Denmark’s Kristian Frost Olesen fully justified his top billing at the Chateau-Arnoux Open in France when he beat second seed Jan Koukal in the final of the inaugural PSA World Tour Challenger 5 event at Salle Des Sports Zone in Chateau-Arnoux.
The 24-year-old from Odense reached the 11th Tour final of his career when he took out unseeded Englishman Thomas Ford in the semi-finals.
Koukal denied home interest in the final when he ousted third-seeded Frenchman Geoffrey Demont in the other semi – a straight games win which saw the 30-year-old Czech number one reach his 41st Tour final, and his second in a row.
Ranked 13 places higher than his opponent in the final, world No57 Olesen (pictured second from the right) defeated Koukal 11-4, 13-11, 11-9 to mark up the eighth PSA Tour title of his career – in his sixth different country.
Final:
[1] Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) bt [2] Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-4, 13-11, 11-9
Semi-finals:
[1] Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) bt Thomas Ford (ENG) 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8
[2] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [3] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) 13-11, 11-6, 11-6
Quarter-finals:
[1] Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) bt [Q] Christophe Andre (FRA) 11-8, 10-12, 11-5, 11-2 (47m)
Thomas Ford (ENG) bt Chris Fuller (ENG) 11-4, 11-5, 5-11, 13-11 (83m)
[3] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) bt [Q] Lukas Burkhart (SUI) 13-11, 11-4, 11-7 (33m)
[2] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Ondrej Ertl (CZE) 5-11, 12-10, 11-13, 11-3, 11-3
1st round:
[1] Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) bt Damien Volland (FRA) 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 (44m)
[Q] Christophe Andre (FRA) bt Karamatullah Khan (PAK) 3-11, 13-11, 11-1, 11-3 (37m)
Thomas Ford (ENG) bt [Q] Rui Soares (POR) 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 (39m)
Chris Fuller (ENG) bt [4] Yann Perrin (FRA) 11-6, 5-11, 11-5, 11-5 (41m)
[3] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) bt Jerome Dadot (FRA) 11-8, 11-4, 5-11, 11-8 (41m)
[Q] Lukas Burkhart (SUI) bt Arthur Moineau (FRA) 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (31m)
Ondrej Ertl (CZE) bt [Q] Sergio Lopez (MEX) 11-5, 11-2, 11-6 (42m)
[2] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Michael Harris (ENG) 7-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-5, 11-3 (50m)
Qualifying finals:
Lukas Burkhart (SUI) bt Richard Williams (ENG) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (31m)
Christophe Andre (FRA) bt Florent Pontiere (FRA) 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 11-1 (50m)
Sergio Lopez (MEX) bt Anthony Brindle (GIB) 11-3, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9 (45m)
Rui Soares (POR) bt Hugo Varela (ESP) 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9 (61m)
1st qualifying round:
Lukas Burkhart (SUI) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (37m)
Richard Williams (ENG) bt Yannick Lindemann (SUI) 11-3, 11-8, 11-9 (28m)
Christophe Andre (FRA) bt Jamie Henderson (SCO) 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 (30m)
Florent Pontiere (FRA) bt Mohamed El Tabaa (EGY) 11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 12-10 (47m)
Anthony Brindle (GIB) bt Quint Mandil (FRA) 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6 (48m)
Sergio Lopez (MEX) bt Eric Garson (ENG) 11-1, 11-6, 11-6 (24m)
Rui Soares (POR) bt Phillip John Bull (ENG) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8 (27m)
Hugo Varela (ESP) bt Xavier Blasco Marchal (ESP) 9-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 (26m)
