Scotland’s Douglas Kempsell claimed back-to-back titles for the first
time in his career after he ended the charge of qualifier Mohammad
Alsarraj in the final of the Airport Xmas Challenger in Berlin – adding
that to the Open International Niort Venise Verte crown he lifted last
month.
World No.133 Kempsell, whose World Ranking took a huge 38-place leap
after his victory in Niort, claimed a big win over tournament top seed
Adam Murrills in the last eight, winning 12-10 in the fifth to add that
win to his victories over Kristian Rautiainen and Dimitri Steinmann.
18-year-old Alsarraj, who hails from Jordan, began the tournament in the
qualification stage, but battled through to reach the main draw, where
his hot streak continued as he progressed to a second PSA World Tour
final.
Alsarraj’s semi-final clash with Portugal’s Rui Soares – which went all
the way to five games – seemed to have an effect on the World No.237 on
the early stages of the final as a rampant Kempsell went two games to
the good.
A short resurgence from Alsarraj saw him halve the deficit by taking the
third, but Kempsell worked his way back on top to edge the fourth,
sealing an 11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9 triumph to capture the fifth PSA World
Tour title of his career – and ensuring that he will make another charge
up the rankings when they are released next month.
