'Almost 100%' Borja Golan Wins La
Ciotat Title
In only his second PSA World Tour
squash event after major knee surgery, top-ranked Spaniard Borja Golan
admitted that he is almost back to 100% after clinching the La Ciotat
International Open title in France as a qualifier.
The former world No10, now
languishing at 95 after his eight-month layoff, beat top-seeded Frenchman
Stephane Galifi 11-7, 11-3, 8-11, 11-1 in the 50-minute climax of the
inaugural $10,000 One Star Tour event at La Ciotat Squash Club in the
city of La Ciotat.
The triumph marks Golan's 20th title
on the PSA Tour - and was revenge for his defeat by Italian Galifi, the
world No52 from Aix-en-Provence, who stopped the Spaniard in last month's
quarter-finals of the Internationaux de France in Bordeaux.
"La Ciotat was a nice tournament to
make my comeback - the organisation was very good and they took a lot of care of
the players," said Golan as he left La Ciotat for Toulouse, where he begins his
third qualifying campaign in a row - this time to make it into the main draw of
the $15,000 Movida International Toulouse Open.
"I started the tournament at 70% and
finished close to 100% of my level - so I'm really happy for that," added the
27-year-old from Santiago DC.
"Tomorrow I will start playing in
Toulouse - so I have to forget the win of today and focus on qualifying for the
Toulouse Open.
"And then I rest for two weeks and
train hard to be ready for the tournaments in September. The Irish Open
will be a good tournament to start with!"
When Golan celebrated his
career-high world No10 ranking last September, he became the highest-ranked
Spaniard of all-time - moving ahead of nineties star Austin Adarraga.
Golan Goes For Revenge In La Ciotat Final
Borja Golan
will be looking for revenge in the final of the La Ciotat International Open
at La Ciotat Squash Club in the French city of La Ciotat when he
meets meet top seed Stephane Galifi for the $10,000 PSA World Tour
title.
In his third successive upset in the event,
Spanish qualifier Golan claimed his biggest scalp when he beat second-seeded
Scot Alan Clyne 11-9, 12-10, 11-5 in 44 minutes.
Golan is making his comeback after major knee
surgery last year - since when he has seen his world ranking slump to 95 just
seven months after holding the No10 slot.
The 27-year-old from Santiago DC returned to
PSA Tour action at last month's Internationaux de France in Bordeaux,
where he was stopped by Galifi in the quarter-finals.
The Aix-en-Provence-based Italian went on to
reach the French final - and is now celebrating his 14th appearance in a Tour
final in La Ciotat.
Galifi, ranked 52 in the world, beat Frenchman
Yann Perrin, the fourth seed, 14-12, 11-4, 11-4 in the other semi-final.
Golan
Marches Into La Ciotat Semis
Borja Golan
maintained his confident run in the La Ciotat International Open by
beating fellow qualifier Fabien Verseille in straight games to reach the
semi-finals of the $10,000 PSA World Tour squash event in its first year
at La Ciotat Squash Club in the French city of La Ciotat.
The
top-ranked Spaniard is making his comeback after major knee surgery - since when
he has seen his world ranking slump to 95 just seven months after holding the
No10 slot.
But the
27-year-old from Santiago DC showed signs of his former form as he despatched
Frenchman Verseille 11-6, 11-3, 11-2 in 31 minutes in the only straight games
win of the day.
Golan will
have a tougher battle ahead of him as he takes on second seed Alan Clyne
for a place in the final.
Fresh from
his title triumph in last week's Kent Open in England, Scot Clyne
overcame sixth-seeded Malaysian Ivan Yuen 11-6, 2-11, 11-7, 11-7 to set
up a first-time Tour clash with the highest-ranked Spaniard of all-time.
Yann Perrin
single-handedly carries domestic interest through to the semi-finals of this
inaugural Tour event in La Ciotat after surviving a hard-fought five-game clash
with Hong Kong's Max Lee. The fourth seed from Aix-en-Provence beat fifth
seed Lee 3-11, 11-5, 13-11, 3-11, 11-3 in one minute just short of an hour.
It will be
an all-Aix battle in the semi-finals as Perrin takes on Stephane Galifi,
the top seed who is based in the French city but now plays under the Italian
flag.
Galifi
recovered from a game down to beat Finland's No8 seed Henrik Mustonen
5-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.
Borja
Battles Through To La Ciotat Quarters
Borja Golan,
the top-ranked Spaniard making his PSA World Tour comeback after major
knee surgery, upset third seed Steve Finitsis in the opening round of the
inaugural $10,000 La Ciotat International Open at La Ciotat Squash
Club in the French city of La Ciotat.
But the
27-year-old qualifier, a former world No10 now ranked 85 places lower, twice had
to come from behind to overcome Finitsis, the world No68 from Queensland in
Australia, 5-11, 11-4, 10-12, 11-4, 11-1 in 67 minutes.
Golan, who
began his Tour comeback trail last month at the Internationaux de France
in Bordeaux - where he also reached the last eight as a qualifier - will now
face fellow qualifier Fabien Verseille.
The
24-year-old from Aix-en-Provence also recovered twice in a battle with fellow
Frenchman Gregoire Marche before beating the No7 seed 4-11, 11-4, 8-11,
11-6, 11-4.
Meanwhile
Verseille's half-brother Stephane Galifi secured his anticipated place in
the quarter-finals after an 11-5, 4-11, 11-7, 11-4 win over French qualifier
Joan Lezaud.
Based in
Aix-en-Provence but now playing under the Italian flag, top seed Galifi will now
take on eighth seed Henrik Mustonen after the Finn ousted unseeded
Frenchman Antoine-Camille Petrucci 11-9, 11-6, 11-7.
Alan Clyne,
the second-seeded Scot who is expected to meet Galifi in Sunday's final,
repeated his win in last week's Kent Open over Piedro Schweertman
in the first round. But this time the 23-year-old from Edinburgh despatched the
Dutchman in straight games, winning 11-8, 11-7, 11-3 to set up the only
quarter-final not to include French interest.
Clyne will
meet Malaysian Ivan Yuen, the sixth seed who beat Egyptian Wael Farag
11-7, 7-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-8 in 60 minutes.
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