Challenger Events
Challenger Tour Round-Up: Levy Upsets Peach, Gamal Avoids Upset
The Green Squash Tour got underway in France yesterday, with two tournaments kicking off in Lagord and Couzeix. Read our round-up of the action below.
3rd Open de Lagord
French wild card Macéo Levy reached round two of the 3rd Open de Lagord, as Egyptian veteran Mazen Gamal survived a scare on day one.
Playing World No.99 James Peach, Levy came through a five-game battle to win 3-2 in just over an hour, setting up a meeting with No.7 seed Declan James, who will be playing just his second match since returning from injury.
The winner of that match will be guaranteed a meeting with another Frenchman, with top seed Baptiste Masotti and Edwin Clain facing off in that quarter of the draw.
Gamal, meanwhile, needed all five games himself to see off the other French wild card, Melvil Scianimanico.
Still just 18 years old and ranked outside the world’s top 200, Scianimanico pushed the experienced Egyptian all the way in what was only his second PSA Tour match since 2021.
At two games to one up and leading 9-7 in the fourth, Scianimanico was on the brink of victory, but the World No.71 made his experience count when it mattered most. He took the next four points to send the match to a decider, which he raced through to win 11-2 in less than 10 minutes.
Toufik Mekhalfi also came through a marathon to reach round two, beating Egypt’s Mohamed Nasser in a match that lasted 81 minutes.
Mekhalfi’s reward is a second-round matchup with another Egyptian in the form of No.3 seed Yahya Elnawasany, in what will be the pair’s first ever meeting.
1er Open PSA Féminin de Couzeix/Limoges
The 1er Open PSA Féminin de Couzeix/Limoges also got underway yesterday, with Hebaallah Nossier causing the biggest upset in round one.
The World No.436 was playing her first ever match on the PSA Tour, and came through to win 3-2 in 63 minutes.
The 34-year-old American cruised through the first two games but was pegged back in the third, and lost the fourth 12-10 after fighting back from 5-1 down.
Having been two points from victory, Nossier was then on the verge of defeat at 10-6 down in the decider, but staged a remarkable fightback, claiming six points on the bounce to wrap up a dramatic victory.
She will now face No.1 seed Marta Dominguez Fernandez in round two, while No.2 seed Torrie Malik will play fellow English teenager Isabel McCullough.
Like Nossier, McCullough needed five games to reach the second round, coming from 2-0 down to upset Lowri Roberts.
You can stay up to date with all the results on the PSA Tour here.
