Charlie Lee runner-up in Katowice
By SEAN REUTHE
Dutch number one seed Piedro Schweertman produced a magnificent comeback from two games down to defeat surprise finalist Charlie Lee and lift the Silesia Katowice PSA Open, PSA M5 title, his first tournament win of 2016.
The 32-year-old displayed his title credentials earlier on in the tournament, with wins over Jami Aijanen, Victor Crouin and Mark Fuller sending him through to the final, while the unseeded Lee counted seeded players Jan Koukal and Matthew Hopkin among his conquests as he secured a maiden PSA World Tour final berth.
Games one and two were close affairs, with World No.215 Lee narrowly taking the opener on the tie-break before going on to double his advantage with victory in the second, putting the 18-year-old on the cusp of a triumph over an opponent 137 places above him in the World Rankings.
An improved Schweertman, who reached the final of the Malaysian Tour III on his last PSA World Tour appearance, halted Lee’s momentum impressively in the third and followed that up by taking the fourth game in comfortable fashion to level proceedings.
Both competitors went toe-to-toe in a high-octane decider with Dutch ace Schweertman (right) eventually closing it out to capture his ninth PSA World Tour title with an 11-13, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 scoreline.
PSA M5 Silesia Katowice Open 2016, Squash & More, Katowice, Poland.
Final:
[1] Piedro Schweertman (NED) bt Charlie Lee (ENG) 11-13, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (70m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Piedro Schweertman (NED) bt [3] Mark Fuller (ENG) 11-9, 11-9, 11-7
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [2] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 11-8
Quarter-finals:
[1] Piedro Schweertman (NED) bt [8] Victor Crouin (FRA) 8-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-2
[3] Mark Fuller (ENG) bt [5] Sean Conroy (IRL) 12-10, 11-4, 6-11, 11-4
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [Q] Matthew Broadberry (ENG) 11-3, 9-11, 11-5, 11-3
[2] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) bt [7] Kyle Finch (ENG) 11-8, 5-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-2
1st round:
[1] Piedro Schweertman (NED) bt Jami Äijänen (FIN) 11-9, 11-6, 11-8
[8] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt Jan Ryba (CZE) 11-5, 11-3, 12-10
[5] Sean Conroy (IRL) bt [Q] Phil Nightingale (ENG) 11-5, 11-5, 11-4
[3] Mark Fuller (ENG) bt Kristian Rautiainen (FIN) 11-8, 5-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [4] Jan Koukal (CZE) 11-6, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4
[Q] Matthew Broadberry (ENG) bt [6] Adrian Ostbye (NOR) 11-9, 11-9, 11-9
[7] Kyle Finch (ENG) bt [Q] Bradley Masters (ENG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-5
[2] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) bt [Q] Sébastien Bonmalais (FRA) 12-10, 12-14, 11-9, 11-8
Qualifying finals:
Bradley Masters (ENG) bt Hendrik Vossing (GER) 11-7, 11-3, 11-8
Sébastien Bonmalais (FRA) bt Marek Wojnarski (POL) 11-6, 11-2, 11-1
Matthew Broadberry (ENG) bt Tess Jutte (NED) 11-8, 11-13, 11-8, 13-11
Phil Nightingale (ENG) bt Vojtech Ryba (CZE) 11-6, 11-2, 11-6
1st qualifying round:
Bradley Masters (ENG) bt Przemyslaw Atras (POL) 11-3, 11-8, 11-7
Hendrik Vossing (GER) bt Mikolaj Korsak (POL) 11-8, 11-3, 11-4
Sébastien Bonmalais (FRA) bt Mateusz Szewczyk (POL) 11-2, 11-0, 11-1
Marek Wojnarski (POL) bt Ahmed Al Kiremli (IRQ) 6-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-6
Matthew Broadberry (ENG) bt Filip Jarota (POL) 11-4, 11-5, 11-0
Tess Jutte (NED) bt Maksymilian Wielgus (POL) 11-3, 11-3, 11-3
Vojtech Ryba (CZE) bt Kamil Dudek (POL) 11-1, 11-2, 11-3
Phil Nightingale (ENG) bt Mateusz Osojca (POL) 11-4, 11-5, 11-5
Pictures from social media