2nd Guatemala Open Tournament: Lee and Salunkhe Claim Maiden Tour Wins

It was a day of firsts at the 2nd Guatemala Open Squash PSA Tournament, as England’s Charlie Lee and India’s Akanksha Salunkhe both secured their maiden PSA Tour titles.

Lee came into the tournament unseeded and started off his campaign with a comfortable victory over home hope Sebastian Fonseca, one of the wildcards for the event. He then defeated No.8 seed Guilherme Melo and No.4 seed Ronald Palomino, both in straight games, to move through to the last four.

In the semis, the Englishman defeated top seed Arturo Salazar, with the Mexican having to retire early on in the third game. That put him through to the final, where he would face another Mexican, in Alfredo Avila, the man that won last week’s event.

Lee would stop him from winning in back-to-back weeks, though, with a five-game victory in 74 minutes. The Englishman won both the first and third, the latter on a tie-break, but saw Avila respond to level the match on both occasions. However, the World No.113 was able to secure the victory in the fifth, to claim his first title on Tour.

Also reaching that same goal was India’s Akanksha Salunkhe, with the Indian securing her first win as a professional, claiming the women’s Challenger 5 level crown. After getting a bye through the opening round, the Indian then defeated Guatemala’s Winifer Bonilla in straight games to make it into the semi-finals.

In the last four, she got the better of the tournament’s top seed, Australia’s Alex Haydon, in straight games, before then downing No.2 seed Laura Tovar in a five-game battle in the final. The Indian came from a game down to lead 2-1 in the contest, before Tovar, who already has a win to her name in 2022, fought back to level the match. It was Salunkhe that would eventually take the victory, after 47 minutes of action in Guatemala, to claim her first Tour title.

Results: 2nd Guatemala Open Squash PSA Tournament
Men’s Final
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [3] Alfredo Avila (MEX) 3-2: 11-8, 9-11, 13-11, 11-13, 11-1 (74m)

Women’s Final
[3] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) bt [2] Laura Tovar (COL) 3-2: 10-12, 11-2, 11-8, 6-11, 11-5 (47m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [1] Arturo Salazar (MEX) 3-1: 11-8, 8-11, 1-1 rtd
[3] Alfredo Avila (MEX) bt Josue Enriquez (GUA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 (28m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[3] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) bt [1] Alex Haydon (AUS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 (30m)
[2] Laura Tovar (COL) bt [4] Diana Gasca (MEX) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 (26m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Arturo Salazar (MEX) bt [7] Tom Walsh (ENG) 3-1: 11-3, 11-4, 6-11, 11-5 (43m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [4] Ronald Palomino (COL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (30m)
[3] Alfredo Avila (MEX) bt Edgar Ramirez Bautista (COL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 (36m)
Josue Enriquez (GUA) bt [2] Timothy Brownell (USA) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-5 (39m)

Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Alex Haydon (AUS) bt [7] Maria Clara Ramirez (COL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-1, 11-6 (21m)
[3] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) bt Winifer Bonilla (GUA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-3 (23m)
[4] Diana Gasca (MEX) bt [5] Aileen Dominguez (MEX) 3-1: 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6 (33m)
[2] Laura Tovar (COL) bt [8] Tabita Gaitan (GUA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 (21m)

Men’s Round Two
[1] Arturo Salazar (MEX) bt Joseph White (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-6 (33m)
[7] Tom Walsh (ENG) bt Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) 3-2: 12-10, 14-12, 3-11, 8-11, 11-7 (85m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [8] Guilherme Melo (BRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-1, 11-2 (30m)
[4] Ronald Palomino (COL) bt Alejandro Enriquez (GUA) 3-2: 11-7, 7-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-7 (67m)
[3] Alfredo Avila (MEX) bt Alejandro Reyes (MEX) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-5 (29m)
Edgar Ramirez Bautista (COL) bt [6] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 3-1: 11-5, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7 (63m)
Josue Enriquez (GUA) bt [5] Nick Sachvie (CAN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (36m)
[2] Timothy Brownell (USA) bt Diego Gobbi (BRA) 3-1: 11-3, 10-12, 11-4, 11-6 (42m)

Women’s Round One
[7] Maria Clara Ramirez (COL) bt Sophia Fonseca (GUA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-6 (17m)
Winifer Bonilla (GUA) bt [6] Andrea Soria (COL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 (30m)
[5] Aileen Dominguez (MEX) bt Alejandra Romero (GUA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-2 (21m)
[8] Tabita Gaitan (GUA) bt Darlyn Sandoval (GUA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-9, 11-7 (30m)

Men’s Round One
Joseph White (AUS) bt [WC] Ricardo Toscano (GUA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 12-10 (46m)
Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) bt Francesco Marcantonio (PAR) 3-1: 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (51m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [WC] Sebastian Fonseca (GUA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-1, 11-3 (25m)
Alejandro Enriquez (GUA) bt Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 13-11 (42m)
Alejandro Reyes (MEX) bt Miled Zarazua (MEX) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (32m)
Edgar Ramirez Bautista (COL) bt Laouenan Loaec (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (27m)
Josue Enriquez (GUA) bt Andres Herrera (COL) 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6 (59m)
Diego Gobbi (BRA) bt Allan Nunez (MEX) 3-1: 5-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-4 (37m)