Koukal Crowned Konutlari Champion
7 Apr 2012
Czech squash star Jan Koukal notched up the 20th PSA World Tour title of his career when he beat Julien Balbo in the final of the Avrupa Konutlari International, the PSA Challenger 10 event in its second year at Avrupa Konutlari Ataken in the Turkish city of Istanbul.
A seeding collapse early in the event meant that favourite Koukal won the title without facing another seed - reaching the final after fighting back from a game down to beat German outsider Raphael Kandra 7-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-8.
Frenchman Balbo made his breakthrough in the opening round, where he ousted second-seeded compatriot Yann Perrin.
The Grenoble-born 32-year-old made the final - the 14th of his career - after dismissing Kuwaiti Bader Al Hussaini in straight games.
Balbo stretched Czech number one Koukal to four games - but the 28-year-old from Prague maintained the upper hand to win 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-4.
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Quarter-finals:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [Q] Bart Ravelli (NED) 11-7, 11-6, 11-9
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt [4] Jens Schoor (GER) 11-6, 11-6, 11-8
Bader Al Hussaini (KUW) bt Joan Lezaud (FRA) 9-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-5
Julien Balbo (FRA) bt Geoffrey Demont (FRA) 13-11, 11-8, 11-9
Semi-finals:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 7-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-8
Julien Balbo (FRA) bt Bader Al Hussaini (KUW) 11-8, 11-6, 11-7
Final:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Julien Balbo (FRA) 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-4
