Frenchmen Move Through to Angers Main Draw

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French number one qualifying seed Victor Crouin led three more of his countrymen into the main draw of the PSA Angers tournament courtesy of a 3-1 victory over England’s James Peach in the final round of qualifying at the PSA M5 event.

Peach took an early lead after a confident start, but Crouin, backed on by his home crowd, triumphed in a second-game tie-break to level proceedings at the Squash du Lac de Maine.

With the bit between his teeth, Crouin powered to victory in the third, before overcoming his opponent again on a tie-break in the fourth to claim a 4-11, 16-14, 11-6, 14-12 win that sends the 16-year-old into the main draw, where he will face Peach’s compatriot, Robert Downer.

Vincent Droesbeke, the World No.328, is another of the French contingent to advance to the main draw after he slalomed past Joeri Hapers in a surprise win. Droesbeke played some of his best squash throughout the encounter and bridged an 82-place World Rankings gap to claim the win in straight games. He will go up against fellow Frenchman Christophe Andre in round one of the main draw, with Andre likely to represent stern competition after winning four of his last six PSA World Tour events.

Local players Fabien Verseille and Yann Perrin have also progressed to the main draw after both receiving good fortune on home soil.

Verseille received a walkover against Aitor Zunzunegui, while Perrin’s match with Englishman Sam Ellis was cut short after an injury to the latter. They will do battle with Benjamin Aubert and Jaakko Vähämaa, respectively.

Results – Final Qualifying Round: PSA Angers 2016
[1] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [6] James Peach (ENG) 3-1: 4-11, 16-14, 11-6, 14-12
[L] Yann Perrin (FRA) bt [4] Sam Ellis (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, ret.
Fabien Verseille (FRA) bt Aitor Zunzunegui (ESP) w/o
Vincent Droesbeke (FRA) bt Joeri Hapers (BEL) 3-0: 13-11, 11-7, 12-10

Main Draw – First Round
[1] Angus Gillams (ENG) v Dani Pascual (ESP)
Enzo Corigliano (FRA) v [7] Auguste Dussourd (FRA)
[5] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v Robert Dadds (ENG)
[Q] Vincent Droesbeke (FRA) v [4] Christophe Andre (FRA)
[3] Robert Downer (ENG) v [Q] Victor Crouin (FRA)
[Q] Fabien Verseille (FRA) v [8] Benjamin Aubert (FRA)
[6] Jaakko Vähämaa (FIN) v [Q] Yann Perrin (FRA)
Roee Avraham (ISR) v [2] Carlos Cornes Ribadas (ESP)