17 Jun 2006
India's defending champion Ritwik Bhattacharya will face Dutchman Dylan Bennett in the final of the 4th ICL Chennai Open after each achieved four-game wins in just under an hour in today's semi-finals at the ICL Squash Academy in Chennai in India.
Second seed Bhattacharya faced compatriot Saurav Ghosal in the first semi-final. The fourth seed from Chennai looked in control and won the first game 11-8 and led 5-0 in the second. But Bhattacharya showed guts and discipline to claw his way back into the game and thereon kept control over Ghosal. The 26-year-old title-holder from New Delhi maintained his dominance throughout the rest of the match to win 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 in 55 minutes.
Now in his sixth PSA Tour final, Bhattacharya boasts a 100% record in the previous five.
Third seeded Bennett played hugging drives and a great array of shots from the front of the court to dominate Pakistan's No6 seed Majid Khan from the start. After not making a strong impression in the first two games, Khan played aggressively in the third and fought back from match ball down at 8-10 to win the game 3/1 in the tie-break.
Bennett controlled from the fourth from the start and wrapped up the match 11-4, 11-8, 10-11 (1-3), 11-7 in 54 minutes to reach the fourth PSA Tour final of his career - but, like Bhattacharya, his first for almost a year.
Semi-finals:
[3] Dylan Bennett (NED) bt [6] Majid Khan (PAK) 11-4, 11-8, 10-11 (1-3), 11-7 (54m)
[2] Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) bt [4] Saurav Ghosal (IND) 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 (55m)
