Patagonia Open QF: Mekhalfi Downs No.2 Seed To Reach Semis

France’s Toufik Mekhalfi has gatecrashed the semi-finals of the Tour de las Americas Villa la Angostura Patagonia Open, beating No.2 seed Yannik Omlor to reach the last four.

The Challenger 10 level tournament is the first of seven events on this year’s Tour de las Americas, which will be held across Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay this month.

Mekhalfi is the No.7 seed in Patagonia this week, and he took on Omlor in the quarter finals. The German was the No.2 seed for the competition, but it was Mekhalfi who started the stronger. He won the opener 11-9, before then comfortably doubling his advantage with an 11-5 score-line in the second. The third went the distance, with Omlor having his chances to extend the match, but the Frenchman came through it 13-11 to book his semi-final spot.

The Frenchman will now take on England’s Tom Walsh in the last four on Saturday. Walsh, the No.3 seed, got the better of the last remaining Argentinian in action on home soil, Jeremias Azana. The Argentine fought back after losing the first to win the second 12-10, but a tie-break win for the Englishman in the third swing the momentum back in his favour. Walsh then comfortably won the fourth to advance.

The other semi-final will see top seed Spencer Lovejoy take on Switzerland’s Yannick Wilhelmi. The American defeated Brazil’s Diego Gobbi in straight games, while the Swiss No.3 had to go the distance against Colombia’s Edgar Ramirez Bautista, eventually winning the fifth game of their quarter final contest.

The Tour de las Americas Villa la Angostura Patagonia Open continues on Saturday, May 6 with the semi-finals. You can keep up to date with daily updates from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook. 

Quarter Final Results: Tour De Las Americas Villa la Angostura Patagonia Open
[1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt [6] Diego Gobbi (BRA) 3-0: 11-7, 13-11, 11-4
[4] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [8] Edgar Ramirez Bautista (COL) 3-2: 1-6, 11-6, 11-13, 8-11, 12-10
[3] Tom Walsh (ENG) bt [5] Jeremias Azana (ARG) 3-1: 11-7, 10-12, 13-11, 11-7
[7] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) bt [2] Yannik Omlor (GER) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 13-11

Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, May 6
[1] Spencer Lovejoy (USA) v [4] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI)
[3] Tom Walsh (ENG)  v [7] Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA)