Austrian Open 2013: Results, Recap and Analysis

The 2013 Austrian Open had a thrilling finish to a memorable tournament, with No. 1 seed Chris Ryder going down to local hopeful Aqeel Rehman.

Rehman had endured several tough matches previously to progress through to the final, where he was able to triumph 11-6, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5 over Ryder.

Read on for a full recap of all the results and action from this PSA Tour event in Austria, where Rehman emerged as the latest winner on the world squash circuit.

Results:

(Full results listing available via Squash Info)

Quarterfinals 

[1] Chris Ryder (ENG) beat Arthur Gaskin (IRL) — 11-6, 11-5, 10-12, 11-2

[Q] Joel Hinds (ENG) beat [Q] Benjamin Fischer (SUI) — 11-5, 11-4, 11-7

Lucas Serme (FRA) beat [4] Ben Coleman (ENG) — 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-5

Aqeel Rehman (AUT) beat [2] Clinton Leeuw (RSA) — 11-2, 11-8, 2-11, 12-10

Semifinals

[1] Chris Ryder (ENG) beat [Q] Joel Hinds (ENG) — 11-8, 11-4, 11-4

Aqeel Rehman (AUT) beat Lucas Serme — 12-14, 13-11, 11-8, 3-11, 11-4

Final

Aqeel Rehman (AUT) beat [1] Chris Ryder (ENG) — 11-6, 4-11, 11-9, 11-5

Analysis

Whilst the fixture might not have attracted some of the big names of men's squash, the title was still very much deserved by Rehman.

The Austrian fought back well throughout many of his matches, and he played very well on clutch points in each of his finals matches. Despite dropping sets throughout, he held his composure and his form and came through with a deserved result in the end.

For Ryder, the final will be nothing but heartbreak—after showcasing his dominance throughout the tournament, he fell just short at the final hurdle.

The 13-year professional was the only player in the field ranked inside the top 75 in the world, but he could not get the win—losing to the No. 92 player in Rehman.

Credit also must be given to qualifier Joel Hinds—despite being ranked outside the top 150 players in the world, he won all of his qualifying matches and advanced to the semifinals. He faced Ryder, and was simply outclassed in the match, but to have even made it that far deserves strong recognition.

Upcoming Schedule

 The Challenger Tour's next appearance will be at the SRAM NSC Series No. 1 event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from March 11-15, 2013.

The PSA World Series Platinum continues at the Kuwait PSA Cup in Kuwait this week, with competition currently in the early rounds.

Full schedule available via Squash Info.