Romanian Open: Prott Continues Knockout Run

For the second day in succession, Scotland’s Alasdair Prott took out a seeded player, this time to make it through to the semi-finals of the Romanian Open.

The Scot came into the Challenger 5 level tournament at the VIVO in Cluj-Napoca as one of the eight unseeded players, but has now taken out two higher-ranked opponents in the first two rounds of the competition.

In the quarter finals, Prott came up against No.5 seed Marc Lopez, and he took a tight first game 11-8 to claim the momentum in the contest. From there, he dropped just two more points, to claim both the second and third games 11-1. A 22 minute victory sets up a semi-final clash with No.2 seed Marek Panacek, who won the all-Czech battle with compatriot Ondrej Vorlicek in four games.

Spain’s Nilo Vidal also caused an upset on the second day in Romania, as the No.8 seed defeated Welshman Elliott Morris Devred. The pair were level after two games, after the No.3 seed responded to win the second, but from there, the Spaniard won both the third and fourth games 11-4, to advance to the semis. Vidal will now face England’s Ben Smith, the tournament’s top seed, in the last four on Saturday.

The semi-finals of the Romanian Open will take place on Saturday, November 19, with all the action coming live from the VIVO Cluj-Napoca. You can watch all the action live on the tournament’s website, and keep up to date with live scores here.

Quarter Final Results: Romanian Open
[1] Ben Smith (ENG) bt [7] David Zeman (CZE) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (34m)
[8] Nilo Vidal (ESP) bt [3] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-4 (40m)
Alasdair Prott (SCO) bt [5] Marc Lopez (ESP) 3-0: 11-8, 11-1, 11-1 (22m)
[2] Marek Panacek (CZE) bt [6] Ondrej Vorlícek (CZE) 3-1: 11-7, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7 (38m)

Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, November 19
[1] Ben Smith (ENG) v [8] Nilo Vidal (ESP)
Alasdair Prott (SCO) v [2] Marek Panacek (CZE)