Concourse Athletic Club Preview: Withington Ready To Kick On

The first of two tournaments to be played in the United States this week will be the Concourse Athletic Club Open, which will take place from Wednesday, October 12 to Sunday, October 16 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Concourse Athletic Club will play host to the men’s Challenger 10 level tournament, which will feature a 24-strong draw. The five day event will see three top 100 ranked players in action, with an American leading the way.

World No.50 Faraz Khan will be the tournament’s top seed, and he will be hoping to take home the title on home soil. Pakistan’s Muhammad Asim Khan and England’s Sam Todd, who is playing on Tour for the first time since July, will also be involved.

The Guatemalan trio of Josue and Alejandro Enriquez, along with Ricardo Toscano, will be joined Egypt’s Aly Hussein and Pakistani Saeed Abdul in making up the rest of the top eight seeds for the competition.

The English duo of Lewis Doughty and Finnlay WIthington will also be in the draw, both in the 9/16 seeding bracket. We spoke to the latter prior to the tournament, and he is looking to keep pushing on after a trip to Kuwait last month.

“I feel like I am playing well and I am confident in my game. [I am] ready to kick on in the next few events,” the young Englishman said.

“Kuwait was enjoyable, and I felt I played pretty well in both matches. I was gutted to not pull through in the second round but it was a good experience.”

Withington was a key part of the England side that lifted the title at the WSF World Junior Team Championships in France earlier this summer, breaking a 22-year duck for the nation.

The youngster also made it to the finals the individual event, losing out to Dutchman Rowan Damming. He was proud to be a part of that team, but also believes that there is more to come in the future.

“It felt very good to be part of the England team that won the event. I feel like I have more to offer though than I did in the individual event and I am looking forward to showing that in the next few events.”

“I feel like I have a lot to offer and I am hoping to prove that this week. I just want to take each part of the journey as it comes and I definitely feel like I will continue to climb the rankings.”

Withington will be joined in the draw by another member of the winning England side at this year’s WSF World Junior Team Championships, in Jonah Bryant. There will also be three wildcards for the competition, with Fletcher Cline, Varun Chitturi and Felipe Pantle in action.

The event takes place from Wednesday, October 12 to Sunday, October 16 at the Concourse Athletic Club in Atlanta. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates from the event.

First Round Draw: Concourse Athletic Club Open
[1] Faraz Khan (USA) – [Bye]
Maximilien Godbout (CAN) v [9/16] Jamie Ruggiero (USA)
[9/16] Finnlay Withington (ENG) v Mehran Javed (PAK)
[8] Saeed Abdul (PAK) – [Bye]
[6] Aly Hussein (EGY) – [Bye]
Mohamed Nabil (EGY) v [9/16] Asyraf Azan (MAS)
[9/16] Darosham Khan (CAN) v Muhammad Ibrahim Noorani (PAK)
[4] Josue Enriquez (GUA) – [Bye]
[3] Sam Todd (ENG) – [Bye]
Jonah Bryant (ENG) v [9/16] Abdul Malik Khan (PAK)
[9/16] Henrik Mustonen (FIN) v [WC] Varun Chitturi (USA)
[7] Ricardo Toscano (USA) – [Bye]
[5] Alejandro Enriquez (GUA) – [Bye]
[WC] Felipe Pantle (USA) v [9/16] Lewis Doughty (ENG)
[9/16] Asif Mehmood (PAK) v [WC] Fletcher Cline (USA)
[2] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) – [Bye]