02-Nov, Final:
[5] Arturo Salazar (Mex) bt [4] Jorge Ferreira (Mex)
      7-11, 4-11, 11-2, 8-1 rtd

Salazar claims Quito title

Mexico's Arturo Salazar claimed his second PSA title as he beat compatriot Jorge Ferreira in the final in  Ecuador.

Ferreira took a two-game advantage, thanks in part to errors from Salazar, but the 20-year-old fought back to take the third.

At 4-1 to Salazar in the fourth Ferreira slipped and twisted his ankle. After some treatment he returned to court, but after a few points he couldn't continue and offered his hand to his opponent.

Official site from Quito

11-4, 11-2, 6-11,
11-6 (39m)

[4] Jorge Ferreira

7-11, 4-11,
11-2, 8-1 rtd

[5] Arturo Salazar

11-3, 11-6, 9-11,
6-11, 11-6 (87m)

[5] Arturo Salazar

29-Oct, Qualifying Finals:

Salvador Martínez (Mex) bt Gonzalo Tapiz (Arg)          11-8,15-13,10-12,11-5 (47m)
Esteban Arroyo (Ecu) bt Marcelo Romero (Ecu)                      11-7,11-3,11-4 (29m)
Gonzalo Miranda (Arg) bt Nahuel Ramos (Arg)               11-9,11-5,7-11,11-7 (39m)
Rodrigo Torres (Col) bt Fernando López (Mex)          10-12,11-7,12-10,12-10 (46m)

28-Oct, Qualifying Round One:

Salvador Martínez (Mex) bt Juan Diego López (Col)  9-11,11-2,11-5,11-4 (35m)
Gonzalo Tapiz (Arg) bt Mateo Guarderas (Ecu)        11-6,8,11,11-4,11-4 (38m)
Esteban Arroyo (Ecu) bt Oscar López (Mex)          11-6,11-6,10-12,11-1 (48m)
Marcelo Romero (Ecu) bt Armando Olguín (Mex)           11-5,11-7,12-10 (26m)
Nahuel Ramos (Arg) bt Jonas Laursen (Den)          12-10,11-6,8-11,11-5 (37m)
Gonzalo Miranda (Arg) bt José Oviedo (Mex)                   11-8,11-5,11-4 (31m)
Rodrigo Torres (Col) bt Mateo Guarderas (Ecu)               11-4,11-3,11-5 (18m)
Fernando López (Mex) bt Esteban Dávalos (Ecu)              11-4,11-3,11-1 (21m)

01-Nov, Semis:
[4] Jorge Ferreira (Mex) bt [1] Shahier Razik (Can)
      11-4, 11-2, 6-11, 11-6 (39m)
[5] Arturo Salazar (Mex) bt [3] Julian Illingworth (Usa)
      11-3, 11-6, 9-11, 6-11, 11-6 (87m)

Salazar sets up all-Mexican final

It will be an all-Mexican final in Quito after Arturo Salazar scored a second successive upset win to beat Julian Illingworth and Jorge Fereirra overcame top seed Shahier Razik.

Juan Carlos Santacruz reports

The consistency and precision of the Mexican Baltazar allowed him to obtain a spot in the final by defeating the No. 1 seed of the tournament the Canadian Razik who couldn’t recover from the wear out of the match of the day before. Baltazar played a deep game, changing the rhythm and precise shots with boast balls.

The first two games were very close. Yet in the third game Razik revived and made the game slower, deeper and played drop shots. The audience was excited and cheerful, yet Razik’s strategy although it was winning it required a strong physical condition that the Canadian didn’t have. Baltazar took advantage of this and played with all his strength and won.

In the middle of the spectacular games that have been witnessed in the Quito Tenis Club this week, the match between Arturo Salazar and Julian Illingworth was by far one of the favourite ones due to the technical control of the American and the calmness and devotion of the Mexican.

Salazar easily took a 2-0 lead imposing his rhythm, speed and precision when it came to finish the shots. Yet Illingworth began to change the rhythm, played surprising balls and worked every single rally with a variety of shots that eventually began to work out as the crowd cheerfully applauded. The American never gave up hitting the ball softly and with great delicateness that gave him an advantage with the frightening altitude.

Nevertheless in the final game Salazar was stronger and imposed his extraordinary speed and constructed every single rally gaining a spot in the final. He played confident cross courts, deep rallies that gave him the victory and a change to play the great final tomorrow
  

Official site from Quito

While three of the top four seeds made the semi-finals of the Ecuador Open in Quito, Mexican youngster produced a shock result to defeat his second-seeded compatriot Eric Galvez in four games.

Salazar now meets Julian Illingworth, the USA champion who beat Arturo's twin brother Cesar to reach the semis.

Top seed Shahier Razik faces yet another speedy Mexican, Jorge Ferreira, in the top half of the draw.

Juan Carlos Santacruz reports

Technical battle

The match proposed was highly technical and the longest of the night, starring the two players Razik and Schonborn. The Canadian had to play at his strongest level to defeat the inspired South African, who even managed to have the lead in the third game.

The game became slow, precise and strategic at the beginning and as it advanced it had more rhythm and speed in the second and third games. Razik forced a great variety of shots, yet the physical resistance of the South African guaranteed him a good test. There were exhausting rallies, deep and precise, and when it seemed Schonborn had the lead in the third game, Razik’s game came to shine and won the final game to triumph.

Salazar defeats Gálvez

With two fast players on court, the spectators saw an emotive match with an inspired Galvez who played precise drop shots, anticipated every shot and played strong cross courts. Nevertheless he had an opponent with two huge lungs.

Salazar played consistently with his amazing physical strength that always helped to implement pressure near the tin but always looking for the searching deep shots, and many other shots that he managed to wear out Galvez with, fantastic winning shots.

Illingworth proposed and won.

The American Illingworth proposed a match with high technical quality in order to stop the speed of the Mexican Cesar Salazar. At the beginning the American was firm with his rallies and had a 2-0 advantage. Yet, Salazar began to impose more rhythm by pressuring and anticipating every single shot when the American lost his focus. The American surprised the Mexican with several corkscrew services. The Mexican threatened the most in the final game but Illingworth responded to the pressure with four precise nicks that gave him the match by 3-1.



Gordon’s great heart.

A long and deep game of 50 minutes gave the Mexican Baltazar his pass to the semi finals. The Mexican managed to control the physical capacity of the American Gordon who played with his heart and proved his amazing physical condition. Baltazar played deep squash, yet with rhythm changes he began to wear out Gordon’s condition up to the limit. The pressure was so high that the American got injured in the final game due to the effort he had made during that game when he tied up a 8-0 lead of the Mexican to a 9-7 score. 

Official site from Quito

Juan-Carlos Santacruz reports

After tour highly disputed matches filled with emotion, the Mexican Martinez, the Colombian Torres, the Argentinean junior Miranda and the Ecuadorian Arroyo obtained their spots for the main draw of the Ecuador Squash Open.

The historic qualification of Esteban Arroyo, who became the first Ecuadorian player to enter the main draw of a PSA tournament, meant a huge award to his dedication and consistency as well as to Ecuadorian squash. Arroyo played against his compatriot Romero and won due to his experience and definitions during the match.

In the match between the two Argentinean juniors, 18 year old Miranda and 17 year old Ramos the historic winning trend of Miranda imposed over Ramos. Although Ramos exposed great physical condition the actual Pan- American Junior Champion imposed his technique and strength to win.



The Colombian Rodrigo Torres who is used to playing constant qualys in Ecuador, manager to advance to the main draw alter winning over the Mexican Fernando Lopez with an ordered and consistent game.

The final match was between the Mexican Salvador Martinez and the Argentinean Gonzalo Tapiz. The Mexican who constantly moves smoothly around the court left Tapiz with no air. Although they were apparently tied during the match, Quito’s altitude played against the Argentinean who wore out throughout the match.

Big surprises in Quito Qualifying
Juan-Carlos Santacruz reports

It is the first time that an Ecuadorian player enters the main draw of a PSA tournament and also the first time in history that a Latin American junior player also qualifies to the main draw.

This is the surprising news from the opening of the Ecuador Squash Open in the Quito Tennis Club.

On one hand, the Ecuadorians Esteban Arroyo and Marcelo Romero will play for one of the qualifying places. This match has generated a sensational occasion for the country that is hosting the tournament, because it will be the first time an Ecuadorian player enters the main draw of a world tour event.

On the other hand, the Argentinean junior players, Gonzalo Miranda and Nahuel Ramos will also play for a qualifying spot that will guarantee the entering of a junior player for the first time in history to a two star PSA tournament main draw.

There will be four matches tomorrow that will define the qualifying places for the main draw. The other two matches will be played by the Mexican Salvador Martinez and the Argentinean Gonzalo Tapiz and the Colombian Rodrigo Torres and the Mexican Fernando Lopez.

Official site from Quito

Official site from Quito

The 2007 Event

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