Ben Coleman falls in final after marathon semi
By Squash Mad Correspondent
South African Shaun le Roux celebrated the tenth PSA World Tour title success of his career when he beat England’s Ben Coleman in the final of the IG Open de Paris, the PSA Challenger 10 squash event in its second year at Société Sportive de Jeu de Paume et de Racquets in the French capital.
It was disappointing outcome for Coleman, however, after the sixth seed from Essex scored one of the best wins of his life when he upset second-seeded Malaysian Ivan Yuen 8-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9 in the semi-finals.
The 105-minute battle proved to be his longest-ever win on the Tour – but Coleman was denied his first ever title triumph on his 23rd birthday.
The experienced UK-based Le Roux was marking his 15th Tour final appearance – and his second of the year.
And, despite surviving an energy-sapping 115-minute semi-final 24 hours earlier against Australia’s No3 seed Rex Hedrick, top seed Le Roux had plenty in reserve to despatch Coleman 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 in 62 minutes to notch up his tenth Tour title.
“I’m really happy to have won the tournament,” said the Cape Town-born 27-year-old later. “It’s been a hard week, I’ve felt, and a lot of it was more mentally tiring than physical.
“It was hard because I had to be prepared for a long match every time I went on court so from that point of view I’m even more happy. I feel I’ve played solid squash all through the week and pleased to get rewarded for it.
“A big thank you to Danny and his team for putting on such a great event,” added the World No.53. “I’ve really enjoyed Paris and hopefully will be back next year. Well done to Ben as well for a good tournament and I’m sure he’ll get that tournament win soon.”
Coleman responded: “I really enjoyed my first time in Paris – and I look forward to returning soon. I gave it all I had in the final but unfortunately it wasn’t quite good enough this time.
“Congratulations to Shaun, he lived up to his top seed billing. Hopefully next time I am back I can finish as the winner instead of runner up – but it’s been a very positive week for me. Thank you to everyone involved in making this event work.
“Now it’s time for me to get home and enjoy the rest of my birthday with my family.”
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RESULTS: IG Open de Paris, Paris, France (First Round):
[1] Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt Alejandro Garbi Caro (ESP) 9-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9 (91m)
[8] Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) bt Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) 11-8, 11-3, 11-4 (25m)
[7] Jens Schoor (GER) bt [Q] Benjamin Fischer (SUI) 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 (50m)
[3] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [Q] Tim Weber (GER) 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (44m)
[Q] Carlos Cornes Ribadas (ESP) bt [4] Jan Koukal (CZE) 4-11, 11-9, 12-14, 11-8, 11-4 (82m)
[6] Ben Coleman (ENG) bt Geoffrey Demont (FRA) 11-9, 11-5, 12-10 (60m)
[5] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [WC] Johan Bouquet (FRA) 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5 (73m)
[2] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt [Q] Reiko Peter (SUI) 11-8, 11-13, 11-3, 11-8 (50m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt [8] Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) 11-4, 9-11, 13-11, 11-2 (65m)
[3] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [7] Jens Schoor (GER) 11-2, 12-10, 11-6 (50m)
[6] Ben Coleman (ENG) bt [Q] Carlos Cornes Ribadas (ESP) 11-5, 12-14, 11-8, 11-5 (75m)
[2] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt [5] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 11-6, 10-11 ret.
Semi-finals:
[1] Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt [3] Rex Hedrick (AUS) 11-9, 5-11, 11-8, 11-9 (115m)
[6] Ben Coleman (ENG) bt [2] Ivan Yuen (MAS) 8-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-9, 11-9 (105m)
Final:
[1] Shaun le Roux (RSA) bt [6] Ben Coleman (ENG) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (62m)
Picture from Squash Mad archive