Locals Star In Colombian Open First Round

Colombians Miguel Angel Rodriguez and Bernardo Samper delighted local crowds at the Colombian Open by claiming unexpected first round victories in the $20,000 PSA Tour event in Bogotá.

Rodriguez, a wild card entrant, battled for 58 minutes to outmanoeuvre France's defending champion Renan Lavigne, the top seed, 11-7 8-11 11-7 11-6. The 19-year-old's reward is a quarter-final meeting with Australia's sixth seed Raj Nanda.

Samper, who reached the final of June's La Hacienda Open in Colombia as a qualifier, again had to qualify for his place in the Bogotá main draw - where he despatched Jan Koukal, the eighth seed from the Czech Republic, 9-11 11-5 11-7 11-9 in 50 minutes.

Samper's opponent in the last eight is Irishman Liam Kenny - victory against whom could take him into an all-Colombian semi-final against Miguel Angel Rodriguez!

1st round:
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [1] Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6 (58m)
[6] Raj Nanda (AUS) bt [Q] Dylan Bennett (NED) 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 (42m)
[4] Liam Kenny (IRL) bt [Q] Sam Miller (ENG) 8-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-8 (55m)
[Q] Bernardo Samper (COL) bt [8] Jan Koukal (CZE) 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (50m)
[5] Matthew Giuffre (CAN) bt Timothy Manning (AUS) 11-8, 10-11 (0-2), 11-3, 11-7 (50m)
[3] Joey Barrington (ENG) bt Lee Drew (ENG) 11-6, 11-6, 11-9 (55m)
[7] Eric Galvez (MEX) bt [Q] Ahmed Mohsen Hassaan (EGY) 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 (22m)
[2] Peter Barker (ENG) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-7, 11-2, 11-10 (4-2) (40m)