Gibraltar Open: Lopez and Ismail Victorious At Europa Point

The Gibraltar Open came to its conclusion on Saturday afternoon at Europa sports Centre, with Spain’s Edmon Lopez and Egypt’s Rana Ismail taking the Challenger 5 level titles, the latter of which claimed her first Tour title.

Ismail came into the tournament as the No.4 seed, and she started her campaign with a win over England’s Polly Clark, before then coming from behind to get the better of another Englishwoman, in No.5 seed Saran Nghiem, winning in four games to book her spot in the last four.

The young Egyptian then took on a third Englishwoman in succession, and she needed just 19 minutes to overcome No.6 seed Katie Wells, dropping just 12 points in her semi-final contest to set up a meeting with Spain’s Marta Dominguez Fernandez in what would be her first final as a professional player on Tour.

The final was a surprisingly one-sided affair, with Ismail overcoming the Spaniard, who sits 25 places above the 19-year-old in the World Rankings. She took the win in 27 minutes, winning 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 to secure her first Tour title, and to become the latest young Egyptian to become a Tour victor.

The men’s title was won by Spaniard Edmon Lopez, who eventually put an end to the unbeaten run of James Peach, which stretched back over ten days, with the Englishman having come into the tournament off the back of winning as a non-seed in Austria last weekend.

Lopez made it through to the final after victories over compatriot Nilo Vidal, Belgium’s No.7 seed Joeri Hapers and England’s Ben Smith, beating all three of those opponents in straight games.

The Spaniard then took on the tournament’s surprise package in the final, and the pair were level after two games, having both won a game by an 11-6 scoreline. From there, though, Lopez dropped just four more points to win the next two, securing the Gibraltar Open, his 10th Tour crown.

*Results: Gibraltar Open*
*Men’s Final*
[3] Edmon Lopez (ESP) bt James Peach (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 6-11, 11-1, 11-3 (40m)

*Women’s Final*
[4] Rana Ismail (EGY) bt [3] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (27m)

*Men’s Semi-Finals*
James Peach (ENG) bt [8] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) 3-1: 11-4, 4-11, 11-9, 11-6 (50m)
[3] Edmon Lopez (ESP) bt Ben Smith (ENG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-1, 11-3 (19m)

*Women’s Semi-Finals*
[4] Rana Ismail (EGY) bt [6] Katie Wells (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 (19m)
[3] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt [2] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) 3-2: 9-11, 11-4, 12-14, 11-8, 11-9 (59m)

*Men’s Quarter Finals*
James Peach (ENG) bt [6] Stuart MacGregor (SCO) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (31m)
[8] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) bt [4] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 14-12 (40m)
[3] Edmon Lopez (ESP) bt [7] Joeri Hapers (BEL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 (29m)
[5] Ben Smith (ENG) bt [2] Ivan Perez (ESP) 3-2: 4-11, 11-4, 2-11, 11-7, 11-1 (45m)

*Women’s Quarter Finals*
[6] Katie Wells (ENG) bt [1] Alison Thomson (SCO) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-8 (29m)
[4] Rana Ismail (EGY) bt [5] Saran Nghiem (ENG) 3-1: 7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-8 (41m)
[3] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt Caroline Fouts (USA) 3-1: 13-11, 4-11, 15-13, 11-5 (59m)
[2] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) bt [7] Kiera Marshall (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 14-12, 11-8 (32m)

*Men’s Round One*
James Peach (ENG) bt [1] Tom Walsh (ENG) 3-2: 7-11, 13-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6 (69m)
[6] Stuart Macgregor (ENG) bt Owain Taylor (WAL) 3-2: 6-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7, 11-4 (70m)
[8] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) bt Javier Martin (ESP) 3-0: 11-7, 14-12, 14-12 (43m)
[4] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) bt Jakob Dirnberger (AUT) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (25m)
[3] Edmon Lopez (ESP) bt Nilo Vidal (ESP) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (28m)
[7] Joeri Hapers (BEL) bt Joel Arscott (NZL) 3-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 (48m)
[5] Ben Smith (ENG) bt Liam Marrison (CAN) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 (34m)
[2] Ivan Perez (ESP) bt Augusto Ortigosa (ESP) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-4 (39m)

*Women’s Round One*
[1] Alison Thomson (SCO) bt Chloe Foster (WAL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (22m)
[6] Katie Wells (ENG) bt Ninon Lemarchand (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 12-10, 11-3 (21m)
[5] Saran Nghiem (ENG) bt Jasmin Kalar (ENG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 (18m)
[4] Rana Ismail (EGY) bt Polly Clark (ENG) 3-1: 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-8 (32m)
[3] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt Sofia Aveiro Pita (POR) 3-1: 11-4, 11-2, 8-11, 11-2 (30m)
Caroline Fouts (USA) bt [8] Asia Harris (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 (29m)
[7] Kiera Marshall (ENG) bt Juliette Permentier (NED) 3-0: 11-2, 11-1, 11-6 (16m)
[2] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) bt Emma Bartley (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-2 (15m)