Challenger Tour Round-Up: Poleshchuk Wins Biggest Career Title

Cognac Open 

No.2 seed Daniel Poleshchuk claimed the biggest title of his career, beating Jakub Solnicky 3-1 in the Cognac Open final. 

Poleshchuk had won seven PSA Tour titles prior to this one, all coming in 3k or 5k events, but he now has a 12k crown to his name after beating the Czech.

The Israeli came into this match having edged a long, five-game duel with Egypt’s Mohamed Nasser in the semi-finals, and looked as though he might be in for another marathon after dropping game one 15-13. 

He responded by taking a close second game 11-9, and took control in the third, winning it 11-6 to move within one game of glory. 

Solnicky was never going to make life easy for the second seed, but he came through in the deciding moments, closing out game four 11-8 to get his hands on the trophy. 

Grizzly Bear Bourbon Mile High 360 Squash Classic 

Seventh seed Muhammad Ashab Irfan pushed in-form Faraz Khan hard on day three of the Grizzly Bear Bourbon Mile High 360 Squash Classic, taking the American to five games in the quarter-finals. 

The American was riding a five-match winning streak after claiming glory in Vancouver last week, and kept his hopes of winning back-to-back titles alive by beating the Pakistani 19-year-old 3-2 in just over an hour. 

Khan will now play No.6 seed Wong Chi Him, who found himself into the semi-finals just moments after starting game two of his quarter-final, when his opponent Ziad Sakr retired. 

No.1 seed Cesar Salazar and No.3 seed Andrew Douglas both won their quarter-finals in the top half of the draw, beating Jeremias Azaña and Kareem El Torkey respectively tp set up a semi-final meeting. 

Bondi Open 

Home favourite Sarah Cardwell began her quest for glory at the Bondi Open in imperious fashion, taking just 12 minutes to beat Noor Ul Ain Ijaz in round one. 

The No.1 seed dropped six points in game one but only three in the rest of the match, and will now play fellow Aussie Sze Yu Lee in the quarter-finals. 

Cardwell was one of seven seeds to make it through round one, with Pascale Louka the only exception, losing 3-0 to Riffat Khan. 

In the men’s draw, four of the eight Australians made it through to the last eight, including No.2 seed Nicholas Calvert, who beat compatriot Cameron Darton 3-0. 

UNDERHILL GEOMATICS Sport Central Open 

Seven of the eight seeds progressed through to the last eight of the UNDERHILL GEOMATICS Sport Central Open, with Canada’s Cory McCartney the only exception. 

MaCartney was beaten 11-4, 11-5, 11-4 by Hong Kong’s Wailok To, leaving Salah Eltorgman, Liam Marrison and Connor Turk as the three remaining Canadians. 

Turk overcame Sebastian Salazar 3-1 and will now play No.2 seed Perry Malik in the last eight, with the Englishman having also won his round-two match 3-1, beating Ho Ka Hei. 

Eltorgman is in the top half of the draw along with top seed Alfredo Avila, with the pair set to meet if both come through their quarter-finals. 

You can stay up to date with all the results on the PSA Tour here.