By Alan Thatcher

August 31, 2013 - 6:32pm

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Laurens Jan Anjema in action in Rotterdam

Castagnet stuns Anjema at Double AR Rotterdam Open

Mathieu Castagnet caused a stunning upset at the Double AR Rotterdam Open Squash 2013 by ousting top seed and home crowd favourite Laurens Jan Anjema in the semi finals of the new PSA Challenger 15 championship in the Netherlands.

Entering the match with a 0-6 head-to-head record, things weren’t looking good for the world number 31 when he quickly went down 5-1 in the first game. The 26-year old Aix-en-Provence settled soon after though and managed to contain his higher ranked opponent by slowing down the pace and mixing it beautifully with bursts of high-paced attacking squash. As a result Castagnet made Anjema do a lot of work, forcing openings to put the ball away, which he took full advantage off throughout the 48-minute match: 11/8, 11/8, 11

In Sunday’s Double AR Rotterdam Open final Castagnet will face Adrian Grant, after the Englishmen recovered from one game down to beat Finland’s Olli Tuominen, the reigning European champion, in a 62-minute encounter. The win of the third-game tiebreak proved crucial as the global ambassador of title sponsor Double AR never looked back after taking the important lead: 7/11, 11/5, 12/10, 11/3.

More information about the Double AR Rotterdam Open Squash 2013 can be found at the official websitewww.rotterdamopensquash.com.

Semi Final results

[4] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) – 11/8, 11/8, 11/3 (48 mins)

[2] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [3] Olli Tuominen (FIN) – 7/11, 11/5, 12/10, 11/3 (62 mins)

Anjema Progresses In Rotterdam

31 August 2013

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 15 Double AR Rotterdam Open, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Quarter-finals:
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Raphael Kandra (GER) 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 (43m)
[4] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 10-12, 11-3, 11-7, 11-7 (76m)
[3] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt Jens Schoor (GER) 11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (33m)
[2] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt Steven Finitsis (AUS) 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 (69m)

Dutch number one Laurens Jan Anjema moved comfortably into the semi-finals of the Double AR Rotterdam Openafter dismissing Germany’s Raphael Kandra in the PSA World Tour Challenger 15 squash event at Victoria Squashin the Netherlands city of Rotterdam.

Top seed Anjema (pictured below) won the first and third games with ease – but the eight-time Dutch champion had to fight back from 9-6 down in the second before overcoming German number three Kandra 11-3, 11-9, 11-6.

Second seed Adrian Grant, the global ambassador of title sponsor Double AR, displayed great skill and athleticism in his match against Steven Finitsis. Englishman Grant started off slowly, but managed to claw his way back in time to edge the first game against his hard-hitting Australian opponent. From there the Londoner looked at ease on the Victoria show court, dominating the next two games to secure his 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 win against a dangerous opponent.

Flying Finn Olli Tuominen had an easier time against Jens Schoor. The reigning European champion took control from the outset and simply outplayed his German opponent who couldn’t find an answer to the fast and explosive play of the third seed, winning 11-4, 11-7, 11-4.

In the last match of the evening fourth seed Mathieu Castagnet proved too strong for fellow Frenchman Lucas Sermein a highly competitive and long encounter. Underdog Serme took the first after nearly half an hour, but this seemed to take its toll on the youngster, who kept working hard but lacked the punch of the early stages of the match to really trouble his compatriot in the next three games. The final score line: 10-12, 11-3, 11-7, 11-7.

Semi-final line-up:
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v [4] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
[2] Adrian Grant (ENG) v [3] Olli Tuominen (FIN)

Official event website www.rotterdamopensquash.com

For all the latest Tour news: www.psaworldtour.com