England’s Sam Todd has claimed his biggest Tour victory to date, coming through the draw at the Concourse Athletic Club Open without dropping a single game.
The Englishman came into the Challenger 10 level tournament in Atlanta as the No.3 seed and received a bye through the opening day’s action. He then faced off against compatriot Jonah Bryant, a member of the England team that won the WSF World Junior Team Championships earlier this year. Todd took the victory in straight games to get his campaign underway.
19-year-old Todd then overcame Finnish No.1 Henrik Mustonen in the semi-finals in three. That set up a clash with No.2 seed Muhammad Asim Khan in the last four, and after a match that saw two tie-breaks in three games, Todd got the job done in just over an hour.
The final saw the Englishman take on Egypt’s Aly Hussein for the Challenger 5 level crown. It was the first time that the two had played on Tour, and from the off, Todd was on top. He closed out the first game 11-6, and held the momentum throughout the contest. Todd went on to win in straight games to come through the event without dropping a game, and to claim the biggest title of his career to date.
Results: Concourse Athletic Club Open
Final
[3] Sam Todd (ENG) bt [6] Aly Hussein (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 (53m)
Semi-Finals
[6] Aly Hussein (EGY) bt [1] Faraz Khan (USA) 3-1: 5-11, 12-10, 11-7, 11-3 (66m)
[3] Sam Todd (ENG) bt [2] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 (61m)
Quarter Finals
[1] Faraz Khan (USA) bt Finnlay Withington (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 11-5, 6-11, 11-3 (55m)
[6] Aly Hussein (EGY) bt Darosham Khan (CAN) 3-0: 11-2, 11-7, 11-4 (38m)
[3] Sam Todd (ENG) bt Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 3-0: 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 (36m)
[2] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) bt [5] Alejandro Enriquez (GUA) 3-2: 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 (77m)
Second Round
[1] Faraz Khan (USA) bt Jamie Ruggiero (USA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-2 (39m)
Finnlay Withington (ENG) bt [8] Saeed Abdul (PAK) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 11-5 (39m)
[6] Aly Hussein (EGY) bt Mohamed Nabil (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 11-8 (65m)
Darosham Khan (CAN) bt [4] Josue Enriquez (GUA) 3-1: 11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-4 (45m)
[3] Sam Todd (ENG) bt Jonah Bryant (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-3 (44m)
Henrik Mustonen (FIN) bt [7] Ricardo Toscano (GUA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 (28m)
[5] Alejandro Enriquez (GUA) bt Lewis Doughty (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 (42m)
[2] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) bt Faizan Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (23m)
First Round
Jamie Ruggiero (USA) bt Maximilien Godbout (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (33m)
Finnlay Withington (ENG) bt Mehran Javed (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (35m)
Asyraf Azan (MAS) bt Mohamed Nabil (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4 (45m)
Darosham Khan (CAN) bt Muhammad Ibrahim Noorani (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-0 (16m)
Jonah Bryant (ENG) bt Abdul Malik Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-7 (24m)
Henrik Mustonen (FIN) bt [WC] Varun Chitturi (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-8 (40m)
Lewis Doughty (ENG) bt [WC] Felipe Pantle (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (31m)
Faizan Khan (PAK) bt [WC] Fletcher Cline (USA) 3-1: 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 11-6 (42m)