Koukal
Celebrates Tour Hat-Trick In Dourados
Czech number
one Jan Koukal celebrated his third consecutive PSA World Tour
title success in style in Brazil when he upset top seed Rafael F Alarcon
in the final of the inaugural $10,000 Cerdil Squash Open at the
Physical Center in the city of Dourados.
Second seed
Koukal, competing in his 13th Tour event of the year, reached the final after
fighting back from a game down to beat England's No4 seed Eddie Charlton
in the semi-finals.
And the final
followed a similar pattern when the 26-year-old from Prague recovered from
losing the first game against local hero Rafael F Alarcon.
Koukal, ranked
60 in the world, battled for 72 minutes to overcome the world No37 from Sao
Paulo 8-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-5 in 72 minutes to win the 15th PSA Tour
title of his career.
The win also
marks Koukal's third title triumph in six weeks, after winning the PSA
Northern Ontario Championship in Canada in April and the Tour De Las
Americas El Salvador Open in San Salvador earlier this month.
Seeds Safely
Through In Dourados
The top four
seeds will contest the semi-finals of the Cerdil Open after safely
surviving the quarter-finals of the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event
in its inaugural year in the Brazilian city of Dourados.
Top seed
Rafael F Alarcon now carries local hopes of success alone after Brazilian
compatriots Tiago Cabral and Manoel Pereira exited the tournament
after straight games losses to fourth seed Eddie Charlton and second seed
Jan Koukal, respectively.
Alarcon, the
world No37 from Sao Paulo, defeated sixth-seeded Argentinean Gonzalo Miranda
13-11, 11-9, 11-5 in 38 minutes to set up a semi-final clash with Dutchman
Dylan Bennett.
The third seed
from Eindhoven was the only semi-finalist to drop a game - and did so against
Paraguay's Esteban Casarino before overcoming the fifth seed 11-6, 11-3,
9-11, 11-7.
Casarino
Denies Brazilian Interest In All Quarter-Finals In Dourados
Paraguayan
Esteban Casarino battled for 67 minutes in the opening round of the
Cerdil Open to deny host nation Brazil representation in all four
quarter-finals of the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event in its
inaugural year in the city of Dourados.
The fifth seed
from Asuncion recovered from two games down to beat Brazilian qualifier
Vinicius Rodrigues 10-12, 6-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-9.
Casarino will
now face Dutchman Dylan Bennett, the third seed who despatched
Argentinean Nahuel Hernan Ramos 11-5, 11-4, 10-12, 11-6.
Brazil's
Rafael F Alarcon is seeded to win the title. But the 33-year-old from Sao
Paulo is through to the last eight without striking a ball - thanks to the late
withdrawal of opponent Vinicius Costa, also from Brazil.
Alarcon is
expected to meet Czech champion Jan Koukal in the final. Just four days
after winning the El Salvador Open, the indefatigable second seed began
his 13th Tour event of the year with an 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 defeat of experienced
Brazilian Ronivaldo Santos.
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