Costa Rica Open Preview: Thomas Enjoying Recent Form

The SACC Costa Rica Open gets underway on Wednesday, November 9, with a men’s and women’s draw taking place at the Challenger 5 level competition.

The Santa Ana Country Club will play host to the tournament, which will last for four days in the Central American country.

Guatemala’s Josue Enriquez will be the men’s top seed, having moved into the world’s top 100 for the first time recently. The World No.96 will face competition from Paraguayan No.1 Francesco Marcantonio, Argentina’s Jeremias Azana and Mexican Allan Nunez.

Three Kiwis will be in the 16-man draw, with Elijah Thomas and William Donnelly both being seeded, while Anthony Lepper will face Azana in the opening round. We spoke to Thomas prior to the event, and he is looking forward to keeping his recent form going, along with spending time with his compatriots.

“I’m feeling confident with my game at the moment, I’ve had some of my best results to date in recent months and I am looking to keep building on the recent form,” the New Zealander said.

“These events have been great to get amongst different competition. I’ve played this block to try to get some tough competition outside of my home country and to try get some good results to help improve my PSA ranking.

“It’s great having mates to travel with and play alongside. I’ve known the boys for a long time and we get along well so it makes the event much more enjoyable and we’re able to help each other out throughout the event.”

The Kiwi will be the No.5 seed for the SACC Costa Rica Open, but he is not letting his seeding affect his preparation for the tournament. He is also hoping that this run of events will push him to a career-high World Ranking.

“Being seeded doesn’t change how I approach the event. The main focus is to take it one match at a time and give my best efforts no matter where I’m seeded,” he explained.

“I’m hoping to break the top 200 with my next couple events I have coming up. The main focus to get me there is to take each match as it comes, stay consistent in my preparations and hopefully the results follow.”

Mexico’s Diana Garcia will be the top seed for the women’s event at the tournament, with compatriot Diana Gasca and Colombian siblings Laura and Maria Tovar making up the rest of the top four seeds.

The event takes place from Wednesday, November 9 to Saturday, November 12 at the Santa Ana Country Club in Costa Rica. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

Men’s First Round Draw: SACC Costa Rica Open
[1] Josue Enriquez (GUA) v [WC] Andres Echeverria (CRC)
Maceo Levy (FRA) v [7] Luis Quisquinay (GUA)
[6] Rodolfo Vega (MEX) v Leo Vargas (MEX)
Santiago Orozco (COL) v [4] Allan Nunez (MEX)
[3] Jeremias Azana (ARG) v Anthony Lepper (NZL)
Reserve v [8] William Donnelly (NZL)
[5] Elijah Thomas (NZL) v Sebastian Fonseca (GUA)
Carlos Vargas (MEX) v [2] Francesco Marcantonio (PAR)

Women’s Quarter Final Draw: SACC Costa Rica Open
[1] Diana Garcia (MEX) v [7] Sarahi Lopez (MEX)
[8] Lucia Bautista (COL) v [4] Maria Tovar (COL)
[3] Diana Gasca (MEX) v [6] Mary Mijas (GUA)
[5] Darlyn Sandoval (GUA) v [2] Laura Tovar (COL)