Weekend Round-Up: Ribadas, Herrewegen, Mekbib, Endo & Azman All Victorious

Three continents played host to four different events on the PSA Challenger Tour over the weekend, with players from five different nations tasting success.

At the PSA Valencia Open, there was an all-Spanish affair in the final, as Carlos Cornes Ribadas got the better of compatriot Bernat Jaume to win the title.

The No.2 seed had to come from behind to take the victory in the final, having lost the first game. Jaume took it 11-9, but Ribadas was able to fight back to take the title, the seventh of his career.

To reach the final, which would last 75 minutes, Ribadas got the better of Moustafa El Sirty in the semis, who had been the only unseeded players to reach that stage.

The Spaniard also got the better of Henrik Mustonen and Jakub Solnicky in the early rounds, as he wrapped up a second title of the season.

At the Aston & Fincher Sutton Coldfield International, Jan Van Der Herrewegen got the better of 16-year-old Sam Todd in the final to win the trophy.

The Dutchman won in straight games, as he faced an Englishman who had become the youngest male to reach a PSA Tour final in seven years.

To reach the final in Sutton Coldfield, Van Den Herrewegen had to get the better of India’s Abhay Singh, and the English duo of Mike Harris and Mark Fuller, winning all four matches in the tournament without dropping a game.

The win continues Van Den Herrewegen’s dominance of the event, with the Dutchman now having won the Aston & Fincher Sutton Coldfield International title four times in the last five years.

The Medicine Hat Open in Canada was the only tournament to see the No.1 seed take victory, as Daniel Mekbib beat England’s Nick Wall in the final.

Wall took the first game, but the Czech player bounced back to lead 2-1 after the third. Despite a spirited comeback from the Englishman, it was Mekbib that was able to win the fifth game to take the title, his first in 2019.

Both the No.2 seeds took victory at the International Squash Classic in Chongqing, China, as Aifa Azman and Tomotaka Endo were victorious.

Endo overcame No.1 seed David Baillargeon in the final, downing the Canadian in straight games, while Malaysian youngster Azman defeated Farah Momen in less than half an hour in the women’s final.

Result – Final: PSA Valencia Open
[2] Carlos Cornes Ribadas (ESP) bt [4] Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (75m)

Result – Final: Aston & Fincher Sutton Coldfield International
[2] Jan Van Den Herrewegen (NED) bt Sam Todd (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 (41m)

Result – Final: Medicine Hat Open
[1] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) bt [6] Nick Wall (ENG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, 4-11, 11-5 (66m)

Result – Men’s Final: International Squash Classic
[2] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) bt [1] David Baillargeon (CAN) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 (26m)

Result – Women’s Final: International Squash Classic
[2] Aifa Azman (MAS) bt [3] Farah Momen (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (29m)