MRU Open SF: Herbert Downs No.2 Seed To Reach Final

Simon Herbert came through an all-English clash with No.2 seed Curtis Malik to reach the final of the MRU Open in Calgary, Canada.

The English duo were doing battle for the first time on Tour, and it was a close contest throughout. Both players were evenly matched, but it was the tournament’s No.6 seed that drew first blood, winning a tight opening game 11-9.

He started strongly in the second but allowed Malik back into it. However, it was the World No.81 who doubled his advantage. The third then went to a tie-break, and once again Herbert was able to eek out the win, securing a straight games victory to move through to his first final in twelve months.

He will now take on the tournament’s top seed, David Baillargeon, in the final on Sunday. The Canadian No.1 lost the first game of his semi-final clash with India’s Abhay Singh, as the Indian showed the skills that have seen him win five times on Tour already this season.

Baillargeon fought back strongly though. He claimed the second game 11-7, before then going on to win both the third and fourth games by an 11-5 scoreline to take the victory in four games. He moves through to the final where he will face Herbert for the second time. The Canadian took a straight games victory at the Carey Olsen Tortola Classic last year.

The final between Baillargeon and Herbert will take place on Sunday, February 26. You can keep up to date with daily updates from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook.

Action from Calgary is being streamed throughout the week on the MRU Squash Club Facebook page. Live scores are available on the PSA World Tour website here.

Semi-Final Results: MRU Open
[1] David Baillargeon (CAN) bt [4] Abhay Singh (IND) 3-1: 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-5 (40m)
[6] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt [2] Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 12-10 (33m)

Final Draw: To Be Played Sunday, February 26
[1] David Baillargeon (CAN) v [6] Simon Herbert (ENG)