Koukal Cooks Up 25th Crown In Queensland
27 Oct 2013
Czech squash star Jan Koukal notched up his 25th title on the PSA World Tour when he beat Dutchman Sebastiaan Weenink in today's final of the Queensland Open, the PSA Challenger 5 squash event at Northern Suburbs Squash Center in Brisbane, Australia.
Top seed Koukal dropped just one game en-route to his seventh PSA Tour final appearance of the year - in a sixth different country!
But whilst the world No80 from Prague was marking the 45th Tour final of his career, his unseeded opponent Weenink was celebrating his maiden appearance.
The 27-year-old from The Hague, ranked 174 in the world, made his breakthrough in the quarter-finals where he ousted second-seeded New Zealander Evan Williams in straight games.
Weenink tested the Czech number one in the final for more than an hour - but Koukal ultimately emerged triumphant 14-12, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7 to become the first non-Australian to win the Queensland Open crown this millennium.
Koukal's 25th Tour title takes him to equal sixth place in the list of current Tour title winners - sharing the position with France's world No2 Gregory Gaultier.
1st round:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt T J Rarere (AUS) 11-4, 11-3, 11-6 (32m)
[Q] Chi Him Wong (HKG) bt Jonathan Geekie (SCO) 11-8, 11-4, 11-5 (27m)
Kwon Hyeon-Jun (KOR) bt Shinnosuke Tsukue (JPN) 12-10, 6-11, 11-3, 11-9 (36m)
Yuta Fukui (JPN) bt [5] Lukas Burkhart (SUI) 11-13, 12-10, 11-5, 11-2 (50m)
[7] Ondrej Ertl (CZE) bt Andrew Fraser (AUS) 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8 (43m)
[Q] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt Pablo Rawden (ENG) 11-7, 11-0, 11-7 (27m)
Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt [Q] SungYoung Kim (KOR) 11-7, 11-5, 11-5 (22m)
[3] Adam Murrills (ENG) bt [Q] Jaakko Vahamaa (FIN) 15-13, 12-10, 11-8 (34m)
Lance James Beddoes (NZL) bt [4] Cheuk Yan Tang (HKG) 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 (55m)
[Q] Hesham Mohamed Aly (EGY) bt Thomas Calvert (AUS) 5-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 (38m)
Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt [Q] David Ilich (AUS) 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 (42m)
[6] Joshua Larkin (AUS) bt [WC] TJ French (AUS) 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 (21m)
Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) bt [8] Sunil Seth (GUY) 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 (46m)
[Q] Ollie Holland (ENG) bt Thoboki Mohohlo (RSA) 14-12, 11-0, 11-7 (49m)
Nathan Stevenson (AUS) bt James Skiffington (NZL) 17-15, 11-8, 8-11, 11-8 (43m)
[2] Evan Williams (NZL) bt [Q] Ben Grindrod (NZL) 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (45m)
2nd round:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [Q] Chi Him Wong (HKG) 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 (28m)
Yuta Fukui (JPN) bt Kwon Hyeon-Jun (KOR) 13-11, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, 11-2 (60m)
[Q] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt [7] Ondrej Ertl (CZE) 11-7, 9-11, 11-2, 12-10 (51m)
[3] Adam Murrills (ENG) bt Rhys Dowling (AUS) 8-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-7 (53m)
Lance James Beddoes (NZL) bt [Q] Hesham Mohamed Aly (EGY) 10-12, 11-2, 11-9, 11-6 (45m)
Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt [6] Joshua Larkin (AUS) 10-12, 11-7, 12-10, 13-11 (74m)
Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) bt [Q] Ollie Holland (ENG) 11-3, 11-8, 11-8 (28m)
[2] Evan Williams (NZL) bt Nathan Stevenson (AUS) 11-9, 11-3, 14-12 (31m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Yuta Fukui (JPN) 11-6, 12-10, 7-11, 11-1 (37m)
[Q] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt [3] Adam Murrills (ENG) 11-8, 6-11, 11-5, 10-12, 11-9 (61m)
Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt Lance James Beddoes (NZL) 3-11, 12-10, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5 (74m)
Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) bt [2] Evan Williams (NZL) 11-9, 11-3, 11-7 (41m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt [Q] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 12-10, 11-1, 11-4 (34m)
Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) bt Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7 (62m)
Final:
[1] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) 14-12, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7 (61m)
