by Ian Marshall, Editor

At the final hurdle he beat Germany’s Tim Laue (11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6), very much a player in form. In the penultimate round he had accounted for Frenchman Esteban Herrault (5-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6), the quarter-final winner in opposition to Chile’s Matias Pino, the top seed (11-2, 7-11, 4-11, 11-6, 12-10).

Success somewhat contrary to expectations for Alberto Seoane; in Men’s Singles Class 7 it was very much contrary to expectations for Poland’s Maksym Chudzicki. Not listed amongst the seeded names, he secured the title at the final expense of Dustin Eier of the Netherlands (11-6, 11-6, 11-7), the player against whom, the previous day, he had experienced defeat (11-9, 11-9, 12-10), the outcome being second place in the group.

Defeat laid to rest, on the second day of action he caused a major upset by beating Belgium’s Ben Despineux, the top seed (12-10, 8-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7), prior to securing his place in the final courtesy of success in opposition to Chile’s José Vargas (11-8, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11).

Unexpected outcomes, in the remaining Men’s Singles standing category events, it was success for the top seeds.

Ukraine’s Viktor Didukh secured the Class 8 title beating Frenchman Thomas Bouvais in the final (8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8); Hungary’s Dezso Berecki emerged successful in Class 9. He overcame Great Britain’s Josh Stacey, bronze medallist at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games earlier this year in Australia. Dezso Berecki prevailed in three straight games (11-9, 11-8, 11-6).

“I think overall I played well and applied some things I’ve been working on in training well; so I’m happy with my performance so far in the tournament. I think at times I wasn’t safe enough and went for some shots I shouldn’t have gone for. I’m looking to rectify those mistakes and bring all of the positives into the team event.” Joshua Stacey

Gold for Hungary, there was more gold in Class 11, the event for players with learning difficulties; meanwhile in Class 10, the decision went in favour of Indonesia. In the former Peter Palos beat Japan’s Yuki Kinoshita to secure the top prize (13-11, 11-9, 11-4); in the latter by the very narrowest of margins, David Jacobs overcame Austria’s Krisztian Gardos (8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9).

Individual events concluded; attention now turns to the team competitions; play concludes in Almeria on Sunday 18th November.

2018 Spanish Para Open: Latest Results and Main Event Draws