Hauts de France QF: Seeds Out In Mens, Through In Women’s

The two draws at the PSA des Hauts de France saw contrasting quarter finals, as the top four seeds all made it through in the women’s event, while the top three seeds were knocked out  in the men’s competition.

The two Frenchman who secured upset wins in the second round continued their runs in the competition through the quarter finals as well, with both Edwin Clain and Toufik Mekhalfi advancing too the last four of the tournament, doing so in contrasting fashion.

After winning in five against the Czech Republic’s Viktor Byrtus on Thursday, Mekhalfi then took on another Czech player in the quarters, in No.3 seed Jakub Solnicky. For the second day in succession, the Frenchman found himself two games down early on, but once again, he was able to fight back. He took the third 11-4, and the fourth 11-7 to send the match into a deciding game, where both men had their chances. Eventually it was Mekhalfi that took the win with a 12-10 scoreline in the fifth, to advance through to the last four. 

He will be joined in the semis by compatriot Clain, who took the biggest surprise win of the evening’s action, as he defeated Japanese No.1, and the tournament’s top seed, Ryosei Kobayashi, in straight games. Despite being almost 90 places below his opponent in the World Rankings, the Frenchman was in control throughout, winning 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 to secure his spot in the semis.

He will now face Perry Malik in the last four, after the Englishman defeated Wales’ Elliott Morris Devred in a battle between two unseeded players, while Colombia’s No.5 seed Andres Herrera lies in wait for Mekhalfi. Herrera got the better of No.2 seed Aqeel Rehman, beating the Austrian in five games to secure a surprise win.

It was a much different story in the women’s event as just two games were dropped by the top four seeds across their respective quarter final contests in Lille on Friday evening. The top two seeds, in Egypt’s Nardine Garas and Englishwoman Alicia Mead both won in three to secure their spots in the last four of the competition.

Garas will now face England’s Torrie Malik, the No.3 seed for the event, after the Englishwoman defeated Ukraine’s Alina Bushma in a four-game battle. Switzerland’s Ambre Allinckx, the No.4 seed, is the other woman through to the semis, and she will now face Mead after beating Malaysia’s Yasshmita Jadishkumar in four as well.

The semi-finals of the PSA des Hauts de France will take place on Saturday, August 27 at Le Lil in Lille, France, with the last four in both draws aiming to take spots in the finals. You can keep up to date with live scores from the tournament on the PSA World Tour’s website here.

Men’s Quarter Final Results: PSA des Hauts de France
Edwin Clain (FRA) bt [1] Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-2
Perry Malik (ENG) bt Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) 3-1: 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9
Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) bt [3] Jakub Solnicky (CZE) 3-2: 2-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7, 12-10 (84m)
[5] Andres Herrera (COL) bt [2] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 3-2: 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-4 (72m)

Men’s Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, August 27
Edwin Clain (FRA) v Perry Malik (ENG)
Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) v [5] Andres Herrera (COL)

Women’s Quarter Final Results: PSA des Hauts de France
[1] Nardine Garas (EGY) bt Taba Taghavi (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-7
[3] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt [8] Alina Bushma (UKR) 3-1: 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9
[4] Ambre Allinckx (SUI) bt Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) 3-1: 11-7, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7
[2] Alicia Mead (ENG) bt [6] Lea Barbeau (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 12-10, 11-4

Women’s Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, August 27
[1] Nardine Garas (EGY) v [3] Torrie Malik (ENG)
[4] Ambre Allinckx (SUI) v [2] Alicia Mead (ENG)