil on day
one of the Bendigo International, PSA M5 tournament.
Coxsedge, who sits 261 places below Clegg in the World Rankings,
took a shock one-game lead, but normal service appeared to have been
resumed when fifth seed Clegg claimed the second for the loss of
just three points.
But a tenacious display from 17-year-old Coxsedge saw him back in
the ascendancy in games three and four to wrap up an impressive
11-8, 3-11, 11-9, 11-9 victory that sees him become the only
Australian to reach the second round, where he will be pitted
against Mohamed Saeed after the Egyptian dispatched Rohan Toole.
Elsewhere, Switzerland’s Dmitri Steinmann sealed his second round
berth with a commanding 3-0 triumph over Courtney West and his
reward is an encounter with South Korea’s Daehoon Jeong, who
overcame Javel Ali in four games.
Steinmann’s compatriot, World No.215 Patrick Miescher, will join him
in the next round after he surged to a win over Arnold Phat in
straight games, while his second round opponent, Qatar’s Syed Azlan
Amjad, made short work of Tyler Hawkins.
Ko Youngjo and Mithran Selvaratnam were also in action and scored
respective wins over Dominique Ratcliffe and TJ French. Youngjo will
lock horns with Frenchman Vincent Droeskebe for a place in the last
eight, while Selvaratnam will take on Remo Handl.
