Former champion Borja Golan survived one of the longest matches of his professional career when he overcame unseeded opponent Mathieu Castagnet to reach the semi-finals of the Cannon Kirk Homes Irish Open, the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event in its tenth year at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin.
Three times a finalist and winner of the title in 2006, the second-seeded Spaniard twice had to come from behind to beat lower-ranked Frenchman Castagnet 10-12, 11-3, 12-14, 11-6, 11-3 in 110 minutes.
After prevailing in the longest match of the day, world No21 Golan will now face third seed Alan Clyne, winner of the shortest.
The Scotsman despatched Dane Rasmus Nielsen 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 in only 33 minutes.
“Got the 3-0 win today and played some decent stuff,” revealed the Scottish champion later on Twitter.
In the other half of the draw, top seed Alister Walker also had a fight on his hands to see off US number twoChristopher Gordon. The world No18 from Botswana dropped the first game, but battled back to overcome Gordon, ranked more than 60 places lower, 6-11, 11-4, 11-3, 11-9 in 45 minutes.
In his bid to reach a second PSA Tour final this month, Walker will now take on fourth seed Jonathan Kemp. In a clash between two English left-handers, world No41 Kemp defeated Robbie Temple 11-6, 11-5, 11-8.
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Alister Walker (BOT) v [4] Jonathan Kemp (ENG)
[2] Borja Golan (ESP) v [3] Alan Clyne (SCO)
Temple Takes Out Ryder In Dublin
26 April 2012
RESULTS: PSA International 25 Cannon Kirk Homes Irish Open, Dublin, Ireland
1st round:
[1] Alister Walker (BOT) bt [Q] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 11-7, 12-10, 11-6 (42m) Christopher Gordon (USA) bt [Q] Ben Coleman (ENG) 11-2, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8 (61m) Robbie Temple (ENG) bt Chris Ryder (ENG) 7-11, 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-3 (81m)
[4] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt [Q] Nathan Lake (ENG) 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 (22m)
[3] Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 9-11, 11-2, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6 (78m) Rasmus Nielsen (DEN) bt [Q] Ben Ford (ENG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (37m) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Mark Krajcsak (HUN) 12-10, 11-4, 11-1 (44m)
[2] Borja Golan (ESP) bt Jens Schoor (GER) 11-0, 11-3, 11-7 (28m)
A marathon all-English clash in the opening round of the Cannon Kirk Homes Irish Open in Dublin saw Robbie Templeoust higher-ranked Chris Ryder to reach the quarter-finals of the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event in its tenth year at the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club.
London-based Temple, ranked 66 in the world, recovered from a game down to beat Ryder, ranked 27 places higher, 7-11, 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-3 in 81 minutes.
The Gloucester-born 25-year-old now faces another fellow countryman for a place in the last four.
But Jonathan Kemp, the fourth seed from Halifax, took only 22 minutes to see off English qualifier Nathan Lake 11-3, 11-5, 11-6.
Spaniard Borja Golan made an impressive start in his bid to reach the final for a fourth time. The No2 seed from Santiago DC, champion in 2006, despatched Germany’s Jens Schoor 11-0, 11-3, 11-7 in just 28 minutes.
Golan will meet fast-improving Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet. The 25-year-old from Le Mans defeated Hungarian champion Mark Krajcsak 12-10, 11-4, 11-1.
Scotland’s Alan Clyne dashed hopes of local interest in the quarter-finals when he beat Arthur Gaskin. But the recently-crowned Irish champion won the opening game and took the third seed the full distance before Clyne eventually emerged the 9-11, 11-2, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6 victor after 78 minutes.
Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Alister Walker (BOT) v Christopher Gordon (USA)
[4] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) v Robbie Temple (ENG)
[3] Alan Clyne (SCO) v Rasmus Nielsen (DEN)
[2] Borja Golan (ESP) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
