|
|
|
Cronimet Open 2018
13-17 Mar, Skelleftea, Sweden, $5k |
17-Mar, Final
Top seed Lopez lifts the title
John Milton reports
The final of the 2018 Cronimet Open was probably the most
straightforward of the tournament. Number one seed from Spain,
Edmon Lopez played qualifier Roshan Bharos from the Netherlands.
Lopez was looking to extend his run in the tournament without
dropping a game and Bharos was aiming to add another seed to his
record in Skellefteå.
Lopez got off to a steady start pushing his opponent around
court and not allowing to settle into any kind of rhythm. The
score tightened up half way through when Bharos found a better
width to his cross courts and used a couple of effective boasts
to take his opponent by surprise. But he couldn’t maintain the
pressure against the energetic Spaniard who closed the game out
with a run of 5 consecutive points to take him to 11-5.
The Dutchman found himself behind again in the second game but
held his nerve and edged ahead for the first time in the match
when he went 5-4 up. Once again, Lopez responded strongly,
taking the ball earlier to increase the pace and force his
opponent into mistakes. Losing 6 points in a row proved costly
to Bharos and after a two point brief fightback at 5-10 down,
Lopez took a 2-0 lead by taking the game 11-7.
The third game saw the Spaniard dominate from the first rally,
allowing Bharos just one point at 3-1 but then sprinting
straight through to 11-1 to take the match and become Cronimet
Open champion for 2018.
There’s no rest for a delighted Lopez as he flies to England
tomorrow to play his next PSA tournament in London and Bharos,
after an extremely satisfying tournament for him, returns to his
training base with Hadrian Stiff in Bristol.
|
Photos:
Patrick Degerman,
www.degerman.se
 |
 
Cronimet Open 2018
13-17 Mar, Skelleftea, Sweden, $5k |
Round One
14 Mar |
Quarters
15 Mar |
Semis
16 Mar |
Final
17 Mar |
[1] Edmon Lopez (Esp)
11/3, 11/9, 11/2 (27m)
[Q] Ondrej Vorlicek (Cze) |
[1] Edmon Lopez
11/5, 11/8, 11/6
[6] Kyle Finch |
[1] Edmon Lopez 11/6, 12/10, 11/8 (38m)
[3] Martin Svec |
[1] Edmon Lopez
11/7, 11/5, 11/1 (34m)
[Q] Roshan Bharos
|
[6] Kyle Finch (Eng)
11/9, 12/10, 11/4 (44m)
[Q] Vini Rodrugues (Bra) |
[8] Adrian Ostbyte (Nor)
11/6, 11/6, 10/12, 8/11, 11/5 (60m)
[wc] Filip Hultman (Swe) |
[8] Adrian Ostbyte
8/11, 11/9, 11/4, 11/7
[3] Martin Svec |
[3] Martin Svec (Cze)
7/11, 12/10, 8/11, 11/1, 11/6 (52m)
[Q] Viktor Byrtus (Cze) |
Claudio Pinto (Por)
7/11, 11/5, 15/13, 11/4 (65m)
[4] Alex Noakes (Eng) |
Claudio Pinto
11/3, 11/7, 13/11
[Q] Roshan Bharos |
[Q] Roshan Bharos
6/11, 11/3, 11/8, 11/6
Yannik Omlor |
[Q] Roshan Bharos (Ned)
8/11, 11/8, 11/5, 11/4 (69m)
[5] Matias Tuomi (Fin) |
Yannik Omlor (Ger)
11/7, 11/5, 11/8 (45m)
[7] Bradley Masters (Eng) |
Yannik Omlor
6/11, 11/5, 11/3, 11/13, 11/8
[2] Adam Murrills |
Jami Aijanen (Fin)
9/11, 11/5, 11/6, 11/4 (46m)
[2] Adam Murrills (Eng) |
13-Mar,Qualifying:
Finals:
Roshan Bharos (Ned) 3-0 Viktor Hogberg (Nor)
11-5, 11-8, 11-5
Viktor Byrtus (Cze) 3-1
Michael Babra (Swe)
9-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-4
Vini Rodriguez (Bra) 3-1
Carl Remle (Swe)
8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5
Ondrej Vorlicek (Cze) 3-0
David Zeman (Cze)
18-16, 11-6, 11-5
Round One:
Roshan Bharos (Ned) 3-0 Nick Goth Errington (Swe)
11-4, 11-7, 11-6
Viktor Byrtus (Cze) 3-0 Tobias Weggen (Ger)
11-5, 11-9, 11-4
Michael Babra (Swe) 3-0 Erik Jakobsson
11-8, 11-1, 11-7
Carl Remle (Swe) 3-2 Filip Krueger (Sui)
11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 9-11, 11- 6
Vini Rodriguez (Bra) 3-0 Albin Kaiding (Swe)
11-1, 11-4, 11-6
Ondrej Vorlicek (Cze) 3-0 Emil Lundstrom (Swe)
11-1, 11-8, 11-4
David Zeman (Cze) 3-1 Charlie Cowie (Eng)
11-7, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8
|
16-Mar, Semis
John Milton reports
With the temperature outside the Skellefteå Ice Hockey Arena
dropping to -13C last night, it was left to the two semi-finals
of the Cronimet Open to warm up a packed crowd.
First on were the two unseeded players, Roshan Bharos from the
Netherlands and Yannick Omlor from Germany. Omlor started well,
finding a better length than his opponent and sprinting into a
6-0 lead. Bharos finally began to get in front of the young
German when he found his length and halved the deficit by taking
three consecutive points. Jolted into a greater urgency, Omlor
responded by increasing the pace and hunting his volleys
earlier. He closed out the game 11-6 after just over 17 minutes.
The start of the second game was quite close with only a couple
of points between them. Then Bharos took the initiative and
opened up the front court to move Omlor out of position. Bharos
opened up a 7 point lead at 9-2 up and only dropped one more
point before taking the game 11-3.
Both players realised the importance of the third game and both
went into a defensive mode. At times it looked as if they were
playing a conditioned length game with neither playing willing
to risk going to the front. Long rallies ensued with each player
vying for a position from which to attack the other and it
became like a game of chess with both players waiting for the
other to make a mistake.
At 7-3 up, Omlor seemed to be in control but a run of 5
consecutive points gave Bharos a slender 1 point lead at 8-7.
Omlor levelled but it was the last point he won in the game
after Bharos wrestled back control to win 11-8.
The fourth game started the same way as the third finished. Both
players cautiously only playing to the back, waiting for a short
length or poor crosscourt before attacking, instead of really
initiating an attack. Bharos held the upper hand all the way
through the game, never allowing Omlor the chance to get within
a couple of points. Bharos was consistently quicker onto the
ball and began squeezing more and more errors from Omlor until,
after 71 minutes, he closed out the game 11-6 for a deserved 3-1
victory.
The second semi-final between number 1 seed Edmon Lopez and
number 3 seed Martin Svec was played at a higher pace than the
first, right from the beginning. Showing greater imagination and
an eagerness to bring the front court into player earlier in the
rally, both players put on an exciting attacking display for the
packed Skellefteå crowd. Lopez was just a bit sharper than his
Czech opponent in the first game and had sufficient control to
win 11-6 after 14 minutes.
The second became a much closer affair. With no more than one
point between them, both players showed their speed and
athleticism around the court, trying to create openings and
retrieving each others shots. The tall Svec was having to work
hard to match the Spaniards work rate and never-say-die attitude
of chasing down every shot.
Lopez held a point advantage at 10-8 up which almost seemed like
two match balls. However, Svec battled well to level at 10-10
but he never managed to hold a game point of his own. Lopez held
game ball again at 11-10 and was handed a two game lead by
referee John O’Donnel slightly controversially a no let when
Svec decided not to play a shot deep in the middle of the rear
court for fear of hitting his opponent.
Svec hit back well at the beginning of the third game and looked
to be threatening to take the match into at least a fourth game
at 6-4 up. He was dictating the pace of the game and showing a
more imaginative attacking flair. But it came at a cost. The
intensity of Lopez’s defence and retrieving finally began to
wear the Czech player down, physically and mentally.
Mistakes began to creep into Svec’s game and he lost 6 points in
a row to award the Spaniard four match balls at 10-6. He showed
his frustration by hitting the side wall with his racket,
inevitably receiving a conduct warning from the referee. A brief
fight back gained him two more points but Lopez was too
determined and disciplined to take his opportunity and he played
a strong final rally to win 11-8 in a straight game victory
after 37 mins of a fast and entertaining match.
The final will take place at 13:00 today.
|
SEMIS & FINALS
LIVE
Photos:
Patrick Degerman,
www.degerman.se
|
15-Mar, Quarters:
More seeds tumble in Skelleftea
As the quarter-finals moved to the glass court at Skellefteå Ice Hockey Stadium,
the upsets continued in the bottom half of the draw as qualifier
Roshan Bharos and unseeded Yannik Omlor set up a
surprise semi-final.
No upsets in the top half of the draw as Edmon Lopez and
Martin Svec ensured that one of the top seeds will
contest the final.
John Milton reports
Last nights’ quarter finals of the 2018 Cronimet Open in
Skellefteå guaranteed that an unseeded player will eventually
play in the final.
Qualifier Roshan Bharos continued his excellent progress with a
3-0 win against Portuguese Claudio Pinto. The first two games
were reasonably comfortable for Bharos, 11-3,11-7, with Pinto
struggling to adapt to the different pace of the glasscourt at
the Skellefteå Ice Hockey Stadium. Finally, Pinto showed some
resistance in the third.
Finding a better length with his hard hit drives he managed to
push the Dutchman deeper into the rear corners than he had done
in the first two games. Bharos started making a few more
mistakes and Pinto was able to attack more and apply more
pressure. However, Bharos managed to keep the score close enough
to prevent Pinto from building too big a lead and eventually a
couple of unforced errors from Pinto proved costly with Bharos
just edging home to win the third game 13-11.
In the second match in the bottom half of the draw, unseeded
German Yannik Omlor shocked the second seed Adam Murrills by
going 2-1 up. Murrills took the first game 11-6 but Omlor hit
back to level the score by taking the second 11-5. He then
quickly closed out the third game 11-3 and looked as if he was
cruising to an unexpected victory. Murrills showed his fighting
qualities and kept his nerve, taking a closely fought and
exciting fourth game 13-11 but eventually succumbed to the
German 8-11 in the fifth.
If a football match is often seen as a game of two halves, then
this year’s Cronimet Open is a squash tournament of two halves
of the draw. Whilst all the seeded players were knocked out of
the bottom half, the top two seeds in the top half managed to
progress through to the semi-finals. Number three seed Martin
Scev from the Czech Republic initially looked as if he might
struggle against Norwegian Adrian Ostbyte, when he lost the
first game 8-11.
Svec gradually began to impose his game on Ostbyte and took a
close second game 11-9. Ostbyte looked to be struggling in the
third with maybe a bit of tiredness creeping in from a tough
five game first round match against local favourite Filip
Hultman the previous night. Svec took the game 11-4. Pushing as
hard as he could, Ostbyte managed to stay with the young Czech
player at the beginning of the fourth game but Svec’s stronger
game and fitness eventually told as he took the game 11-7 and
the match 3-1.
The final match saw number 1 seed Edmon Lopez against Kyle Finch
from England, the number 6 seed. This was fairly straightforward
for the Spaniard with Finch only stretching him slightly in the
second game. Making too many unforced errors and not really
having a strong enough basic game to push Lopez, the Spaniard
ran out a comfortable 3-0 winner in just over 30 minutes, 11-5,
11-8, 11-6.
The first semi-final between Roshan Bharos and Yannik Omlor
starts this evening’s entertainment at 18:00, followed by Edmon
Lopez and Martin Svec at 19:00.
|
SEMIS & FINALS
LIVE
Photos:
Patrick Degerman,
www.degerman.se
|
14-Mar, Round One:
Seeds tumble in Skelleftea
John Milton reports
The first round of the Cronimet Open was played at the
Skellefteå Squash Club yesterday evening with all the matches in
the top half of the draw going by the seeding but with one or
two upsets in the bottom half.
Number one seed Edmon Lopez from Spain started very
confidently, taking the first game 11-3 against Czech qualifier,
Ondrey Vorlicek. Vorlicek came back well in the second game and
Lopez needed all his fighting qualities to take it 11-9 before
returning to dominate again in the third, comfortably taking it
11-2.
Lopez’s next opponent will be Englishman Kyle Finch, the
number six seed. Finch overcame the challenge from Brazilian
Rodrigues in three games. The first two games were tight, 11-9
in the first and 12-10 in the second, before Rodrigues
eventually succumbed in the third, 11-4.
Unseeded Claudio Pinto from Portugal gradually wore down
Alex Noakes from England, the number 4 seed. Noakes started
confidentally by taking the first game 11-7 but got drawn in to
his opponents’ rear court hitting game in the second, losing out
11-5. Noakes imposed his more varied game early in the third,
sprinting into a 5-0 lead. However, he couldn’t sustain it and
the Portuguese gradually hauled him back.
This became a match defining game as both players battled to
impose superiority over their opponent and from 5-5 on there was
no more than a point between them. Each held game balls as the
game progressed but an error proved costly to Noakes when it
allowed Pinto to take the game 15-13. As suspected, this game
proved to be the turning point and Pinto ran out a comfortable
11-4 winner in the fourth game to cause the first mini upset and
become the first unseeded player through to the next round.
Matius Tuomi from Finland became the second seed to crash out
when he lost to qualifier Roshan Bharos from the
Netherlands. Like Noakes, Tuomi got off to a good start by
taking the first game 11-8 but then Bharos came back in the
second to take it by the same score. The Dutchman grew in
confidence and was too quick and strong for the ailing Fin,
taking the next two games 11-5, 11-4.
Yannick Omlor from Germany became the third player to
knock out a seed in the bottom half of the draw when he defeated
the number 7 seed Bradley Masters from England in straight
games, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8.
So, it was left to Englishman and number two seed Adam
Murrills to become the only seed from the bottom half to
reach the second round. It didn’t start well for Murrills who
lost the first game 9-11 against another Fin Jami Aijanen. But
once he settled into his game he became more confident and took
the next three games reasonably comfortably 11-5, 11-6, 11-4.
 For
all the spectators at a packed Skellefteå Squash club, the main
match of the evening was between local boy Filip Hultman
who had been awarded a wildcard, and the number one Norwegian
player Adrian Ostbye (number 8 seed).
The expectant crowd was soon hushed however as Ostbye imposed
himself on the a tense Hultman, comfortably taking a 2-0 lead.
The Swede battled well in the third game, pushing his opponent
hard and earning increasing optimism from his home supporters.
Having already been warned earlier in the match about foot
faulting on his serve, the Norwegian was careless enough to be
called fault by referee John O’Donnell twice at crucial times in
a tight game. A determined Hultman took his opportunity to take
the match into a fourth game, winning the third game after
saving a match ball 12-10. Ostbye looked increasingly tired in
the fourth game and Hultman enjoyed a lead all the way through,
taking the game 11-8.
The more experienced Norwegian knew how important it was to
start strongly in the fifth and drew on all his reserves to
build a 6 point lead, which effectively diminished any chance of
Hultman winning the match. Ostbye took the game 11-5 but there
was praise for the young Swede’s efforts and fighting spirit.
Ostbye will now meet Czech Martin Svec who also had a 5
game battle against fellow Czech player Viktor Byrtus. At only
17 years old, the young Byrtus pushed his more experienced
opponent hard, taking the first game 11-7 and only just losing
the second 10-12.
He came back strongly in the third to take it 11-8 before Svec
levelled the score by taking the fourth, also 11-8. Finally,
Svec was able to draw on his experience in the fifth and he duly
took his place in the second round by winning 11-6.
The tournament now moves to the Skellefteå Ice Hockey Stadium
where all the matches will now be played on the glass court.
|
|
13-Mar, Qualifying:
John Milton reports
The Cronimet Open 2018 got under way yesterday in a very snowy
Skellefteå in the north of Sweden. The home country was hopeful
of a number of Swedish players taking their opportunities to
work their way through the qualifying rounds and earn their
places in the main draw. Seeding was to their advantage with
Viktor Högberg at number 1 and Michael Babra and Carl Remle at 3
and 4 respectively.
Högberg had a bye in the first qualifying round and played
Roshan Bharos of the Netherlands, who had beaten another young
Swede, Nick Goth Errington 3-0 in his first match. Babra and
Remle both won their matches and would play opponents seeded
below them in the qualifying rounds. Unfortunately, the
expectant Skellefteå crowd were disappointed that no Swedish
player really battled sufficiently to worry their opponents.
Viktor Högberg was first up but never really looked confident
against a determined Bharos who was comfortable in a 3-0 win
(11-5, 11-8, 11-5). Michael Babra then took on 17 year old
Viktor Byrtus from Czech Republic.
Winning the first game and leading 4-2 in the second, Babra
looked as if he could make a real challenge, but losing 4 points
in a row allowed Byrtus to get into his game, eventually winning
3-1 (9-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-4). The final Swede, Carl Remle from
Linköping was playing Vini Rodrigues from Brazil. Like Babra,
Remle made a promising start, winning the first game and holding
a lead in the second.
Again, allowing that lead to slip by losing 6 consecutive points
proved costly and the Brazilian won 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5)
to end Swedish hopes.
Joining these three players was Ondrej Vorlicek who, after a
very tense first game, defeated fellow Czech David Zeman 3-0
(18-16, 11-6, 11-5).
Today sees the start of the main draw. All matches are at
Skellefteå Squash Club before the quarter finals move to the all
glass court at the Skellefteå Ice Hockey Stadium tomorrow.
Local boy Filip Hultman was given a wildcard entry so will play
his first round match against the number 8 seed Adrian Ostbye
from Norway in front of a packed and excited home crowd.
Qualifier Ondrej Vorlicek was drawn against the number 1 seed,
Edmon Lopez from Spain, whilst Viktor Byrtus drew fellow Czech
Martin Svek, number 3 seed. Vini Rodrigues was drawn to play
number 6 seed Kyle Finch from England and Roshan Bharos will
play the experienced Fin, Matias Tuomi.
The remaining 1st round matches are Englishman Alex Noakes (no.4
seed) against Claudio Pinto from Portugal; Bradley Master
(England) versus Yannick Omlor from Germany, and Jami Aijanen
against number 2 seed Adam Murrills from England. Play gets
under way at 5pm local time.
|
|
|
