Cardenas Downs Another Seed to Reach Maiden World Tour Final

Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas produced yet another upset to down Scotland’s Greg Lobban after five exacting game in the Squash in the Land semi-finals to reach his first World Tour final of his career.

The pair had met once before on Tour in round two of the Cleveland Skating Club Open, a venue that hosted several matches first and second round matches in this tournament. The Scotsman won the encounter in straight games.

Lobban was moving far more comfortably than his opposition in the early stages of the first game, with the Scotsman coming off the back of a 10-minute match with Shahjahan Khan before he withdrew injured, compared to Cardenas’ behemoth 92-minute quarter-final against No.1 seed Eain Yow Ng.

The World No.26 cruised to a 5-0 advantage, with the highlight coming on the fifth point as Lobban rattled a shot into the nick from the front court. The Scotsman was happy to soak up some pressure and wait for an opening, conscious that any longer, attritional rallies would work in his favour.

Lobban earned himself six games balls, and despite some heroics from Jaume at 4-10 to win a rally that saw both players running to every corner of the court, he was able to convert his advantage with a lob that fell perfectly into the back-left corner to take a 1-0 lead.

Interestingly, Cardenas chose to use his second review on a yes let decision at 5-10 and lost his second review to leave him without any reviews unless the match went to a fifth game.

The Mexican looked energised at the beginning of the second game, and accrued an early 4-2 lead, but Lobban recovered, winning four consecutive points to take a narrow lead of his own.

The second game was plagued with traffic issues from both players, but Cardenas kept calm and took the ball early, piling pressure onto the Scotsman and earning himself four game balls after scoring six successive points. The Mexican levelled the match after a mistake from his opponent.

Cardenas continued with his revitalised form in the third game, winning three straight points from 3-3, but the game had some tension as the traffic issues accumulated, including a hefty collision at 6-3.

The rallies were long, but Cardenas was getting the better of them as his lead grew to 10-5, taking a 2-1 lead with a cross-court drive that Lobban chose not to chase.

The new ball, requested by the Scotsman, seemed to work wonders for Lobban as he rediscovered the dominance of his first-game win. The colder ball made Lobban’s accurate winners even harder to get, and the No.3 seed soared to six game balls. The match was taken to a fifth game after a poor movement from the Mexican gifted Lobban a stroke.

Lobban looked less fatigued than his opponent at the beginning of the fifth game, taking a quick 2-0 lead.

Cardenas, who had squandered his two original reviews in the first game, used his final review to question a yes let at 2-0, but lost it when video referee Paul Alexander overturned the decision in favour of the Scotsman.

But the ball warming up favoured the Mexican, and Lobban struggled in a similar manner to the end of the third game. The underdog accumulated point after point with a growingly-frustrated Lobban unable to find a response.

The Mexican found himself with six match balls, and unlike his quarter-final where it took nine attempts to down Yow Ng, Cardenas took down Lobban on the first time of asking with a precise reverse boast to earn a spot in his first World Tour final of his career.

“I had a slow start,” said Cardenas after the match. “I didn’t feel comfortable with Greg, he’s a great player and he’s got a lot of experience and it seemed like he had all the answers to my game.

“At the beginning I couldn’t find a way, but then I kept working and I feel great.

“I just keep working, keep grinding. I felt I’ve been having up and downs recently but i always give my 100% and I’m feeling great, I’m playing great and I’m feeling good with my physicality and my mind.”

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Result: Squash in the Land Presented by Greater Cleveland Squash 2024 Men’s Semi-Final
[6] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt [3] Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-2: 6-11, 11-7, 11-5, 4-11, 11-4 (71m)