Xisela and Borja reign in Spain
7 titles for Xisela Aranda,14 for Borja Golan
 The
2016 National Squash Championship was held last weekend at
Castellana Sports Club with more than 100 competitors spending a
great squash weekend with more than 200 matches taking place in
the renewed facilities of Castellana Sports Club in
Madrid.
The event has been organized by the
Spanish Federation (RFES) along with La Liga
Sports and the main promoter was again Hyundai
Cobendai. Cobendai has been supporting squash events
for the last years in Madrid.
The men's main draw came out with some of the
favorite players meeting in the early rounds.
Iker Pajares, coming through the qualifying rounds, met
Borja Golan in the Quarter Finals. The young player from
Sabadell played an extraordinary game and put the number one
seed in trouble at some stages of the match.
 Borja
managed to win the first two games in 44 minutes (11-5, 11-6),
but Pajares came back strongly in the third with great
determination and won it 11-7; Pajares was also stronger in the
early points of the fourth game but then Golan showed why he is
a top world player and managed to finish the match 11-4 after 66
minutes.
Golan played Carlos Cornes in the Semis, who beat another
top player, Alex Garbi, 3-1 in the Quarter Finals. Borja
controlled the match from the beginning and managed to win 3-0
in 38'.
 In
the bottom part of the draw Bernat Jaume, also coming
from Qualifying, won all his matches in straight games, reaching
the final for the first time in his career.
Golan controlled the game from the beginning and won by 11-6,
11-3, 11-2, showing again why he is the best Spanish squash
player ever.
This is his 14th almost consecutive title (he couldn´t
participate in 2010 due to his knee injury), and considering his
current physical condition, there could be a few more to come.
In the women's draw, Xisela Aranda would meet Marina
de Juan in the semis and in the other semi Cristina Gomez,
the number two seed, would meet Marta Latorre.
The greatest match of the Tournament between Xisela and Marina
on Saturday evening was watched by more than 200 players at the
club and another 200 online. After 69 minutes of intense and
long rallies, both players entered the court to play the fifth
game.
 Marina,
having won the fourth 11-3, was fresher and the favorite, but
the more experienced Xisela squeezed the last points of the game
and took it 11-8. Final score: 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 3-11,
11-8 (89 minutes). The two exhausted palyers received a very
well deserved ovation by the crowd. A game to be remembered...
In the bottom half of the draw, Cristina managed to win all her
matches straight games to reach the final. The final seemed to
be another thrilling battle, with a very fresh Cristina in a
great form having participated in some junior events lately (she
won the German and French Junior Open a few months ago).
 But
again Xisela was very strong in the crucial rallies of the three
games; final score 11-8, 12-10, 11-9. It could have gone either
way but Xisela was very strong mentally this time.
That's seven titles for her, will she win an eighth next year?
surely it is getting more difficult every year...
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Top players will include, among others, Borja Golán (13
times champion of Spain and ex number 5 of PSA), and Xisela
Aranda (6 times champion of Spain), Edmon López,
Bernat Jaume and Iker Pajares. 