Charlton Charges To Czech Championship Success
from PSA Media
17 October 2011 - England's Eddie Charlton charged to his first PSA World Tour title success when he won the inaugural Ixi Open, the PSA Challenger 5 squash event at the Ixi Club in Pardubice in the Czech Republic.
It was fifth time lucky for the 23-year-old from Nottingham who had finished up as runner-up in four Tour final appearances in separate countries since November 2007.
Fourth seed Charlton had an easy route though to the final when his semi-final opponent Geoffrey Demont, a qualifier from France, conceded the match after 23 minutes when sickness made it impossible for the 20-year-old to carry on.
Top seed Dylan Bennett also had to overcome a Frenchman in the other semi, where he beat unseeded Joan Lezaud 11-5, 11-9, 11-13, 11-8 in 67 minutes.
"Eddie played very accurate and tight squash and was able to keep Dylan behind him and dominate the middle of the court," explained tournament organiser Tomas Forter. "Dylan wasn't moving very well and his defence wasn't tight enough."
Charlton, ranked ten places behind Dutchman Dylan, led throughout the first two games - and fought back from 3-5 down in the third before racing to 10-5, then clinching his first match-ball to claim his historic 11-3, 11-6, 11-5 victory in 33 minutes.
"I'm very pleased - I felt I played really well," said the the delighted Charlton afterwards. "Dylan didn't play as well as he can, but I'd like to think that was down to me!
"This is my first title so it obviously means a lot. I put in a good summer's training and it's nice to see some rewards.
"Thanks has to go to all the people who are helping me with my game (they know who they are!). Thanks to my parents for their support and finally to my girlfriend Emma who puts up with me!
"Tomas and all the people here at the Ixi club have made it a great event and I look forward to coming back in future," concluded Charlton.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 5 Ixi Open, Pardubice, Czech Republic
1st round:
[1] Dylan Bennett (NED) bt Philip Nightingale (ENG) 11-2, 11-7, 11-3 (25m)
Chris Fuller (ENG) bt [Q] Florent Pontiere (FRA) 12-10, 11-5, 11-1 (42m)
Joan Lezaud (FRA) bt [Q] Lucas Serme (FRA) 12-10, 11-3, 11-4 (43m)
Ben Coleman (ENG) bt [3] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 11-8, 6-11, 11-6, 11-1 (53m)
[4] Eddie Charlton (ENG) bt Bart Ravelli (NED) 11-3, 11-4, 11-6 (35m)
Amr Ramsy Swelim (ITA) bt [Q] Reiko Peter (SUI) 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (34m)
[Q] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) bt Sebastian Weenink (NED) 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8 (67m)
Lukas Jelinek (CZE) bt Zbynek Standera (CZE) 15-13, 11-4, 11-7 (47m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Dylan Bennett (NED) bt Chris Fuller (ENG) 8-11, 11-4, 11-8, 10-12, 13-11 (80m)
Joan Lezaud (FRA) bt Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-11, 11-4, 12-10, 12-10 (64m)
[4] Eddie Charlton (ENG) bt Amr Ramsy Swelim (ITA) 4-11, 11-3, 13-11, 11-9 (68m)
[Q] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) bt Lukas Jelinek (CZE) 12-10, 11-4, 11-3 (40m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Dylan Bennett (NED) bt Joan Lezaud (FRA) 11-5, 11-9, 11-13, 11-8 (67m)
[4] Eddie Charlton (ENG) bt [Q] Geoffrey Demont (FRA) 11-1, 11-1, 7-0 ret. (23m)
Final:
[4] Eddie Charlton (ENG) bt [1] Dylan Bennett (NED) 11-3, 11-6, 11-5 (33m)
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