RFES Spanish Open Palencia: Pajares Claims Win On Home Soil

Spanish No.1 Iker Pajares Bernabeu secured his first win on Tour in two years, with a victory at the RFES Spanish Open Ciudad de Palencia, coming through the entirety of the tournament without dropping a single game.

The Spaniard, who came into the tournament after reaching the second round of the CIB Squash Open Black Ball in Cairo last week, was the pre-tournament favourite, and he showed his class from the outset.

The World No.26 began with a straight games victory over Scotland’s Rory Stewart in the second round, having received a bye through the opening day’s action in Palencia.

Pajares then got the better of Finland’s Henrik Mustonen to make it through to the semi-finals, where he was joined by three other Spaniards, guaranteeing a home winner for the event.

In the last four, he got the better of compatriot Hugo Varela, before then defeating Ivan Perez in the final, with his fourth straight 3-0 win, to come through the tournament with ease, claiming his first title since 2019.

Results: RFES Spanish Open Ciudad de Palencia
Final
[1] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt [5] Ivan Perez (ESP) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 (49m)

Semi-Finals
[1] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt [4] Hugo Varela (ESP) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-3 (36m)
[5] Ivan Perez (ESP) bt [8] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-3 (48m)

Quarter Finals
[1] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt [6] Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-6 (25m)
[4] Hugo Varela (ESP) bt Paul Gonzalez (FRA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (41m)
[5] Ivan Perez (ESP) bt Augusto Ortigosa (ESP) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 (40m)
[8] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) bt [2] Benjamin Aubert (FRA) 3-2: 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 10-12, 12-10 (102m)

Round Two
[1] Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt Fergus Richards (SCO) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-8 (34m)
[6] Henrik Mustonen (FIN) bt Javier Martin (ESP) 3-1: 9-11, 11-0, 11-5, 11-5 (35m)
Paul Gonzalez (FRA) bt [7] Valeriy Fedoruk (UKR) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (21m)
[4] Hugo Varela (ESP) bt Marc Lopez (ESP) 3-1: 3-1: 11-6, 11-9, 10-12, 11-5 (42m)
Augusto Ortigosa (ESP) bt [3] Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 (27m)
[5] Ivan Perez (ESP) bt Rene Mijs (NED) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (26m)
[8] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) bt Ben Smith (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (30m)
[2] Benjamin Aubert (FRA) bt [WC] Pablo Quintana Estevez (ESP) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-2 (23m)

Round One
Fergus Richards (SCO) bt [WC] Alvaro Martin (ESP) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (46m)
Javier Martin (ESP) bt Marc ter Sluis (NED) 3-2: 4-11, 11-9, 11-2, 9-11, 11-9 (53m)
Paul Gonzalez (FRA) bt Nilo Vidal (ESP) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-5 (33m)
Marc Lopez (ESP) bt [WC] Pablo Dolz (ESP) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 11-5 (30m)
Augusto Ortigosa (ESP) bt Aron Astray (ESP) 3-1: 9-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 (56m)
Rene Mijs (NED) bt Blessing Muhwati (ZIM) 3-1: 11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6 (33m)
Ben Smith (ENG) bt Baptiste Bouin (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-4 (17m)
[WC] Pablo Quintana Estevez (ESP) bt Manu Paquemar (FRA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (25m)