German number one Simon Rosner upset top seed Aamir Atlas Khan in the final of the Jena International Championship in Kuwait to win the PSA World Tour Challenger 15 event – and the biggest Tour title of his career – at Qadsia Sporting Club in Hawally.
The third seed from Paderborn r
eached the final after overcoming local hero Abdullah Al Muzayen, a qualifier, in the previous round.
But Rosner, ranked 33 in the world, dropped the opening game of the final for just three points as Atlas Khan, ranked four places higher, looked on course to win his first Tour title for a year.
Just a month after winning his fifth German national title, however, Rosner battled back to win the next two games, then stemmed a fourth-game fightback by the Pakistani to clinch the decider by a two-point margin to record his 3-11, 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9 title triumph after 68 minutes.
The win marks the fifth title of 23-year-old Rosner’s PSA Tour career – but the largest by a significant margin.
Final:
[3] Simon Rosner (GER) bt [1] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 3-11, 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-9 (68m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt Ali Farag (EGY)11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 (49m)
[3] Simon Rosner (GER) bt [Q] Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW)11-7, 11-9, 11-4 (34m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt Joel Hinds (ENG) 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6 (47m)
Ali Farag (EGY) bt [4] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 11-7, 11-9, 12-14, 11-1 (44m)
[3] Simon Rosner (GER) bt Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) 11-4, 11-6, 11-8 (39m)
[Q] Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) bt [Q] Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) 13-11, 11-5, 11-5 (38m)
1st round:
[1] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) bt Bradley Hindle (MLT) 8-11, 11-6, 14-12, 11-5 (50m)
Joel Hinds (ENG) bt [Q] Bart Ravelli (NED) 9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (72m)
Ali Farag (EGY) bt Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 (35m)
[4] Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) bt [Q] Ivan Yuen (MAS) 9-11, 1-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (124m)
[3] Simon Rosner (GER) bt Joe Lee (ENG) 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 14-12 (54m)
Muhd Asyraf Azan (MAS) bt Ammar Al-Tamimi (KUW) 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (46m)
[Q] Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) bt Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) 11-8, 9-1 ret.
[Q] Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) bt [2] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 11-9, 11-9, 11-2 (34m)
Qualifying finals:
Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) bt Bader Al Hussaini (KUW) 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (32m)
Bart Ravelli (NED) bt Zeyad Tareq Alowaesh (KUW) 11-7, 7-11, 11-2, 11-1 (47m)
Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) bt Mohammed Yaquop Hajeyah (KUW) 11-7, 11-5 ret. (22m)
Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Yasir Butt (PAK) 8-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 (45m)
1st qualifying round:
Abdullah Al Muzayen (KUW) bt Nasser B Al-Ramzi (KUW) 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 (18m)
Bader Al Hussaini (KUW) bt Ali Al-Ramzi (KUW) 8-11, 11-4, 13-11, 11-5 (65m)
Zeyad Tareq Alowaesh (KUW) bt Mohammad Reza Sadeghpour (IRI) 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3 (57m)
Bart Ravelli (NED) bt Abdulaziz Kanaan (KUW) 11-2, 11-8, 11-3 (20m)
Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND) bt Hasan Al-Taqi (KUW) w/o
Mohammed Yaquop Hajeyah (KUW) bt Aqeel Ashkanani (KUW) 11-7, 11-2, 11-6 (18m)
Yasir Butt (PAK) bt Yousif N Ali (KUW) 11-5, 11-7, 11-0 (23m)
Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Ahmad Al-Saraj (JOR) 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (19m)
