Raphael Kandra
Germany’s World No.43 Raphael Kandra stunned top seed England’s Daryl Selby in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon Club Squash Squared Open as he defeated the Englishman, 3-1 to reach the semi-finals.
27-year-old Kandra – who had defeated number six seed Greg Lobban in round one – continued his strong form as he took the opening two games against World No.17 Selby before the Englishman managed to take a game back in the third as he looked to mount a comeback.
However, it was all Kandra in the fourth game as he booked a semi-final berth by an impressive 11-9, 11-5, 7-11, 11-1 scoreline 62 minutes.
Kandra – who is now the only non seeded player left in the tournament – will now face England’s Tom Richards in the semi-finals after the Englishman beat Wales World No.41 Joel Makin, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7.
Last year’s runner-up Richards – who overcame United States’ Todd Harrity in round one – continued to be in clinical form as he came through in straight-games to end the Welshman’s tournament – who had an intense five-game battle with Egypt’s number three seed Zahed Mohamed in round one.
At the opposite end of the draw, number two seed James Willstrop ensured a safe passage through to the semi-finals after he defeated France’s Lucas Serme in straight-games.
Serme had progressed through to the quarter-finals after his opponent in the first round, England’s Richie Fallows, was forced to retire in the second game when Serme was one game up.
However, ‘The Marksman’ proved to be too much for the Frenchman as he continued to look strong in Wimbledon, coming through by an 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 margin in 41 minutes.
2016 winner Willstrop will now line up against number five seed France’s Mathieu Castagnet for a place in the final of the PSA M35 event after he came from a game down to beat Egyptian qualifier Youssef Soliman in the quarter-finals.
Soliman had pulled off the surprise result on the first day of main draw action as he knocked out England’s Declan James in round one, however, the Egyptian was unable to carry on his spell as he fell to Castagnet, 9-11, 13-11, 11-3, 11-4 in 65 minutes.
The semi-finals of the Wimbledon Club Squash Squared Open will take place on March 22 from 18:45 local time (GMT) and live streaming will be available here.
Results – Quarter-finals
[7] Tom Richards (ENG) bt Joel Makin (WAL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 (42m)
[5] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [Q] Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 13-11, 11-3, 11-4 (65m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt [1] Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 11-5, 7-11, 11-1 (62m)
[2] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [8] Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (41m)
Draw – Semi-finals
Raphael Kandra (GER) v [7] Tom Richards (ENG)
[5] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [2] James Willstrop (ENG)
News Credit:PSA NEWS
No comments:
Post a Comment