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Romanian Open 2022
Men's Draw
17-20 Nov
Cluj-Napoca Romania, $6k |
Final:
[1] Ben Smith (ENG) v [2] Marek Panacek (CZE)
Semi-finals:
[1] Ben Smith (ENG) bt [8] Nilo Vidal (ESP) 11-8, 11-9, 11-7 (25m)
[2] Marek Panacek (CZE) bt Alasdair Prott (SCO) 11-3, 7-11, 11-7, 9-11,
11-8 (50m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Ben Smith (ENG) bt [7] David Zeman (CZE) 11-7, 12-10, 11-7 (34m)
[8] Nilo Vidal (ESP) bt [3] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) 11-6, 8-11,
11-4, 11-4 (40m)
Alasdair Prott (SCO) bt [5] Marc Lopez (ESP) 11-8, 11-1, 11-1 (22m)
[2] Marek Panacek (CZE) bt [6] Ondrej Vorlícek (CZE) 11-7, 7-11, 11-4,
11-7 (38m)
1st round:
[1] Ben Smith (ENG) bt Cristian Balogh (ROM) 11-2, 11-4, 11-4
[7] David Zeman (CZE) bt Filip Jarota (POL) 13-11, 6-11, 11-7, 12-14,
11-8 (65m)
[8] Nilo Vidal (ESP) bt Lukas Windischberger (AUT) 11-7, 13-11, 11-6
(28m)
[3] Elliott Morris Devred (WAL) bt Manu Paquemar (FRA) 7-11, 14-12,
11-2, 11-6 (55m)
Alasdair Prott (SCO) bt [4] Sean Conroy (IRL) 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 (32m)
[5] Marc Lopez (ESP) bt Bogdan Vasile (ROM) 11-7, 11-2, 11-5 (27m)
[6] Ondrej Vorlícek (CZE) bt Joel Arscott (NZL) 17-15, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7
(57m)
[2] Marek Panacek (CZE) bt Macéo Lévy (FRA) 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (30m) |
Preview
Smith Taking Confidence From Swiss Win
The Romanian Open is one of three Challenger Tour events taking place on
European soil this week, with the action beginning on Thursday, November
17.
The VIVO Cluj-Napoca will play host to the Challenger 5 level
competition, with an all-glass court being erected in the shopping
centre for the four-day event.
England’s Ben Smith will be the top seed in Romania, having recently
claimed the Swiss Open crown, his biggest to date. We spoke to the
Englishman about that win, and his preparation as the top seed this
week.
I currently feel like I am playing good consistent squash which is
reflecting in my results. I feel like I’m hitting my targets well and
moving freely around court. I am to hoping to continue to do this and
hopeful maintain my current form,” Smith said.
“It was a great feeing to claim my biggest title to date a couple of
weeks ago and it has given me lots of confidence moving forward into
upcoming tournaments.
“My preparation stays the same for every tournament whatever seed I am.
It’s always nice to be a high seed but you just have to keep focus on
the task and that’s what I aim to do this week being the top seed.”
Thanks to that victory, Smith moved to World No.95, his highest ever
World Ranking, and also his first appearance inside the world’s top 100.
He has already set his sights on moving even further up the rankings.
“Breaking into the top 100 was an amazing feeling it was one of my
biggest targets for this year and to achieve it was massive for me. It’s
such a competitive area at the moment so it’s about staying there and
moving upwards,” he explained.
“I just want to continue my good form and keep climbing the rankings. By
the end of the season, I aim to be in the top 75 in the world.”
Smith’s nearest challengers for the title will be Czechian Marek Panacek,
Ireland’s Sean Conroy and Welshman Elliott Morris Devred. The Spanish
duo of Marc Lopez and Nilo Vidal, along with the Czech pair of Ondrej
Vorlicek and David Zeman will make up the rest of the eight seeds for
the tournament.
Six more nations will be represented, including host nation Romania.
Bogdan Vasile will be the tournament’s wildcard, while Scotland’s
Alasdair Prott, New Zealand’s Joel Arscott, Polish No.1 Filip Jarota and
Austria’s Lukas Windischberger wil all be their nation’s sole
representatives.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or
follow on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
Challenger Tour Events will also be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
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