Chandaran Completes Stunning Week with Liverpool Cricket Club Open Title

Ameeshenraj Chandaran capped a phenomenal week with a fairytale finale, beating Viktor Byrtus to lift the biggest title of his career, the 15k Liverpool Cricket Club Open. 

The unseeded Malaysian had only reached the final of one Challenger Tour event before, a 5K last year, but produced sensational performances to sink former World No.22 Moustafa Elsirty and then defending champion Ben Smith to reach this final. 

Standing in his way of the title was No.7 seed Byrtus, who himself had knocked out third seed Muhammad Asim Khan and the dangerous Kareem El Torkey to get here. 

Both players were relatively fresh after winning their semi-finals 3-0, and it was actually Byrtus who made the better start, establishing a 5-3 lead. 

Chandaran, though, quickly found his feet and soon wrapped up game one 11-6, highlighted by a brilliant boast drop which left his opponent flailing. 

The Malaysian then raced through game two in less than nine minutes, clinching it 11-3 with a delightful forehand volley which found the nick. 

Any hopes of a Byrtus comeback were quickly dispelled in game three, too, as Chandaran continued to display the remarkable speed around the court that had served him so well all week, moving 8-1 up in just four minutes.

The Czech player did close the gap back to 10-5, but that was as good as it got for him, with a forehand into the tin handing Chandaran victory. 

The Malaysian had certainly won the hearts of the Liverpool crowd by the end of play, and he celebrated with them in style, busting some dance moves on court before collecting his trophy. 

“Honestly, I’m speechless,” he said after the win. “15k champion… that sounds pretty good! 

“It’s been a tough year. As I said last night, I wasn’t getting the results I’ve been wanting these past few months. I’ve been working really hard with my coaches and I’m really glad just to get the win today.

“The Liverpool crowd… I’m telling you, every time I felt a bit tired, the adrenaline just kept me going, and they’ve been nothing but an amazing crowd all week. 

Speaking on whether there were any pre-match nerves, he added: “Today was different. Obviously playing Elsirty and Ben Smith, I haven’t beaten them before, or even played them before.

“But with Viktor, it was a bit different because I have played him and beaten him before, so it was almost an opportunity that I could not fumble, so there definitely were nerves.” 

Result: 
Ameeshenraj Chandaran (MAS) bt [7] Viktor Byrtus (CZE) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (32m)