Sekisui Open: Merlo and Lee Claim Titles in Kriens

The Sekisui Open came to a conclusion on Saturday evening in Kriens, and there was home glory, as Switzerland’s Cindy Merlo took the women’s title, while England’s Charlie Lee secured victory in the men’s event.

The Challenger 10 level tournament was being played at the Sportpark Pilatus in the Swiss city, and Cindy Merlo came into the tournament as both the home favourite, and the top seed in the women’s event. After receiving a bye through the opening day’s action, she then started with a straight games victory over Frenchwoman Kara Lincou.

Merlo then started her run against Egypt, as she would come up against three women from the sport’s leading nation en route to the title. She faced off against No.8 seed Rana Ismail in the quarter finals, winning 3-1, before then getting the better of No.4 seed Nadeen Kotb in the deciding game of their semi-final contest.

The final saw the World No.46 come up against the tournament’s No.3 seed, Salma Eltayeb, and after falling behind following the first game, the Swiss No.1 fought back to win the next three, two of which coming with a tight 11-9 scoreline, to take a 3-1 victory to claim her second title of the season, both coming on home soil.

The men’s event was a week of surprises, with seeded players being beaten all over the place, leading to a final between two men who weren’t even seeded to reach the last eight of the competition, as Charlie Lee took on Yannick Wilhelmi for the crown.

Lee made it to the final thanks to wins over Frenchman Edwin Clain and No.5 seed Ivan Perez in the opening rounds of the competition, before then defeating Egypt’s No.2 seed Yahya Elnawasany in the biggest surprise of the last eight. The Englishman then downed No.3 seed Rui Soares in the semis, winning in four games.

The final saw him take on Wilhelmi, and he needed just 38 minutes to secure his second title of the season, winning 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 to take the Sekisui Open title, to follow on from his victory at the 2nd Guatemala Open Squash PSA Tournament earlier this year.

Results: Sekisui Open
Men’s Final
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-4 (38m)

Women’s Final
[1] Cindy Merlo (SUI) bt [3] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 3-1: 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-4 (31m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) 3-2: 8-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-3, 11-8 (54m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [3] Rui Soares (POR) 3-1: 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (41m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Cindy Merlo (SUI) bt [4] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) 3-2: 4-11, 12-10, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6 (42m)
[3] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt [2] Malak Khafagy (EGY) 3-1: 6-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-7 (31m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt Viktor Byrtus (CZE) 3-1: 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-2 (37m)
Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt [7] Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-2: 18-16, 4-11, 11-9, 4-11, 11-8 (63m)
[3] Rui Soares (POR) bt Robin Gadola (SUI) 3-2: 13-11, 12-10, 9-11, 10-12, 11-4 (59m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [2] Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) 3-1: 11-1, 2-11, 11-9, 11-2 (41m)

Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Cindy Merlo (SUI) bt [8] Rana Ismail (EGY) 3-1: 12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 (42m)
[4] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) bt Klara Møller (DEN) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 12-10 (26m)
[3] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt [6] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 (24m)
[2] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt [5] Torrie Malik (ENG) 3-1: 11-5, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10 (37m)

Men’s Round Two
Viktor Byrtus (CZE) bt [1] Edmon Lopez (ESP) 3-1: 11-6, 4-11, 11-4, 11-2 (30m)
Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt [8] Yannik Omlor (GER) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (60m)
[7] Curtis Malik (ENG) bt [WC] Nils Roesch (SUI) 3-1: 6-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 (40m)
Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt [4] Martin Svec (CZE) 3-1: 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 13-11 (42m)
[3] Rui Soares (POR) bt Valentin Rapp (GER) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (32m)
Robin Gadola (SUI) bt [6] Jakub Solnicky (CZE) 3-1: 11-3, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7 (39m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [5] Ivan Perez (ESP) 3-2: 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 9-11, 11-3 (70m)
[2] Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) bt Darren Rahul Pragasam (MAS) 3-0: 13-11, 11-9, 11-3 (32m)

Women’s Round Two
[1] Cindy Merlo (SUI) bt Kara Lincou (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 (18m)
[8] Rana Ismail (EGY) bt Jacqueline Peychär (AUT) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 (21m)
Klara Møller (DEN) bt [7] Lea Barbeau (FRA) 3-1: 11-2, 13-11, 9-11, 11-4 (31m)
[4] Nadeen Kotb (EGY) bt Sofía Mateos (ESP) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-4 (23m)
[3] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt Aylin Günsav (GER) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 (15m)
[6] Marta Dominguez Fernandez (ESP) bt Katriona Allen (SCO) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (23m)
[5] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt Tamara Holzbauerová (CZE) 3-1: 11-5, 11-3, 10-12, 11-6 (28m)
[2] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 13-11, 11-6 (36m)

Men’s Round One
Viktor Byrtus (CZE) bt [WC] Cedric Kuchen (SUI) 3-2: 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9 (49m)
Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) bt Lukas Windischberger (AUT) 3-0: 11-8, 11-2, 11-9 (26m)
[WC] Nils Roesch (SUI) bt Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 3-2: 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8 (54m)
Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt David Zeman (CZE) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 (35m)
Valentin Rapp (GER) bt Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) 3-2: 12-10, 7-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-2 (63m)
Robin Gadola (SUI) bt [WC] Tim Roesch (SUI) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-1 (20m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt Edwin Clain (FRA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (31m)
Darren Rahul Pragasam (MAS) bt Ondrej Vorlicek (CZE) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 (21m)

Women’s Round One
Kara Lincou (FRA) bt Sara Stockli (SUI) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 11-1 (13m)
Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) bt Stephanie Muller (SUI) 3-0: 11-8, 11-2, 11-3 (20m)
Klara Moller (DEN) bt [WC] Stella Kaufmann (SUI) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (19m)
Sofia Mateos (ESP) bt [WC] Alina Poessl (SUI) 3-0: 11-7, 11-1, 11-3 (16m)
Aylin Gunsav (GER) bt Sofie Hausknotzova (CZE) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 (24m)
Katriona Allen (SCO) bt Caroline Bachem (SUI) 3-1: 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 17-15 (38m)
Tamara Holzbauerova (CZE) bt [WC] Norina Malbasic (SUI) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-6 (24m)
Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt Caroline Lyng (DEN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-2, 11-4 (18m)