Fuller falls in first PSA final
By SEAN REUTHE
England’s World No.68 Richie Fallows and France’s World No.157 Laura Pomportes captured the Legacy Wealth Belfast Open, PSA M5 & W5 titles, respectively, at the Belfast Boat Club after both players managed dominant final performances.
Fallows, 21, dispatched Joeri Hapers and Yuri Farneti in the early stages of the tournament, before overcoming Scotland’s Douglas Kempsell in a bruising five-game semi-final tie to set up a final clash with compatriot and number four seed Lyell Fuller.
Fuller, meanwhile, was appearing in his first PSA World Tour final and sealed his place there courtesy of wins over Stephen Hearst, Sean Conroy and Chris Fuller.
Despite his punishing two-hour battle against Kempsell the day before, Fallows started the final on the front foot and put Fuller under immediate pressure with a number of accurate shots to the front of the court, which complemented his consistent driving throughout.
The Englishman’s relentless assault paid dividends as he swept to an 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 triumph to claim his second PSA World Tour title.
Pomportes, meanwhile, triumphed in the Women’s event after beating seventh seed Rachael Chadwick by a 3-0 scoreline.
A ten-month injury lay-off between July 2015 and May of this year saw the 27-year-old’s ranking plummet from a career-high No.51, but she returned to form after a devastating display against Chadwick.
After taking a tight opening game by a two-point margin, Pomportes eventually demonstrated her accurate-hitting to great effect and she closed out an 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 triumph to lift her first PSA World Tour title of 2016.
Legacy Wealth Belfast Open, Belfast Boat Club, Belfast, Ireland (PSA M5 and W5 events).
Final:
[1] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt [4] Lyell Fuller (ENG) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6
Semi-finals:
[1] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt [3] Douglas Kempsell (SCO) 10-12, 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-1
[4] Lyell Fuller (ENG) bt [2] Chris Fuller (ENG) 12-10, 11-3, 12-10
Quarter-finals:
[1] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt [8] Yuri Farneti (ITA) 11-9, 11-7, 11-13, 11-5
[3] Douglas Kempsell (SCO) bt [6] Brian Byrne (IRL) 11-1, 11-9, 11-5
[4] Lyell Fuller (ENG) bt [7] Tristan Eysele (RSA) 11-9, 11-8, 11-8
[2] Chris Fuller (ENG) bt [5] Sean Conroy (IRL) 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9
1st round:
[1] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt Joeri Hapers (BEL) 11-2, 11-6, 11-4
[8] Yuri Farneti (ITA) bt [Q] Owain Taylor (WAL) 11-4, 14-12, 11-5
[6] Brian Byrne (IRL) bt Bradley Masters (ENG) 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7
[3] Douglas Kempsell (SCO) bt [Q] Sam Ellis (ENG) 11-2, 11-3, 11-6
[4] Lyell Fuller (ENG) bt Elliot Selby (ENG) 11-7, 11-2, 11-8
[7] Tristan Eysele (RSA) bt [Q] Marc ter Sluis (NED) 6-11, 11-2, 11-8, 12-10
[5] Sean Conroy (IRL) bt [Q] Michael Craig (IRL) 7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7
[2] Chris Fuller (ENG) bt [WC] Stephen Hearst (IRL) 11-2, 11-4, 11-3
PSA W5 Women’s Final:
Laura Pomportes (FRA) bt [7] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) 11-9, 11-3, 11-5
Semi-finals:
[7] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) bt [3] Anna Klimundova (CZE) 13-11, 11-6, 12-10
Laura Pomportes (FRA) bt [5] Hana Moataz (EGY) 7-11, 11-8, 12-10, 3-11, 11-6
Quarter-finals:
[7] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) bt [2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7
[3] Anna Klimundova (CZE) bt [8] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) 11-8, 4-11, 11-8, 11-7
[5] Hana Moataz (EGY) bt [4] Ineta Mackevica (LAT) 10-12, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5
Laura Pomportes (FRA) bt [6] Elin Harlow (WAL) 11-5, 11-8, 11-9
1st round:
[2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt [Q] Elise Romba (FRA) 11-6, 11-6, 11-4
[7] Rachael Chadwick (ENG) bt [Q] Sophie O’Rourke (IRL) 11-2, 11-2, 11-8
[8] Tessa ter Sluis (NED) bt Stephanie Walton (ENG) 11-2, 11-6, 11-6
[3] Anna Klimundova (CZE) bt [Q] Sanne Veldkamp (NED) 11-5, 11-3, 11-2
[4] Ineta Mackevica (LAT) bt [Q] Hannah Craig (IRL) 12-10, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9
[5] Hana Moataz (EGY) bt Jenny Haley (WAL) 11-9, 11-7, 11-8
[6] Elin Harlow (WAL) bt Nia Davies (WAL) 6-11, 11-5, 14-12, 11-7
Laura Pomportes (FRA) bt [1] Alison Thomson (ENG) 11-4, 11-5, 11-3
Pictures by Belfast Boat Club