Australia’s Steven Finitsis clinched the biggest PSA World Tour squash title of his career when he defeated Mahesh Mangaonkar in the final of the Be Personnel Loch Ness Challenger, the inaugural PSA Challenger 15 event at Inverness Tennis & Squash Club in Inverness, Scotland.
The two finalists denied the crowd an all-Scottish climax after dramatic semi-finals – eighth seed Mangaonkar ousting the event favourite Alan Clyne, the Scottish No. 1 ranked 35 in the world, and third seed Finitsis recovering from 2/1 down to beat Inverness-born giant-killer Greg Lobban in a 116-minute five-game marathon.
Unseeded Lobban, the 21-year-old World No. 71, had reached the last four after upsets over No. 2 seed Omar Abdel Aziz and seventh seed Joel Hinds.
Finitsis, the Netherlands-based 31-year-old boasting a career-high World No. 50 ranking, took a 2/0 lead in the final before Mangaonkar, a 20-year-old from Mumbai marking his third Tour final of the year, regained the upper hand to take the third game.
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Final:
[3] Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt [8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 11-9, 11-2, 2-11, 11-5 (61m)
Semi-finals:
[8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [1] Alan Clyne (SCO) 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7 (59m)
[3] Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt Greg Lobban (SCO) 11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8 (116m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Alan Clyne (SCO) bt [6] Raphael Kandra (GER) 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (50m)
[8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [4] Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) 11-13, 11-8, 3-11, 11-5, 11-6 (83m)
[3] Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt [5] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) 11-6, 12-10, 11-13, 11-7 (73m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt [7] Joel Hinds (ENG) 11-6, 11-3, 11-4 (45m)
1st round:
[8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [Q] Michael Harris (ENG) 10-12, 11-6, 11-4, 7-11, 11-2 (67m)
