Major Upsets In Pioneer Open In Germany

There were major upsets in the Pioneer Junior U19 Open when Germany's tenth seed Simon Rosner claimed the men's title and Malaysia's Wee Wern Low, the 16th seed, secured the women's crown in the established European Squash Federation Junior Circuit event in Cologne, Germany.

Rosner, the 18-year-old European Junior Champion from Wurzburg, made his breakthrough in the quarter-finals when he despatched top-seeded Dane Kristian Frost Olesen 9-2, 9-5, 9-3. After defeating England's Lewis Walters, the fifth seed, in the semi-finals, Rosner went on to crush sixth seed Bart Ravelli, from the Netherlands, 9-0, 9-4, 9-1 in the final.

The victory will boost Rosner's confidence for next week's Prince World Junior Championship in New Zealand, where he is the fourth seed.

The other U19 event saw the collapse of reigning women's European Junior champion Camille Serme, the top seed and runner-up in Cologne last year. The 17-year-old from France was unable to capitalise on a two-game lead against Low Wee Wern, who went on to win 7-9, 1-9, 9-7, 9-6, 9-6 to reach a surprise quarter-final.

Low, a 15-year-old from Penang who became the Asian Junior (U19) Champion last month, was taken to four games by two English opponents - Deon Saffery and Emma Chorley - in the next two rounds before triumphing 9-3 9-4 9-6 in the final against Hong Kong's unseeded Annie Au.

Men's U19 Final:
[10] Simon Rosner (GER) bt [6] Bart Ravelli (NED) 9-0, 9-4, 9-1

Women's U19 Final:
[16] Wee Wern Low (MAS) bt Annie Au (HKG) 9-3, 9-4, 9-6