Williams and Ramadan Claim Bendigo International Titles by Sean Reuthe August 1, 2016
- New Zealand’s Evan Williams and Egypt’s Hana Ramadan claimed
silverware at the Bendigo International, PSA M5 & W5 tournaments,
beating Dimitri Steinmann and Jessica Turnbull, respectively, in the
final in Australia.
Top seed Williams reached the final of the Men’s event courtesy of wins
over Jong Myoung Park, Mithran Selvaratnam and Vincent Droesbeke, the
latter of which saw Williams recover from 2-1 down to advance.
Steinmann, meanwhile, was appearing in his maiden PSA World Tour final
and upset the odds against second seed Elvinn Keo in the last four to
seal his final berth.
Williams, the World No.87, started on the front foot and rattled off a
succession of points as he surged into a two-game lead to put him on
the cusp of victory.
A determined Steinmann fought back though and dominated games three and
four, dropping just three points as he levelled proceedings at the
Bendigo Squash Centre to set up a climactic decider.
However, Wiliams dug in and wrestled back momentum of the fixture in
the fifth game to close out the win with an 11-7, 11-7, 1-11, 2-11,
11-5 scoreline, lifting his fifth PSA World Tour title in the process.
Elsewhere, sixth seed Ramadan and home hope Turnbull contested the
Women’s final, with Ramadan full of confidence after causing the shock
of the tournament in the quarter-final stage with her surprise win over
pre-tournament title favourite Millie Tomlinson.
World No.89 Ramadan had also staged a superb comeback from two games
down to win her semi-final encounter with compatriot and number three
seed Nouran El Torky, but showed no signs of fatigue in the final as
she powered into a 2-0 lead.
Turnbull gained a foothold in the fixture after clawing a game back in
the third, but a composed Ramadan held her nerve and the 19-year-old
wrapped up the fourth to record an 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9 triumph that
sees her claim a second PSA World Tour crown.
Result – Final: Men’s Bendigo International 2016 [1] Evan Williams (NZL) bt [4] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-2: 11-7, 11-7, 1-11, 2-11, 11-5 (53m)
Result – Final: Women’s Bendigo International 2016 [6] Hana Ramadan (EGY) bt [5] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 3-1: 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9 (36m)
