India's Mahesh Mangaonkar marked his maiden appearance in a
PSA World Tour final in style by winning his first title at the
Prague Open, the PSA Challenger 5 event at Squash Club
Praha in the Czech Republic capital.
Seeded
four, the 18-year-old from Mumbai made his breakthrough in the
semi-finals when he upset French favourite Julien Balbo in four
games.
His
opponent in the final was also a Frenchman - unseeded Lucas Serme
who secured his fifth Tour final appearance by upsetting third-seeded
fellow countryman Joan Lezaud in the other semi.
"The
ultimate contest between the Indian and the Frenchman lasted almost two
hours," said event spokesman Adam Englund. "Both of the finalists
reached the bottom of their strength reserves - the cramps got them
during the third game. Nonetheless, they endured and provided the
audience with a spectacle they are not likely to forget.
"Until
the last minute, it was unclear who would win - but then there it was.
Mahesh won his first PSA tournament in an incredible fashion and can now
be officially titled the 'squash maharaja'."
Mangaonkar was delighted with his 5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9 victory:
"It was brutally hard and excruciatingly long. I'm totally dead. This
was definitely the number one match for me," said the exhausted Indian
after the match.
1st
round:
[1] Julien Balbo (FRA) bt [Q] Carlos Cornes Ribadas (ESP)
11-7, 11-8, 11-7
[Q] Chris Fuller (ENG) bt Omar Mohie Elddin Marei (EGY)
w/o Reiko Peter (SUI) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 11-7, 8-11, 6-11,
11-7, 11-9
[4] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [Q] Matias Tuomi (FIN)
10-12, 11-0, 11-4, 11-7
[3] Joan Lezaud (FRA) bt Ondrej Ertl (CZE) 11-9, 11-6,
5-11, 11-4
[Q] Andre Haschker (GER) bt Adam Murrills (ENG) 5-11,
12-10, 11-8, 12-14, 12-10 Lucas Serme (FRA) bt Alex Ingham (ENG) 11-4, 11-5, 11-6
[2] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
11-7, 8-11, 13-11, 11-7
Quarter-finals:
[1] Julien Balbo (FRA) bt [Q] Chris Fuller (ENG) 11-6,
11-8, 11-4
[4] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt Reiko Peter (SUI) 16-14,
11-2, 11-3
[3] Joan Lezaud (FRA) bt [Q] Andre Haschker (GER) 11-9,
11-9, 11-9 Lucas Serme (FRA) bt [2] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-7,
13-15, 8-11, 11-0, 11-5