Challenger Tour Round-Up: Colombians Dominate in Bermuda, Scianimanico Impresses in Paris

IQUW Bermuda Open 2024  

There will be five Colombian players in the semi-finals of the IQUW Bermuda Open, after a big win for No.6 seed Andres Herrera. 

Herrera knocked out No.1 seed Spencer Lovejoy in the quarter-finals, ending the American’s hopes of back-to-back tournaments victories. 

The 25-year-old won the Pan American World Championship Qualifying Event earlier this month, but went down in five games to the sixth-seeded Colombian in Devonshire, losing the decider 11-8 after fighting back from two games down. 

No.3 seed Seif El-Shenawy also suffered an upset at the hands of a lower-ranked Colombian player, in Edgar Ramirez, with the Egyptian forced to retire at 2-1 down and 9-6 down in the fourth. 

There were no such issues for the No.2 and 4 seeds – Sanjay Jeeva and Matias Knudsen – who both won 3-0 to reach the semi-finals. 

In the women’s draw, Catalina Pelaez and Laura Tovar remain on course for an all-Colombian final, after booking their spots in their respective semi-finals. 

Pelaez staged an impressive fightback to beat Wen Li Lai 3-2, and will now play the in-form Margot Prow, while Tovar also came through a dramatic five-game encounter, beating Egypt’s Nour Ramy 11-9 in the fifth. She will face fourth seed Ingy Hammouda in the last four. 

Batch Open 2024 

Rising French star Melvil Scianimanico showcased his talents with a dominant win over compatriot Macéo Levy, reaching the Batch Open quarter-finals in the process. 

Scianimanico was a semi-finalists at this year’s British Junior Open and the French Junior Open champion, and showed why he’s so highly regarded with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Levy, winning 11-4, 11-9, 11-6. 

The 18-year-old – who turns 19 on semi-finals day – will be one of two French players in the quarters, after a win for Brice Nicolas over England’s Will Salter. 

There will, however, be no place for wildcard Amir Khaled-Jousselin. The 15-year-old made an impressive start to his PSA Tour career with a win on his debut in round one, but was unable to get the better of the more experienced Emyr Evans, who won 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 in 42 minutes. 

Top seed Velavan Senthilkumar and fifth seed Jakub Solnicky also progressed, but No.3 seed Martin Svec suffered a shock defeat to Hong Kong’s Andes Ling. 

Expression St. James Women’s 20k 2024 

The top eight seeds all eased through to quarter-finals day at the Expression St. James Women’s 20k, with only Saran Nghiem needing more than three games. 

The English No.7 seed dropped game two to Mexico’s Diana Garcia, but otherwise looked in control throughout, not dropping no more than six points in any of the three games she won. 

Top seed Farida Mohamed, third seed Nardine Garas and No.8 seed Danielle Ray all put in particularly impressive performances in their round-two matchups, each spending less than 20 minutes on court. 

Rochester ProAm 2024 

The top seven seeds are all through to the Rochester ProAm quarter-finals, with No.8 seed Luis Quisquinay the only player to suffer an upset on day two. 

The Guatemalan was beaten 3-0 by the USA’s Salim Khan, who will now play Mexico’s Jorge Luis Gomez Dominguez for a place in the semi-finals. 

Hamdard Squashters Northern Slam 2024 

Top seeds Ravindu Laksiri and Anahat Singh both cruised through to semi-finals day in the respective men’s and women’s draws at the Hamdard Squashters Northern Slam. 

Sri Lanka’s Laksiri saw off the challenge of No.6 seed Jaejin Yoo 3-0 in the quarter-finals, and will now play home favourite Rahul Baitha for a spot in the final. 

As well as a place in the final, Laksiri will have revenge on his mind, having lost out to Baitha in a five-game epic in December’s JSW 9th Sunil Verma Memorial Open final. 

Singh, meanwhile, also beat a Korean player in the last eight, knocking out Chaewon Song in just 22 minutes, keeping her hopes alive of a second straight Challenger Tour title.