Head Open Preview: Gobbi Glad To See Tour Back In Brazil

The Head Open begins on Thursday in Sao Caetano du Sol, and it will be the first PSA Tour event being played in Brazil in 42 months, dating back to the Paineiras Open Brasil which was held in May 2018.

The 16-strgon Challenger 3 level tournament will be played at the Renato Gallego Squash Academy, and we will see and entirely South American field at the event.

Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay, along with the host nation Brazil, will all be represented at the tournament, with Paraguayan No.1 Francesco Marcantonio as the No.2 seed.

The Argentinian duo of Lisandro Ortiz and Miguel Pujol, along with Bolivia’s Gabriel Torrez, will all be in the draw, which will be led bye the Brazilian No.1, and World No.241, Diego Gobbi.

We spoke to Gobbi prior to the event starting, and he is excited to see the Tour return to his home country, especially after such a lengthy period away.

“Firstly, I would say that it is great to see the PSA Tour back in Brazil. I am felling great, but I have not played many tournaments since the pandemic. I have not stopped training since then as well. I hope to play more events until the end of the year,” Gobbi said.

“It’s great to play all the events on home soil. We feel very comfortable to play on the courts we already know and to play with the fans in our favour. In the world of football, we know how passionate the Brazilians are and in squash is is no different.”

Gobbi is currently the World No.241, but has been as high as World No.141, exactly 100 places further up the World Rankings. He admits that he did not have as many tournaments under his belt as he might have required, but that he is ready to go out and fight for his ranking once more.

“Even when I had my best ranking, I did not have the full number of tournaments played. It was only eight or nine tournaments. I feel that I have the level to be at a better ranking,” the Brazilian said.

“I will not use the pandemic as an excuse anymore. I am preparing myself to play more tournaments abroad, but not before playing our local tournaments.”

There are three Brazilians inside the top 250, with Guilherme Melo and Vini Rodrigues alongside Gobbi, and this week’s top seed wants to take back his nation’s top spot, and lead his country again in future.

“It means a lot to me. Firstly, it is good to see that the Brazilian level is improving year by year. We can see more Brazilian players on tour. And I hope to lead and make Brazil even better in squash,” he said.

The event takes place from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 November at the Renato Gallego Squash Academy in Sao Caetano du Sol, where Diego Gobbi is the top seed for the tournament. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

First Round Draw: Head Open
[1] Diego Gobbi (BRA) – [Bye]
[WC] Gabriel Torrez (BOL) v [8] Lisandro Ortiz (ARG)
[5] Yuri Pollak (BRA) v [WC] Rhuan Sousa (BRA)
[WC] Vitor Magnani (BRA) v [3] Pedro Mometto (BRA)
[4] Matheus Carbonieri (BRA) v [WC] Gabriel Pederiva (BRA)
Miguel Pujol (ARG) v [6] Vitor Vieira (BRA)
[7] Junior Christovam (BRA) v [WC] Murilo Fernandes (BRA)
[WC] Vinicius Morello (BRA) v [2] Francesco Marcantonio (PAR)