Challenger Tour Round-Up: Marcantonio Downs Damming in Epic, Lyon, Lash & Chuah into Finals

ACE Challenger 6K 2024 

Wildcard Joachim Chuah continued his outstanding week at the ACE Challenger 6K, beating Egypt’s Yassin Shohdy to reach the final in Johor. 

19-year-old Chuah – a quarter-finalist at last year’s World Juniors – is playing his first Challenger Tour event since 2022, but is now one win away from capping a remarkable week with the title. 

His semi-final win over Shohdy was arguably his most comfortable win of the week, taking exactly half an hour to complete a 3-0 victory, with top seed Mohamed Nasser already waiting in the final. 

Nasser enjoyed a similarly routine win on semi-finals day, beating Wailok To 3-0 in 28 minutes, reaching his third final of the season. 

The women’s final, meanwhile, will see two teenagers go head-to-head for the title, in 17-year-old Nour Khafagy and 18-year-old Sehveetrraa Kumar. 

Second seed Khafagy is into her second Challenger Tour final and is yet to drop a game this week, beating Mariko Tam 3-0 on semi-finals day. 

Kumar was made to work harder for her spot in the final, needing to battle back from a game down to oust Thanusaa Uthrian in an all-Malaysian semi-final, but will now have her sights set on a second trophy of the season. 

ECP Open 2024 

Francesco Marcantonio produced a sensational comeback to sink top seed Rowan Damming at the ECP Open, saving four match balls in an epic semi-final. 

Former World Junior champion Damming looked to be cruising into the final at two games up, particularly after taking game two 11-1. 

He then had a match ball at 10-9 up in the third, but was unable to convert, opening the door for Marcantonio’s comeback. 

The Paraguyan took the ensuing tiebreak and then forced a decider by edging game four 11-9, but once againt found himself on the brink of defeat at 10-8 in the fifth. 

He saved both match balls, though, and then another at 11-10 down, before completing the stunning turnaround by clinching the tiebreak 13-11. 

The top seed also went out in the women’s draw, where Colombia’s Catalina Pelaez was beaten by Mexican third seed Sarahi Lopez, losing 3-0 in 46 minutes, but there was no such problems for second seed Laura Silva. 

The 16-year-old has not dropped more than seven points in a game this week, and didn’t even need to win three games to book her spot in the final, with 41-year-old Tatiana Damasio Borges forced to retire at 4-0 down in game three, after losing the first two. 

Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open 2024 

The top two seeds will face off in both the men’s and women’s finals at the Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Open, with Temwa Chileshe hoping to make it fourth time lucky on home soil. 

The New Zealander has finished as runner-up in this event in each of the last three years, but will now have the chance to finally go one better after beating Mason Smales 11-4, 11-6, 11-9. 

Standing in his way will be No.2 seed and fellow Kiwi Anthony Lepper, who showed his experience to end the impressive run of Australia’s, winning 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 to reach his first Challenger Tour final. 

The women’s final, meanwhile, will pit Australia’s Madison Lyon against a familiar face in New Zealand’s Ella Lash. 

The pair have already faced each other a final away from the PSA Tour this year, going head-to-head for the Oceania Junior Championships crown, which was won by Lyon. 

Lash did claim both the Australian and New Zealand Junior Open titles either side of that defeat though, and will have home support on her side at the North Shore Squash Club as she looks to clinch a maiden PSA Tour title. 

Action from the finals of the Barfoot & Thomson Auckland Open will stream live on the Squash Auckland Facebook page from 2pm local time (3am BST) on Sunday, May 19. Click here to tune in. 

You can stay up to date with all the results on the Challenger Tour here.