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Lorient Open 2022
Men's Draw
04 -
07 MAY
Lorient, France, $6k |
ROUND TWO
04 MAY |
QUARTERS
05 MAY |
SEMIS
06 MAY |
FINAL
07 MAY |
[1] Ivan Perez (ESP)
12-10, 11-7, 11-9 (50m)
Abhay Singh (IND) |
Abhay Singh
11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 10-12, 11-8 (64m)
Ben Smith |
Abhay Singh
7-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 11-5 (55m)
Yannick Wilhelmi |
Abhay Singh
11-6, 14-16, 9-11,
11-9, 16-14 (95m)
Robin Gadola |
Ben Smith (ENG)
11-7, 11-6, 11-1 (29m)
[6] Joeri Hapers (BEL) |
[8] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA)
17-15, 4-11, 11-8, 11-6 (60m)
Joel Arscott (NZL) |
Toufik Mekhalfi
11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10 (52m)
Yannick Wilhelmi |
[4] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI)
11-9, 11-6, 11-2 (31m)
Roshan Bharos (NED) |
James Peach (ENG)
11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (27m)
[3] Valentin Rapp (GER) |
James Peach
11-6, 11-8, 11-4 (33m)
Robin Gadola |
Robin Gadola
11-3, 11-3, 1-1 ret. (21m)
Daniel Poleshchuk |
[5] Robin Gadola (SUI)
11-3, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6 (39m)
Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) |
[7] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR)
11-6, 11-7, 11-5 (32m)
Fergus Richards (SCO) |
Daniel Poleshchuk
13-11, 5-11, 10-12, 11-9, 10-6 rtd (85m)
Curtis Malik |
Edwin Clain (FRA)
11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (36m)
[2] Curtis Malik (ENG) |
Abhay Singh (IND) bt Baptiste Bouin (FRA) 3-0: 11-3,
11-2, 11-6 (21m)
Ben Smith (ENG) bt Manu Paquemar (FRA) 3-1: 11-2, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9 (40m)
Joel Arscott (NZL) bt Laszlo Godde (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-2 (29m)
Roshan Bharos (NED) bt Pablo Dolz (ESP) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (35m)
James Peach (ENG) bt Perry Malik (ENG) 3-2: 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5
(57m)
Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) bt Alasdair Prott (SCO) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9,
12-10 (31m)
Fergus Richards (SCO) bt Quint Mandil (FRA) 3-1: 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-2
(37m)
Edwin Clain (FRA) bt Laouenan Loaec (FRA) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 (23m) |
Singh Wins First Title After Monster Final
The Archi Factory Open Lorient came to its conclusion on Saturday
evening, with India’s Abhay Singh winning in five games for the third
successive day to claim his first Tour title, taking the victory after a
95-minute final over Switzerland’s Robin Gadola.
Singh came into the Challenger 5 level tournament unseeded, and started
the week with a victory over the top seed, Ivan Perez, before then going
on to defeat England’s Ben Smith in his first five-game encounter for
the week, holding off a comeback from his opponent before claiming the
deciding game.
His semi-final encounter also went to five, as he came up against
Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi for a place in the final. He found
himself behind after the third game, but fought back to win both the
fourth and fifth games to take the victory, and set up a meeting with
another Swiss player in the final.
The final saw Singh take on Switzerland’s Robin Gadola for the title,
and the match lasted a whopping 95 minutes. The Indian took the first
game comfortably, before losing the second on a lengthy tie-break 16-14.
After going behind for the first time, he fought back to win the fourth,
before both men had match balls in the deciding game, with Singh
eventually coming out on top in another 16-14 score line to lam his
maiden Tour title.
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Singh And
Gadola To Meet In Final
The semi-finals of the Archi Factory Open Lorient took place on Friday
evening in Larmor Plage, France, with the unseeded Abhay Singh causing
another upset to make his way into the final, where he will play
Switzerland’s No.5 seed Robin Gadola.
In the last four of the Challenger 5 level competition, the Indian came
up against No.4 seed Yannick Wilhelmi, and he fell behind to the Swiss
player twice in the contest. A day after having to go the distance
against Englishman Ben Smith, Singh went all the way to five once more,
and he came out on top again, winning in 55 minutes to book his spot in
the final of the tournament.
The World No.152 will face Switzerland’s Robin Gadola, the tournament’s
No.5 seed, in the final on Saturday evening at Top Form Squash &
Fitness, after the Swiss man overcame Israeli Daniel Poleshchuck in
straight games. He won the first two games to the loss of just six
points in total, before the Israeli had to retire from the contest
through injury early in the third game.
The final between Singh and Gadola will take place on Friday evening at
Top Form Squash & Fitness in Larmor Plage, France, with the action being
streamed live on the club’s Facebook page. |
Semis Set In
Larmor Plage
The quarter finals of the Archi Factory Open Lorient took place on
Thursday evening in Larmor Plage, France, with more surprise results
coming at Top Form Squash & Fitness.
The day stated with a battle between two unseeded players, as India’s
Abhay Singh and Englishman Ben Smith went toe-to-toe for more than an
hour. The Indian took the first two games, both by an 11-8 scoreline,
but saw Smith fight back to level the match, after taking the fourth
game on a tie-break. However, it was Singh who eventually came through
to win after 64 minutes on court, taking the fifth 11-8 to win 3-2.
He will now face Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi, after the tournament’s
No.4 seed got the better of No.8 seed Toufik Mekhalfi in a four game
battle. The pair were level after two games, and both the third and
fourth were tight contests, but it was the Swiss player who came out on
top in both, and by a scoreline of 12-10 in the fourth, to advance to
the semi-finals.
The big surprise of the day saw Israeli No.1, and the tournament’s No.7
seed, Daniel Poleshchuk, get the better of No.2 seed Curtis Malik after
a marathon 85 minute battle. After winning the first on a tie-break, the
Israeli found himself 2-1 down, but fought back to win the fourth 11-9
to send the match into a decider. He then led 10-6 before Malik had to
retire with injury, sending the No.7 seed through to the semis.
Poleshchuk will now take on Switzerland’s Robin Gadola in the last four
of the competition, after he defeated England’s James Peach in the only
three-game contest of the day, winning 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 in 33 minutes.
The semi-finals of the Archi Factory Open Lorient will be held on
Friday, May 6, with the last four men standing battling it out to reach
the finals of the Challenger 5 level competition.
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Singh,
Smith And Peach Cuase Upsets
There were a trio of upsets to end the opening’s day action at the Archi
Factory Open Lorient, with India’s Abhay Singh and the English duo of
James Peach and Ben Smith all knocking out higher-ranked players to
reach the last eight of the Challenger 5 level tournament.
After beating Frenchman Baptiste Bouin in his first match of the day,
Indian Abhay Singh took on the tournament’s top seed, Spaniard Ivan
Perez, for a place in the quarter finals. The Indian was able to win in
three games, with a first game tie-break crucial to keep the momentum in
his favour. He won 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 in 50 minutes to book his place in
the last eight.
Singh will now face another unseeded player in the quarters, in
Englishman Ben Smith, after he downed Belgian No.1, and the event’s No.6
seed, Joeri Hapers, in straight games. The young Englishman spent less
than half an hour on court in his second round match, winning in three
to advance to the last eight of the competition.
Another Englishman, in James Peach, was the third man to cause an upset
in the second round of the Challenger 5 level tournament, as he defeated
Germany’s Valentin Rapp, the No.3 seed, in straight games. He spent just
27 minutes on court to book his place in the last eight, where he will
now face Switzerland’s Robin Gadola.
The quarter finals of the Archi Factory Open Lorient will take place on
Thursday, May 5, with the last eight going head-to-head for places in
the semi-finals of the competition.
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Archi Factory Open Lorient: Tournament Preview
The sole Challenger Tour event to take place on European soil this week
will be the Archi Factory Open Lorient, which will be held at Top Form
Squash & Fitness in Larmor Plage, France from Wednesday, May 4 to
Saturday, May 7.
Spain’s Ivan Perez will be the top seed for the Challenger 5 level
tournament, but it will be World No.91 Curtis Malik who will be the
highest-ranked player in the tournament, and the Englishman will be the
No.2 seed.
Germany’s Valentin Rapp, the Swiss pairing of Yannick Wilhelmi and Robin
Gadola, Belgian No.1 Joeri Hapers, Israeli No.1 Daniel Poleshchuk and
Frenchman Toufik Mekhalfi make up the remainder of the top eight seeds
for the competition.
Mekhalfi will be the leading Frenchman in action, with Edwin Clain, Manu
Paquemar, Laouenan Loaec, Quint Mandil and Baptiste Bouin all flying the
flag for the home nation.
The event takes place from Wednesday, May 4 to Saturday, May 7 at Top
Form Squash & Fitness in Larmor Plage, France. Follow the PSA
Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the
event.
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