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Bianchetti Wins Longest Match to Reach Rome Final

Italian squash star Davide Bianchetti survived the longest match of his career when he beat defending champion Mark Krajcsak in a 138-minute marathon to reach the final of the Roma Est Open, the $10,000 PSA World Tour event in its second year at the Shopping Centre Roma Est in the historic Italian city of Rome.

The 32-year-old top seed from Brescia twice stemmed fight-backs by Krajcsak to beat the third-seeded Hungarian 11-7, 9-11, 12-10, 4-11, 12-10. The match was not only also Krajcsak’s longest ever, but the longest of the year on the PSA Tour.

Bianchetti, ranked 29 in the world, is now celebrating the 21st Tour final of his career - and his ninth on home soil.

But the top seed will be meeting a surprise opponent in the final after fourth-seeded Frenchman Stephane Galifi upset England’s Chris Simpson, the second seed, 11-8, 8-11, 11-2, 11-7 in 62 minutes.

Galifi, the 30-year-old world number 52 from Aix-en-Provence, is marking his first Tour final of the year - but reached five in 2008, with title successes in four!

Follow the action from the PSA World Tour live on WWW.PSALIVE.TV - the Professional Squash Association’s official webstreaming service. Enjoy live action, replays, download archive matches and enjoy exclusive Live & Uncut DVDs

Posted on May 11, 2009
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