Qualifier Poleshchuk Stuns Field at Israel Open

#PSAWorldTour

Daniel Poleshchuk, the Israeli teenager ranked World No.199, booked his place in the history books by becoming the first Israeli player ever to win a title on the PSA World Tour with a remarkable come-from-behind victory in the final of the Global Relocations Israel Open, PSA Challenger 5 event.

The 19-year-old from Ramat-Gan earned his place in the draw after coming through qualification and he capped a memorable week by fighting back from two games down against number two seed Geoffrey Demont to take the title and delight the partisan crowd with an 86-minute, 6-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-3, 13-11 victory.

Poleshchuk was terrific throughout the event, dropping just one game on his way to the final, as he breezed past fourth seed Christophe Andre, the 2014 runner-up, and England’s No.7 seed Oliver Pett en-route to earning his maiden appearance in a PSA World Tour final.

The Frenchman was the clear favourite going into the match and showed exactly why with a professional display that saw him take the first two games, but Poleshchuk shored up his game and saw the pendulum swing his way as he levelled the match and held o to take the title in a tense tie-break in the fifth game,

“I did it!” exclaimed the 19-year-old. “I won my first ever PSA title after being 2/0 and 6-2 down – I managed to come back and win 13-11 in the fifth.

“I want to thank Nadav Wilensky for being there for me during the whole tournament; my coach in Poland Maciek Kils; my family; and all my friends who were supporting me during this epic final.”

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 5 Global Relocations Israel Open, Herzliya, Israel

1st round:
[1] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt [Q] Claudio Pinto (POR) 3-0: 11-3, 11-1, 11-7 (23m)
[7] Oliver Pett (ENG) bt [WC] Roee Avraham (ISR) 3-1: 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (45m)
Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [8] Micah Franklin (BER) 3-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-3, 13-11 (48m)
[Q] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt [4] Christophe Andre (FRA) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-6 (18m)
[3] James Earles (ENG) bt [Q] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) 3-1: 7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (48m)
[Q] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt [5] Arthur Moineau (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-9 (26m)
Lyell Fuller (ENG) bt [6] Joe Green (ENG) 3-1: 11-6, 13-15, 11-5, 11-5 (42m)
[2] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) bt Edmon Lopez Moller (ESP) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (35m)

Quarter-finals:
[7] Oliver Pett (ENG) bt [1] Richie Fallows (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 (41m)
[Q] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-1: 11-4, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9 (45m)
[3] James Earles (ENG) bt [Q] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-2: 5-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-1, 11-6 (50m)
[2] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) bt Lyell Fuller (ENG) 3-1: 3-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-2 (52m)

Semi-finals:
[Q] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt [7] Oliver Pett (ENG) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 11-3 (34m)
[2] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) bt [3] James Earles (ENG) 3-0: 14-12, 11-1, 11-2 (29m)

Final:
[Q] Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt [2] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) 3-2: 6-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-3, 13-11 (86m)

By Sean Reuthe