Weekend Roundup: El Hammamy Takes Edinburgh Open Crown

A total of four tournaments on the PSA Challenger Tour concluded this weekend, with Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy taking the honours at the Edinburgh Sports Club Open courtesy of a 3-0 win over top seed Olivia Blatchford Clyne.

El Hammamy, the No.2 seed from Cairo, had beaten Anna Serme of the Czech Republic, Jappan’s Satomi Watanabe and No.4 seed Alexandra Fuller en route to the final without dropping a game.

Meanwhile, World No.19 Blatchford Clyne had been tested by the likes of England’s Kace Bartley and fellow American Olivia Fiechter, but was able to fight through to reach her first PSA final since March 2017.

The form book favoured the Egyptian – who had claimed wins over Blatchford Clyne at both the Hong Kong Open and El Gouna International in 2018 – and she prevailed in straight games to lift the third PSA title of her career.

“I think I controlled the first two games well,” said El Hammamy.

“The third was really close and I had to work hard to stay ahead, I really didn’t want it to go to a fourth.

“I think I’ve played well this week, it will give me confidence going into some important tournaments coming up. It’s my biggest PSA win, so I’m really happy.”

A men’s exhibition tournament was also held, with World No.6 Paul Coll beating former World No.1 James Willstrop 3-0 in the final.

Meanwhile, India’s World No.58 Ramit Tandon lifted the fourth PSA title of his career after beating Egypt’s Mohamed ElSherbini 3-1 in the final of the Seattle Open.

There were also title wins for Finland’s Miko Aijanen and Frenchman Benjamin Aubert, who won the Savcor Finnish Open and Odense Open, respectively.

Aijanen defeated Pakistan’s Ahsan Ayaz 3-1 to capture his second PSA trophy, while Aubert got the better of home favourite Kristian Frost in a four-game, 92-minute battle.

Result – Final: Edinburgh Sports Club Open
[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [1] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-8 (32m)

Result – Final: Seattle Open
[1] Ramit Tandon (IND) bt [3] Mohamed Elsherbini (EGY) 3-1: 11-4, 11-7, 2-11, 11-2

Result – Final: Savcor Finnish Open
[3] Miko Äijänen (FIN) bt [1] Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) 2-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 (52m)

Result – Final: Odense Open
[2] Benjamin Aubert (FRA) bt [1] Kristian Frost (DEN) 11-7, 11-7, 10-12, 11-2 (92m)