PSA Squash95 Paris: Alves Wins On Home Soil

Frenchwoman Melissa Alves was victorious at the Challenger 10 level PSA Squash95 Paris tournament this weekend, coming through all four of her matches in the French capital without dropping a single game.

The World No.33 was the top seed for the event, with Enora Villard, Anna Serme and Marie Stephan the other players sitting inside the top 100 of the World Rankings.

Alves looked comfortable throughout the event, starting her week with a 28-minute win over Oceane Michalot. She allowed her fellow countrywoman just ten points across the match, as she started the week well.

There were a couple of shocks in the opening round in Paris, with the unseeded pair of Kara Lincou and Ella Galova both beating higher-ranked opponents. The pair made it through to the quarter-finals in their first ever tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour.

They would both lose in the last eight, though, with Galova on the receiving end of a 3-0 defeat from top seed Alves.Villard, Stephan and Serme all safely made it through to the last four.

There was a surprise in the semi-finals though, as No.3 seed Anna Serme, the Czech No.1, defeated No.2 seed, Enora Villard, the Frenchwoman who sits 19 places higher in the World Rankings.

Alves faced off against Serme after beating Marie Stephan in the semi-finals, and she continued her dominance of the event, winning a fourth straight match in three games, to clinch the sixth title of her professional career.

The Frenchwoman, who turned 27 in December, has waited nearly 18 months since her last victory, which came at the Nash Cup in September 2019. She will next be in action at the Le Havre PSA Challenger in February.

Results – PSA Squash95 Paris
Final
[1] Melissa Alves (FRA) bt [3] Anna Serme (CZE) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 (36m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Melissa Alves (FRA) bt [4] Marie Stephan (FRA) 3-0: 11-2, 12-10, 11-4 (36m)
[3] Anna Serme (CZE) bt [2] Enora Villard (FRA) 3-1: 6-11, 11-4, 11-5, 12-10 (50m)

Quarter-Finals
[1] Melissa Alves (FRA) bt Ella Galova (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-5 (25m)
[4] Marie Stephan (FRA) bt [6] Lea Barbeau (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-1 (22m)
[3] Anna Serme (CZE) bt [5] Elise Romba (FRA) 3-1: 11-5, 6-11, 11-3, 11-2 (40m)
[2] Enora Villard (FRA) bt Kara Lincou (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (28m)

Round One
[1] Melissa Alves (FRA) bt Oceane Michelot (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-2 (28m)
Ella Galova (FRA) bt [7] Taba Taghavi (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 (32m)
[6] Lea Barbeau (FRA) bt Nimon Lemarchand (FRA) 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-7 (30m)
[4] Marie Stephan (FRA) bt Ana Munos (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-4 (20m)
[3] Anna Serme (CZE) bt [WC] Daphne Mourier (FRA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-0, 11-5 (20m)
[5] Elise Romba (FRA) bt Mahe Asensi (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 13-11 (25m)
Kara Lincou (FRA) bt [8] Yuna Loaec (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 (40m)
[2] Enora Villard (FRA) bt Zoe Faure (FRA) 3-0: 11-1, 11-1, 11-1 (15m)