U.S. Open Squash » 2011

TODAY in Philly: the FINALS

Steve Cubbins — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:48:56 +0000

Massaro and Shabana dominate U.S. Open Finals

Laura Massaro and Amr Shabana are the Delaware Investments U.S. Open Champions after both turned in dominant performances in tonight’s finals at Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Centre in Philadelphia.

Massaro came back strongly to dominate affairs after Kasey Brown had taken the first game, while Shabana was in scintillating form against a struggling opponent after the first two games were shared.

Women’s Final:
[5] Laura Massaro (Eng) bt [6] Kasey Brown (Aus) 5/11, 11/5, 11/3, 11/5 (56m)
Men’s Final:
[3] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [1] Nick Matthew (Eng) 11/9, 8/11, 11/2, 11/4 (51m)

Massaro dominant

Laura Massaro made a good enough start to the Delaware Investments U.S. Open women’s final, as she and Kasey Brown traded patient rallies to open proceedings on the glass court at the Daskalakis Athletic Centre at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Getti ng to two-all in that opening game took a few minutes, and you certainly couldn’t pick a winner at that point. But as the game wore on it was the Australian who began to take charge of the rallies more, and, helped by several unforced errors from Massaro, she moved ahead to 6/3, then 9/4, and took the lead 11/5 with a dropshot that left Massaro a long way back in the court.

After that though, the fifth seed from Lancashire was, in truth, dominant. The rallies were still there, the movement and shotmaking from both were good, but it was Brown who was being rushed, and Massaro who was making the most of the openings she waited patiently for.

That new favourite shot, the deceptive little crosscourt flick from the front left corner was working well, and more than a few points were earned with it.

In the second game Massaro went ahead 4/2, 7/4, 10/5 and won it with a drive to the deep that was too tight.

The third saw her lead 9/1 in a flash with Brown hitting tin after tin. The first two games took 14 and 19 minutes, 11/3 in the third came after just 7.

Brown did lead the fourth, 2/1, but Massaro was soon back on top, controlling play again as she went ahead 5/2, then 10/4.

Kasey saved one match ball with a straight drive, but Laura put paid to hopes of a comeback with a another wrongfooting boast, and the new U.S. Open champion raiser her hand in the air …

“Kasey come out strong in the first and I just couldn’t get in front of her, she was putting me under pressure and I was making mistakes. It was the sort of match where whoever got in front was winning, so I really had to work on it to get in front from the second game.

“At the start I didn’t feel as comfortable as I had in the previ0us matches, my legs felt heavy and I felt a little sluggish, but I just told myself I had to forget that. I got a few good rallies together and I felt good and played well after that.

“I can’t believe I won, it’s been a great year for me with three major victories. The Nationals is always up there and I was very proud to be the first Lancashire woman to win it, beating Nicol in Cleveland was big, but this is the biggest of them, a major event on a glass court, they don’t come much bigger than this!

Laura Massaro

Shabana irresistible

Amr Shabana claimed a second U.S. Open title within three years with a scintillating performance to beat top seed Nick Matthew in four fast-paced games.

The Egyptian third seed made a tremendous start, thrilling the Philadelphia crowd with a series of winning shots that left Matthew struggling. Coming backk from 6/1 down was a tall order, but the Englishman almost made it, getting to 8/9 but then having a let decision turned into a no let as Shabana appealed to the video ref. Shabana then took the game 11/9 on another winning volley drop after 19 minutes.

The second was a carbon copy in reverse – Matthew dominant now, cutting off Shabana’s shots to race to an 8/1 lead, only to see Shabana fight his way back. From 9/4 down Shabana rediscovered his touch, got to 8/9 and this time it was he who was annoyed not to complete the comeback as Matthew levelled 11/8.

That second game used up just 10 minutes on the clock as both went for their shots, and the next two games were just as quick, 8 and then 7 minutes.

Shabana was totally dominant in both of them, reeling off winning volley drops and dropshots almost at will. Matthew was by now clearly struggling with his movement and simply had no answer, scoring just five more points and three of those were late in the fourth game.

There was no big celebration as Shabana put in one last dropshot, but the Prince of Cairo will have felt deep satisfaction at winning another major title. Matthew will put this one down to experience, and he;ll be back.

“It was a good match, and it’s such a relief to win a major tournament again. It’s been a tough couple of years, at times I thought I might never win again but I’ve been playing well this week and my body held up which is the important thing.

“I’m just glad you were all here to witness me winning again and I hope I can carry on playing well and win some more!”

Amr Shabana

“I’m disappointed that my body let met down a little tonight, I was struggling to push off on my foot, but I gave it a good go and you have to be good enough to cope with these problems. It feels different from coming off court having given everything you have, but that’s not taking anything away from Amr, he played really well.

“His shots were firing in from all over tonight, and even at 100% I would have been struggling to cope with him, he was all over me by the end, and could have probably played some of those dropshots with his right hand, they were so good!

Nick Matthew

Finals Photo Gallery

Preview, for posterity

First up is the women’s final, with the fifth and sixth seeds battling it out for the crown.

Laura Massaro and Kasey Brown may not be the players most expected to see in the final – not at the start of the event, at any rate – but as the only players to have beaten world number one Nicol David this year, it’s somehow fitting that they should contest this major final.

For both it would be their biggest-ever WISPA win, Massaro has won eight times, Brown eleven, but both have other achievements to call on, notably Massaro’s Nation Championship win and Brown’s World Teams and Commonwealth medals.

They have met five times, Brown winning three of those but Massaro taking the honours last time they met. On this year’s matches they each have a four-game win, both taking 65 minutes to complete. A close on? You bet …

Nick Matthew and Amr Shabana have both won this title before, in 2007 and 2009, but the paycheque for today’s winner will be bigger than either of those, and he will also take the momentum of winning a PSA World Series event into the hectic autumn schedule that is coming up.

The Englishman leads 10-8 in PSA meetings (11-8 overall), including each of the last three, all in semi-finals of World Series events in New York, Richmond and Manchester. It’s Shabana who leads on PSA titles though, 26 compared to Matthew’s 20, and four World Opens to Matthew’s one.

Of course, they should have contested the final of the World Series Finals at a blustery Queen’s club back in January. The winner will only get one trophy tonight, but that will be enough to be going on with …

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TODAY in Philly, Semi-Finals:

Steve Cubbins — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:47:55 +0000

Surprise Women’s Final as Matthew and Shabana set up Grand Prix rematch

The semi-finals of the Delaware Investments U.S. Open at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia’s Drexel University saw two women’s upsets and two enthralling but contrasting men’s matches.

Australia’s Kasey Brown, seeded six, powered to a four game win over third seed Madeline Perry, while fifth seed Laura Massaro prevailed in straight games in an all-English encounter with world number two Jenny Duncalf. For both, appearing in a WISPA World Series Final will be one of their career highlights to date.

The first men’s semi-final was also all-English, and in an often brutal encounter world number one and top seed Nick Matthew extended his run of victories over James Willstrop, winning in four games to reach a third consecutive PSA World Series Final this season.

Matthew’s opponent will be third seed Amr Shabana, after the Egyptian four-time world champion also won in four games, although his match against France’s Thierry Lincou was a much quicker affair, taking just over half the time of Matthew’s.

Women’s Semi-Finals:
[6] Kasey Brown (Aus) bt [3] Madeline Perry (Irl) 12/10, 6/11, 11/6, 11/6 (67m)
[5] Laura Massaro (Eng) bt [2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) 13/11, 11/5, 13/11 (60m)

Men’s Semi-Finals:
[1] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [3] James Willstrop (Eng) 11/9, 11/7, 7/11, 11/7 (86m)
[3] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [6] Thierry Lincou (Fra) 11/1, 9/11, 11/6, 11/7 (48m)

Kasey pulls into the final

When Kasey Brown raced into a 6/1 lead in the first game of the first women’s semi-final, the prospect of a nightmare like that experienced by Rachael Grinham last night reared its head. Northern Irish fans will have been reassured though as Madeline Perry put that start behind her, extended the rallies and started to pin her Australian opponent to the back of the court, as she does so well.

Brown got as far as 8/3 ahead, but Perry was into her game now and not only levelled but went 9/8 ahead. A stroke took her to 10/9, but then three fortunate point in a row for Brown – Perry clean missed a simple drive, Brown’s mishit boast nicked and Perry mishit a simple return – and the Aussie had escaped to lead one-nil.

The next three games were all close, for the first half of them at least. Perry pulled clear from 5-all in the second to equalise 11/6, Brown did exactly the same in the third to regain the lead, 11/6.

The fourth was delicately poised too, but from 4-all the Irishwoman made three quick errors in a row and Brown had broken clear. She filled her boots, so to speak, with three winners of her own and in a flash she was 10/4 up.

Perry pulled a couple of points back, but a comeback of that scale was never likely, and after running hard to stay in the final rally Kasey finally got a loose ball which she drove into the deep to reach the final.

“I started well then stepped off it a bit in the first and she started to get in front of me, she’s so hard to play if you let her do that.
“I scraped through that one but lost the second as my length dropped of. I had to try and get it back in the third, which I did, and when she made three errors in a row in the fourth I said ‘thank god for that’! I knew it wasn’t over but I managed to pull clear from there.

“It’s been a fantastic time for me living in America, working with my coach Rod Martin, everything’s coming together and it feels just great to be in a major final like this!”

Kasey Brown

Massaro maintains her grip

Having beaten her higher-ranked compatriot Jenny Duncalf twice in a row, Laura Massaro made it three out of three tonight with an assured performance that saw her move into the final with a straight-game win.

It could easily have been different though, as Duncalf, seeded two, raced into a 5/0 lead in the first, but Massaro settled, levelled at 8-all and saved two game balls before taking it on her own secod chance, 13/11.

She was well on top in the second, quickly ahead, 5/1 and 8/3 with Duncalf looking less than happy with proceedings – she was on the wrong end of most of the video appeals too, which didn’t help – while Massaro maintained an outward calm and got on with the job, impressively so.

At 4/9 Duncalf, from deep in the back corner, hit an overhead backhand crosscourt volley drop into to next to bring up a big roar from the crowd. Massaro replied instantly, plopping Duncalf’s server into the nick then taking the game, and a 2-0 lead, 11/5 on a stroke.

The third was close all the way, but Massaro always seemed to have the slight edge – if she went to the front she was liable to put the ball away, whereas Duncalf was for the most part being drawn there by her opponent and having to defend.

Massaro edged ahead, 5/3, 6/4 and 8/5, 9/6 and 10/7 with another service return winner. Now it was Duncalf’s trun to fight back, four point in a row saw her to game ball, but then she was drawn to the front three times, and three times Massaro drove the ball deep into the back corners to take an impressive win, 13/11.

“She hit a few good shots at the start, but you always want to win the first, so I tried my best to turn it round sooner rather than later and thankfully I managed to get back into it and take that one.

“It’s tough when you’re the seed, you always feel the pressure more, I jiust went on to play my game plan as well as I could and today it was good enough – it’s close at the top and anyone can beat anyone on the day.

“I’ve had a really good year and a half, mainly thanks to my coach Phil Whitlock who’s made me much more aware of what I’m doing on court.

“Kasey and I always have tough matches, it should be a good final but I’m happy with how I played so I’m just going to try to carry on like that …”

Laura Massaro

Matthew still on top

They’ve had some classic battles, have Nick Matthew and James Willstrop, as you would expect from two wonderful players who have met so often, and tonight’s first men’s semi-final was up there with the best of them as Nick Matthew continued his winning run over his Yorkshire rival in a top quality, gruelling and at times brutal four game encounter.

As Matthew said at the end, it’s been a good few months since they played, so it was like starting afresh, and Willstrop certainly didn’t come into the match with any sort of inferiority complex.

The first game was as tough and as close as they come, never more than a point or two between them, never an easy rally. It took 26 minutes for Matthew to take the lead, although the end came quickly as at 9-all Willstrop snatched at, and tinned, a volley in the middle of the court, and Matthew followed up with an unexpected angle at the front to close it out.

The second started in the same vein, but from 5/6 down Matthew enjoyed a spell of relative dominance, going ahead 10/7 and doubling his lead 11/7 in 17 minutes after pushing Willstrop from corner to corner before finally getting a loose ball to pounce on.

Matthew has worn Willstrop down before, notably in the World Open final last December, but James wasn’t done yet, not this time, and he came out strongly in the third, from 3-all moved ahead to 7/3, and although Matthew recovered to as close as 7/8, Willstrop took advantage of a couple of rare Matthew mistakes to pull a game back 11/7. That one took 14 minutes.

The fourth was brutal. 22 minutes it took, and once again there was nothing to choose between them – 4-all, 5-all, 6-all, 7-all. Then Matthew got two stokes, the type he gets a lot of against Willstrop in that front left corner, to go 9/7 ahead. A monumental rally ended in a let, then Matthew’s basic length died in the back corner for match ball, and on the next rally a boast out of the blue left Willstrop stranded and Matthew in the final.

“We haven’t played since last January, so there was no carryover into this match, it was like starting afresh which is probably why it was so tough tonight.

“When I was 2-0 we were talking in the corner, about how James is renowned for his racket skills, but he’s also one of the gustiest players and fiercest competitors you can ever meet, so there was no question of easing up or thinking the job had been done.

“He came out really well in the third, and it was all credit to him for winning it rather than anything I did wrong.

“James’s racket skills are as good as they’ve ever been so I’m delighted to have managed to win that one, and looking forward to what should be a fantastic final.”

Nick Matthew

Shabana sets up Matthew rematch

It would have taken some match to follow that Yorkshire battle, and although Amr Shabana and Thierry Lincou both showed patches of exquisite play, their match was something of an anticlimax, as it was bound to be, compared to what had gone before. It was still four games, but it took just over half the time to complete.

After winning his quarter-final last night the Frenchman declared anything more would be a bonus, but when he slumped to an 11/1 first game loss it didn’t look as if any bonus was coming his way tonight.

To his credit, from the outset of the second game Lincou cut out the errors, lengthened the rallies and stopped the flow of winners from Shabana’s racket. He took a 6/3 lead and although Shabana closed he could never quite get there. The Egyptian looked visibly annoyed at letting the game slip, but let it slip he did, making a couple of careless errors at the end.

He wasn’t about to let that happen again though, and Shabana was well on top in the next two games, moving swiftly, hitting some sublime winners, and pulling clear to 9/5 in the third and 10/4 in the fourth, finishing them off 11/6 and 11/7 to set up another meeting with Matthew, after their British Grand Prix semi-final just over a week ago.

“It was a good match – Thierry is one of the best of all time at controlling the T, so I knew I had to work hard to try to get him to the back of the court if I was going to have any chance to win, even if it was going to hurt.

“Thankfully it all worked out right in the end, now I need to get myself prepared for Nick again. He’s had a wonderful spell over the last two years and is playing great squash, I’ll need to raise my level to really challenge him tomorrow …”

Amr Shabana

Preview – for posterity

First up is Northern Ireland’s Madeline Perry, aged 34, against Aussie Kasey Brown, 26, who took out top seed Nicol David in the quarter-finals. Currently ranked #4 and #6 in the world, they have met eight times, tied at four-all but Brown has won the last three of those, including their only meeting this year in Greenwich.

Englishwomen Jenny Duncalf, 28, and Laura Massaro, 27, are no strangers either, having met 15 times in all events but just six times in WISPA competition. Duncalf leads 11-4 overall and 4-2 in WISPA meetings, but Massaro has won the least two clashes, in the Cleveland Classic and the final of the British Nationals, both in February this year.

When it comes to long running rivalries, few can match that ofNick Matthew, 31, and James Willstrop, 28, England’s top two who meet in the first men’s semi-final. Both from Yorkshire, they have met 38 times in total, going back to a British Open qualifier in 2001, and 26 of those have been PSA matches. Matthew leads both, 29-9 overall and 18-8 in PSA. More importantly, Matthew’s last defeat to Willstrop was back in the English Open final of 2007, and after that he has gone on to win every one of their last 16 meetings, a sequence which includes finals of the British Nationals, the British Open, Commonwealth Games and the World Open last year in Saudi Arabia.

The final match of the day features two players approaching Veteran status in Egypt’s Amr Shabana and France’s Thierry Lincou. Both have been world number one and world champion, but Shabana was at the top for longer – 33 months compared to 13 – has won more world titles – four to one – and is the younger of the two, 32 versus 35. Shabana leads the head to head too, but only by 13-12 (12-10 in PSA), and although he has had the better of things in recent years it was Lincou who won their last meeting, 2010 in El Gouna.

So four matches, each with their own history and a real treat in store tonight for the Philly squash faithful …

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TODAY in Philly, Quarters part two:

Steve Cubbins — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:27:08 +0000

Shabana and Lincou through as Massaro and Duncalf set up all-English semi

The second night of quarter-final action in the Delaware Investments U.S. Open at the Daskalakis Athletic Center at Drexel University provided the Philadelphia crowd with a somewhat mixed bag of matches.

The in-form British National Champion Laura Massaro eased past an out of sorts Rachael Grinham, the Aussie fourth seed unable to find anything like her true form, giving Massaro, in her own words, an easy 3/0 win.

Second seed Jenny Duncalf looked on course for a similarly straightforward win when she stood at 11/3, 10/5 against Annie Au, but a dramatic recovery as the Hong Kong youngster started to find her range meant that the English world number two had to work hard for a four-game win in a match that could easily have gone the distance.

Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema, having already created an upset to reach the quarters, really took the game to third seed Amr Shabana, but the Egyptian fought back brilliantly from a game down, eventually getting the better of a tense and exciting finish to an extended fourth game.

The final match of the round was a more low key affair as sixth-seeded Frenchman Thierry Lincou also came from a game down to beat unseeded Malaysian Azlan Iskandar.

Quarter-Finals (bottom half):

[5] Laura Massaro (Eng) bt [4] Rachael Grinham (Aus) 11/3, 11/3, 11/7 (29m)
[2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt Annie Au (Hkg) 11/3, 10/12, 11/8, 11/8 (49m)

[4] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) 5/11, 11/6, 11/4, 15/13 (78m)
[6] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Azlan Iskandar (Mas) 6/11, 11/5, 11/5, 11/8 (56m)

One of those days for Rachael

Laura Massaro played well tonight, in the first quarter-final of the evening, that’s for sure. But even she admitted that it was “an easy win” against an out of sorts Rachael Grinham who struggled to get any sort of foothold in the match.

Normally the Aussie puts the ball deep into the four corners with a variety of flicks, lobs, and angles, but for the most part tonight those shots were finishing nearer the centre of the court, or out, or in the tin.

Massaro took advantage, made virtually no errors herself and picked off the loose balls she was presented with.

Only in the middle of the third did Grinham threaten to make a real contest of it with a trio of decent rallies, but that still left her 8/5 down, and a couple more errors made any prospect of a comeback remote.

The first game took 5 minutes, the second 7, the third 10, and in less than half an hour Massaro was through to the semi-finals.

“I thought I played pretty well, but she was a bit off today.

“I was trying to use all four corners of the court, and was moving pretty well. I’ve been playing well all year so I wasn’t about to let losing one match in Brooklyn last week get me down.

“Still, I’ll take my easy win and be ready for a tough match with her next time, like it usually is, but for now I’m just really pleased to be in the semi-finals.”

Laura Massaro

“I was just really struggling to time the ball, it felt really heavy on the racket and I couldn’t control it at all.

“I was just getting more and more frustrated out there, I thought I was getting into it a couple of times but it just went away again.

“I’ll just have to put it down as one of those days to forget and put it behind me …”

Rachael Grinham

Not so easy for Duncalf

With the world number two leading 11/3, 10/5 you would have put any money on a fairly quick straight-game win for Jenny Duncalf.

It wasn’t as if Annie Au was playing badly, but she was up against an opponent who was moving well and striking the ball smoothly, and the Hong Kong youngster’s game, based on the accuracy of her drops, lobs, boasts and flicks, wasn’t quite firing as she made a few too many errors to seriously trouble the Englishwoman.

After taking the first comfortably, Duncalf extended a 7/4 lead in the second to 10/5, helped by three tins from Au. On the next seven points though she managed to put the ball just above the tin, and from out of nowhere, with Duncalf doing nothing wrong, it was one game all. You could see the thought-bubble as she left court, “how did that happen?”.

Thoughts of an easy win were gone, as Annie was definitely into the match now, and the next two games were close with Duncalf having to be on her toes all the time ready for the next attack.

From 5-all in the second she eked out a bit of a lead to take it, was pulled back to 8-all but managed to take it 11/8, putting away two of Annnie’s not-quite-low-enough drops.

Again in the fourth, Duncalf held marginal control at 8/5, but at 8-all anything could have happened. Fortunately for her she was presented with another couple of loose dropshots which she capitalised on, then put in her own to finish the match. Phew.

“I was playing well and then I think I just relaxed a bit at the end of the second and gave her a look into the match. After that it got tougher, the ball got deader and deader as she slowed things down.

“In those last rallies at the end of the games I was just trying to knuckle down try not to give anything away – it got a bit flicky droppy and too much at the front, which is th game she likes, if you leave anything loose she’s deadly, so I had to try to pin her to the back.

“I’m happy I managed to get it back, it should be a good semi-final with Laura, we know each other’s games well enough …”

Jenny Duncalf

Shabana and LJ entertain Philadelphians

Laurens Jan Anjema was looking cool, calm, and in control in the first game of the first men’s quarter-final of the night.

The big Dutchman was keeping a tight rein on his illustrious opponent, with Amr Shabana unable to get Anema off the ‘T’ or out of his rhythm. Always in front, it was 11/5 to Anjema.

But as the second game got under way the Egyptian seemed to be picking the pace up. He was moving well – fast – now, and although there were still some of the patient rallies of the first game, Anjema was starting to be hurried and harried.

From 2-all Shabana moved ahead – not easily, but still he reached 7/4 then 10/5, and took it 11/6.

Shabana was buzzing in the third, moving effortlessly and playing some amazing shots. Anjema was definitely doing the chasing now, trying to put his finger in the dam, so to speak, and not having much success at it as the Egyptian went 5/1 and 8/3 ahead, taking it 11/4 on two forced errors from Anjema.

He was still having to hurry in the fourth, but Anjema was staying in the rallies better, and he eked out leads of 4/2 and 6/4 – again, not easily, it was getting pretty tough by now. Shabana kept on attacking, finally levelled at 7-all and went ahead 9/7 with three winners but LJ struck back with two of his own to make it 9-all.

A perfect length, much to LJ’s annoyance brought up match ball, which heralded a tremendous rally, both trading volleys at the front of the court but LJ had the last laugh laugh – despite Shabana’s mock-throttling - and we were into extra points.

It was all at breakneck speed now, high quality and great to watch. Shabana had another match ball at 11/10, LJ two game balls at 12/11 and 13/12. Shabana saved that with his favourite return of serve into the nick, put a dropshot too tight to bring up a third matchball, and volleyed into the nick one final time to bring everyone’s enjoyment to an end.

“Well that was a good warmup!

“Sometimes things don’t happen the way you want – he started well, the crowd got behind him and got him pumped up, so I needed to focus, regroup and do it all the hard way.

“I got back into it, he changed his game plan so I had to come up with new one myself, it was like a chess game, but it was very tough at the end.

“Now the crowd favourite is out, maybe I’ll be their favourite tomorrow …”

Amr Shabana

Lincou wraps up the last spot

The second men’s match of the evening was a less lively affair than the one that preceded it, Thierry Lincou and Azlan Iskandar serving up a match that never really ignited, with a mixture of some good quality squash interspersed with periods of patchy play, neither able to take control.

Iskandar played well enough to take the first, always ahead for 11/6, but Lincou is a known slow starter, and the Frenchman tightened up in the second and third, with some assistance from Iskandar who was finding the tin when not under pressure too frequently for his own good.

Good starts in both games were consolidated without any undue scares, and at 11/5, 11/5 the tide had definitely turned.

Azlan cut out the errors to make the fourth more competitive, the rallies were longer and tougher, and there was no more than a point between them up to 7-all.

It was the Frenchman who seemed to want it more at the end though, and it was a final unforced error from Azlan that put Thierry through to an all-thirty-something semi-final with Shabana.

“I felt pretty comfortable in the second and third games, I wasn’t sure if something was wrong with Azlan as he was very up and down, didn’t seem really fired up and was giving me a few easy points which boosted my confidence. I knew I still had to try to keep the ball as straight a I could though, he’s very explosive on attacking the crosscourts.

“He played better in the fourth, I think I was trying to finish it off a bit too quickly and froze a little.

“It should be a good match with Shabana. Once you get to these later rounds the pressure is off, you still want to win but you know you’ve reached where you should, everything’s a bonus after that.

Thierry Lincou

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TODAY in Philly, Quarters part one:

Steve Cubbins — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:04:26 +0000

Brown KO’s David as Matthew and Willstrop guarantee English finalist

The first day of quarter-final action in the Delaware Investments U.S. Open at the Daskalakis Athletic Center at Drexel University in Philadelphia saw a sensational upset in the women’s WISPA World Series draw and the guarantee of an English finalist in the men’s PSA World Series event.

First up, Ireland’s third seed Madeline Perry met Camille Serme, the eighth seed who came from two games down to beat the USA’s Latasha Khan yesterday, and Perry continued her impressive record against the French champion, winning 11/6, 11/7, 11/7.

Top seed and world number one Nicol David, will have to wait at least another year to add one of the few major titles missing from her record as she was sensationally beaten 11/9, 6/11, 11/9, 11/4 by Australia’s Kasey Brown, the sixth seed. The Malaysian, five times World Champion and world number one for almost six unbroken years, had won all nine of their previous encounters and the victory was certainly the best of Brown’s burgeoning WISPA career to date.

Three Englishmen featured in the men’s quarter-finals. First, top seed, world champion and world number one Nick Matthew who won the U.S. Open title in 2007, beat Mohamed El Shorbagy, the two-time world junior champion who has broken into the upper echelons of the senior rankings 11/5, 9/11, 11/3, 11/6 in 65 minutes.

An all-English matchup followed, as third seed James Willstrop met Peter Barker, the fifth seed. The pair have met many times in junior and senior events – they contested the World Junior final in 2002 – with Willstrop holding the upper hand, leading 12-1 in their PSA tour meetings. The tall Yorkshireman added one more to that tally as he won 7/11, 11/5, 11/6, 11/7 to set up an all-English semi-final with Matthew.

Results:

[3] Madeline Perry (Irl) bt [8] Camille Serme (Fra) 11/6, 11/7, 11/7 (42m)
[6] Kasey Brown (Aus) bt [1] Nicol David (Mas) 11/9, 6/11, 11/9, 11/4 (59m)

[1] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) 11/5, 9/11, 11/3, 11/6 (65m)
[3] James Willstrop (Eng) bt [5] Peter Barker (Eng) 7/11, 11/5, 11/6, 11/7 (63m)

Perry first into the semis

Madeline Perry became the first player to reach the semi-finals of the Delaware Investments U.S. Open with a solid straight-game win over France’s Camille Serme at the Daskalskis Athletic Center at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

The Irish third seed made the better start, taking an early 3/0 lead, and with the French champion committing too many unforced errors, she extended it to 8/4, taking the game 11/5 with a volley into the deep.

With forays to the front of the court infrequent, the pattern continued in the second, with Perry generally holding the upper hand in the rallies. A 3/1 lead was extended to 6/3, then 10/4, and although Serme pulled a few [points back another deep volley from Perry saw her advantage doubled.

The third game was the most competitive of all, with numerous testing rallies. Serme started the better, leading 2/0, 5/3 and 6/4, but Perry levelled at 7-all, reached match ball with three crosscourt winners and a final drive into the tin sealed Serme’s fate.

“It was a pretty fast game. I started well which obviously helped, I was hitting good length to stop her being able to attack me, and I felt relaxed and confident in my movement too.

“I’m very happy with that, I feel I’m playing some of my best squash at the moment, I hope I can carry on in that vein for the rest of the tournament.”

Madeline Perry

Kasey pulls off biggest upset

The second women’s semi-final saw Kasey Brown pull off the biggest win of her career as she sensationally beat top seed Nicol David in four games in just under an hour of enthralling play.

From the outset the match was much more varied than the Perry/Serme match, both players covering all four corners of the court and not hesitating to put the ball short when the chance arose.

There was little to choose between them in the first, but a handful of uncharacteristic errors from the Malaysian’s racket handed the advantage to Brown and she moved ahead from 6-all to take the lead 10/7, and the game 11/9.

David steadied in the second, the rallies lengthened and it wasn’t until she was already 9/5 ahead that she made her first, and only, unforced error of the game, taking it 11/6 to level.

Often Nicol will steam ahead in this sort of situation, but Kasey wasn’t finished, and the third game was just as competitive as the first. From 9-all two drives glued to the wall produced a stroke and a winner and the Australian was back in front.

And then, in a flash, she was 8/0 up in the fourth. Five tins from Nicol, three winners from Kasey, and the upset was more than on the cards. A volley error from Kasey gave Nicol her first point, and, steadying again, she won three more before another dropshot error put Kasey on match ball.

One was all it took, a loose return from Nicol was powered away deep into the backcourt and the Australian camp was celebrating a famous win.

“I started well, then got a bit passive in the second. I knew I had to come out and attack again in the third, then did the same in the fourth where everything just came off for me.

“She got a few points back, and I told myself to just keep steady and not change the game that had got me there – I know I have a bit of a reputation as a choker, so I was determined not to let it happen.

“Today was all down to my coach Rodney Martin, he’s been working with me for eight years now, and in the past year or so we’ve been working here in America with a really good group. Without him I wouldn’t have been here, and I certainly wouldn’t have won that match … it feels great when everything you’ve been working on comes together!”

Kasey Brown

Matthew squeezes out Shorbagy

If you look at the three games that top seed Nick Matthew won, the scoreline looks pretty convincing. Add to that the fact that the world number one was clearly annoyed with himself at letting the second game slip, and you could be forgiven for thinking that this was a comfortable victory over Mohamed El Shorbagy, the seventh seeded Egyptian.

Far from it, as Matthew himself attested after the match, declaring that Shorbagy had at times made him feel “old and slow”. That’s not true either, but you get the idea, that although Matthew hard control of the rallies and the match for the most part, he had to work hard to maintain that control.

Errors were the Egyptian’s undoing in the early part of the match as he fell behind 11/5, but he rallied well, taking a marginal lead from the middle of the second and taking it 11/9 as he squeezed a couple of errors from the Englishman at the end.

For the rest of the match it was Shorbagy himself who was being squeezed though, always behind in the score, always under the pressure that Matthew’s pace and early taking of the ball puts his opponents under.

Matthew ran out the winner 11/3, 11/6 to move 2-1 ahead in their head to head series, but he certainly knew he’d been in a match.

“He seemed to decide he could take me on down the backhand wall, and he got the better of that battle in the second, but that effort maybe took something out of him, he wasn’t able to press as hard after that.

“He’s like all the Egyptians though, they can score two or three quick points out of nowhere, whereas we English like to build the rallies more, so you have to be on your toes all the time.

“I managed to keep the momentum for most of the match, and he was having to work harder than me, but he still managed to make me feel old and slow at times! He’ll be around for a long time, well after I’ve gone, and he’ll be a nightmare to play …”

Nick Matthew

Willstrop makes all-English semi

James Willstrop and Peter Barker are certainly no strangers to each other, having played countless times as Juniors, and prior to tonight had contested a baker’s dozen (that’s 13) PSA matches. The only one of those that Barker won was the last one, earlier this year in Canary Wharf, so both had extra reason to want to win tonight, as if making the semi-finals of a World Series event wasn’t enough.

As you would expect, between the third and fifth seeds, there was never a lot in it. Willstrop made a good start, going 5/1 and then 7/3 up in the first, but Barker struck back with eight points in a row to take the lead 11/7.

From 3-all in the second it was Willstrop’s turn to string points together as he pulled away to 7/4, finishing it off 11/5.

Another 5/1 lead in the third for Willstrop, who was beginning to patrol the ‘T’ more effectively now, and although Barker battled back he could never close the gap as Willstrop regained the lead 11/6.

After a tight opening to the fourth it was Willstrop’s advantage again, from 2/3 down he pulled clear to 7/3 with an outrageous volley kill, but four points in a row from Barker threatened to take us into a decider.

Not to be though, Barker snatched at a volley kill, tinned it, floored another one at 9/7 down before Willstrop manoeuvred him out of position opening up an easy put away deep to take the match 11/7.

“It was just a tough, hard, game. You can’t expect to win 3/0 every time so when I lost the first I just kept on playing my game.

“You have to work it out, it’s a mental and a physical battle, we were both getting control of the ‘T’ at times and matches like that come down to very fine margins but I managed to take the important points tonight.

“I’m feeling pretty fit at the moment, but then we’ve had a Summer’s training and the season’s only just begun, if you don’t feel fit at the moment you’ve got no chance …”

James Willstrop

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TODAY in Philly, Last Sixteens:

Steve Cubbins — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 08:00:51 +0000

Anjema ousts Palmer, Rachael ends Raneem’s run …

It was the last sixteen round of both the men’s and women’s championships today at the Daskalakis Athletic Center at Drexel University in Philadelphia, with eight matches in a row – upstairs on the glass court for the men, and downstairs on the traditional court for the women.

There was a strong England v Egypt flavour to the men’s draw with fully half of the matches featuring one player from each nation, and honours were shared as Mohamed El Shorbagy, Nick Matthew, Peter Barker and Amr Shabana all progressed, as the seedings predicted they would. James Willstrop made it three Englishmen in the last eight as he beat compatriot Daryl Selby, and an English semi-finalist is assured with Willstrop set to meet Barker in the quarters while Matthew faces El Shorbagy.

In the bottom half of the draw Shabana will meet Dutchman LJ Anjema, who was delighted to upset the seedings in recording his first PSA victory over veteran Australian David Palmer, the eighth seed.

The remaining quarter-final will be between France’s sixth seed Thierry Lincou, who narrowly escaped being taken to four ames by speedy Colombian Miguel Angel Rodrigues, and unseeded Malaysian Azlan Iskandar, who consolidated his win over injured second seed Karim Darwish yesterday with a straight-games win over Swiss qualifier Nicolas Mueller.

There was just one upset in the women’s draw as Hong Kong’s Annie Au eased past a struggling Omneya Abdel Kawy, the seventh seed from Egypt, but none of the remaining seven seeds had it all their own way.

In the opening match of the day France’s eighth-seeded Camille Serme had to battle back from two games down to US veteran Latasha Khan, while third seeded Australian Rachael Grinham also came from two games down and saved match balls in the process of beating in-form Egyptian Raneem El Weleily 14/12 in the fifth.

In the quarter-finals Au faces second seed Jenny Duncalf, who ended home interest with a straight-game defeat of Amanda Sobhy, while Grinham also meets English opposition in the form of Laura Massaro, who beat qualifier Delia Arnold after dropping the first game.

In the top half of the draw, Serme will play Ireland’s third seeded Madeline Perry, and top seed Nicol David meets Australia’s Kasey Brown for the fifth time in little over a year.

Men’s Round Two :

[7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Tom Richards (Eng) 11/2, 11/6, 8/11, 11/4 (53m)
[1] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt Omar Mosaad (Egy) 11/8, 11/3, 11/5 (49m)
[5] Peter Barker (Eng) bt Hisham Ashour (Egy) 11/9, 11/6, 11/4 (40m)
[3] James Willstrop (Eng) bt Daryl Selby (Eng) 11/7, 11/5, 11/6 (48m)
Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt [8] David Palmer (Aus) 7/11, 11/5, 11/3, 11/9 (76m)
[4] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Adrian Grant (Eng) 6/11, 11/6, 11/5, 11/7 (51m)
[6] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) 7/11, 11/6, 11/4, 13/11 (69m)
Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt [Q] Nicolas Mueller (Sui) 11/6, 11/7, 11/3 (42m)

Women’s Round One:

[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt Joelle King (Nzl) 11/13, 11/8, 11/6, 11/5 (55m)
[6] Kasey Brown (Aus) bt [Q] Dipika Pallikal (Ind) 11/8, 11/8, 11/6 (44m)
[8] Camille Serme (Fra) bt Latasha Khan (Usa) 10/12, 3/11, 11/9, 11/7, 118 (67m)
[3] Madeline Perry (Irl) bt [Q] Donna Urquhart (Aus) 11/6, 13/11, 8/11, 11/5 (52m)
[4] Rachael Grinham (Aus) bt Raneem El Weleily (Egy) 8/11, 5/11, 11/9, 11/9, 14/12 (58m)
[5] Laura Massaro (Eng) bt [Q] Delia Arnold (Mas) 11/13, 11/4, 11/6, 11/4 (46m)
Annie Au (Hkg) bt [7] Omneya Abdel Kawy (Egy) 11/1, 11/1, 11/3 (17m)
[2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt [Q] Amanda Sobhy (Usa) 12/10, 11/6, 11/5 (27m)

Shorbagy regains his focus

After a very good opening from Mohamed El Shorbagy, Tom Richards started to get into this first of three consecutive Egypt v England matches to open the men’s second round at the Dalsalkis Athletic Centre in Drexel University, Philadelphia.

The Egyptian took the first game comfortably, 11/2, the second less so but still with something to spare, 11/6. Richards was getting frustrated with himself and the bounce of the ball, and got a conduct warning for dropping his racket at the end of the second, while Shorbagy was getting frustrated with some of the refereeing decisions.

Not really sure why – he asked for a video review on an obvious decision, which was upheld, and the review system had to be explained to him, which seemed strange.

The Englishman took advantage to pull a game back, clearing away from 7-all in the third, but Shorbagy reasserted in the fourth to take it with something to spare and reach the quarter-finals.

Hisham cut short

Peter Barker was already ahead in the second of the England v Egypt clashes, taking an early lead in his first game against Hisham Ashour and fending off the Egyptian’s attempted comeback to take it 11/9.

It was shaping to be a good contest, was this repeat of their World Team final encounter in Paderborn, but mid-way through the second Ashour lunged for the ball and something clearly ‘went’, the pain on his face and his restricted movement for the rest of the match told the story.

Barker went on to win 11/6, 11/4 and paid credit to his opponent in carrying on where many would have stopped.

Matthew and Willstrop make it an English afternoon

Not that it will be any consolation for the reverse in the World Team final a few weeks ago, but Nick Matthew made it 2-1 to England in the final match of a trio of English versus Egyptian players to open proceedings on the glass court.

Omar Mosaad fully tested the world number one in the opening game, holding a few points’ lead before Matthew finally closed it out with some typically solid play in the final few points to take it 11/8.

That game lasted for just about half of the 49 minute duration, which serves to say that the Englishman, while not completely dominant, was definitely in control of proceedings as he finished the match off 11/3, 11/5.

“The first game was long and drawn out, he came with a strategy and stuck to it well,” said Matthew. It wasn’t physically demanding as such, more a mental battle with lots of slow raiiles. I was a bit sluggish at the start and left too many things hanging out on his forehand.

“I managed to claw back the few points lead he had and was more comfortable after that.”

James Willstrop made it three out of four Englishman through to the quarters in the top half of the draw as he beat compatriot Daryl Selby in straight games.

The third seed pulled clear from the middle of the 20-minute first game, took a 6/0 lead on the way to doubling his advantage in the 12-minute second, and took five points in a row in the third with Selby losing interest in the last couple of points to finish it off in 48 minutes.

LJ gets his win

Laurens Jan Anjema had beaten David Palmer in a playoff match in the World Teams in Paderborn a few weeks ago, but the veteran Aussie had always had the edge over the Dutchman in PSA encounters. And if the first game was anything to go by, it looked as though that run would continue as Palmer controlled proceedings to take it 11/7 with a fun of six points after being 5/7 down.

He took a 5/2 lead in the second too, but then the momentum swung and it was Anjema on top and in control as he took the second 11/6, finished off a 7/0 start in the third 11/3, and at 7/2 in the fourth it looked all over.

But Palmer dug in, as he does, and slowly but surely brought it back to 7-all. There were a few decisions required of the referees and Palmer in particular wished he hadn’t used up his video review early in the game. It was an edgy finish, but after losing his first match ball chance, at 10/9 LJ chanced his arm, hit the nick, and raised both arms in the air …

“I just tried to play my own game and not panic after losing the first. I was pleased to have recovered so well, but it was nerve-wracking at the end, getting those last five points.

“He was one of my idols when I was growing up, so to beat him for the first time in PSA is pretty special. It was a mental victory tonight, I decided to take a risk at the end and thankfully it came off. I hope I can be a bit steadier for the whole match next round …”

Shabana shows his class

The fourth Egypt-England clash of the day was a repeat of Amr Shabana and Adrian Grant‘s encounter at the quarter-final stage of the British Grand Prix a week ago. The Egyptian won that one in three close games, Grant threatening to take each one, but this he did more than threaten as he took the lead 11/6.

Thereafter though, Shabana showed why he’s a four-time world champion, generally controlling the play without looking overly troubled or hurried, and try as he might Grant couldn’t knock him out of his stride as the Egyptian took the next three games 11/6, 11/5, 11/7 to move into a quarter-final with Anjema.

“I just played him a few days ago, and he upped his pace right from the start which took me a little by surprise,” said Shabana. “He has good touch too so it’s tricky to hold him off, so it was good to be able to take those three games.

“I’m just trying to stay healthy and listen to my body, I’ll take the rest day tomorrow and hopefully be ready for the rest of the tournament.”

Azlan takes advantage, Lincou keeps Rodrigues at bay

The final matches of the day saw the two favoured players go through, both calling on their experience to keep potentially tricky opponents at bay.

Azlan Iskandar, having had the benefit of taking on an injured second seed yesterday, was in no mood to let the opportunity of progressing deep into the draw slip as he kept young Swiss Nicolas Mueller on a tight rein, winning 11/6, 11/7, 11/3 in 42 minutes.

“Hats off to him, he’s improved a lot in the last year and is beginning to really push the top guys,” Iskandar said of his opponent. “But I went in with a game plan and stuck to it.”

Thierry Lincou also had to keep a watchful eye on his opponent, speedy Colombian Miguel Angel Rodrigues. That’s easier said than done of course, as Miguel chases the ball and plays it from and into positions like no other.
The Frenchman kept a lid on those antics pretty well after losing the first game 7/11, taking the lead with games of 11/6 and 11/4 and restricting the Colombian’s opportunities to put his foot down by pinning him to the back corners.

Rodrigues managed to eke out an advantage in the fourth though, and a couple of French errors helped him to extend it to 10/6. Lincou has far too much experience to panic in these situations though, and in a series of long, patient rallies – you could sense the Colombian just waiting for an opportunity to launch himself at something, anything, but the opportunities never came – he saved five game balls then took the match on his own first opportunity, putting in a clinging dropshot that Rodrigues’ racket could only brush into the floor.

“He’s a very unusual opponent,” said a relieved Frenchman, “so fast and such an exciting style of play. You think you’ve hit a winner and it comes back, you have to start all over again, and you have to be alert all the time, on every shot. I really had to use my experience to counter him.”

Serme Scrapes past Khan

Hosts USA very nearly had a big upset to celebrate in the first women’s match, when veteran and many-time US champion Latasha Khan held a two-game lead over the seventh seeded Camille Serme. The Frenchwoman was making a lot of uncharacteristic unforced errors, yes, but Khan was playing well, you really couldn’t tell who was ‘supposed’ to win.

Having taken a close first game 12/10 on her third game ball, Khan breezed through the second 11/3 and in a point-for-point third game got as close as 8-all before Serme managed to calm her nerves taking it 11/9.

Camille seemed to have past the crisis as she built a lead in the fourth, but those careless errors were still there, but she held on to take it 11/7 and force the decider.

At 7/3 it looked all over for Latasha, but she fought back well, taking it to 8-all before a very relieved Camille took the final three points.

“Terrible,” was Camille’s instant verdict. “She played really well, played the right game and outplayed me tactically for the first two games. I was so nervous, and made so many easy mistakes, I had to fight myself before I could even think about fighting my opponent.

“It happens sometimes, I’m just glad I managed to win in the end and I hope I can play better in the next round …”

Nicol finds her stride

“It’s not as if I made a slow start,” said women’s top seed Nicol David after completing a 3/1 win over New Zealand’s Joelle King, “but she came out at 100 miles an hour in the first and it took me a little while to adjust.”

King took that first 13/11, having come from 3/6 down to earn game balls at 10/9 and 11/10, but she never led in the next two games as the Malaysian who has dominated the women’s game for half a decade took them 11/8, 11/6 to take the lead.

King led 4/2 in the fourth, but David, well into her comfort zone by now, reeled off eight points in a row before winning the match on her second match ball.

Kasey dashes Dipika’s hopes

After a long nailbititer in yesterday’s qualifying finals it would have been asking a lot of Dipika Pallikal to do much more than make it hard for sixth seed Kasey Brown, but the Indian youngster certainly did that, making the Aussie work hard for her straight-game, 11/8, 11/8, 11/6 win.

Pallikal led in the first, 5/3 then 8/5, but after Brown had picked off six in a row to take the lead she was generally, not that it was ever easy with Pallikal always likely to find an unlikely winner form somewhere.

“Yesterday’s match maybe took a little out of her, but sShe can hit some amazing winners,” admitted Brown. “You have to try to match her and take it in short first if you can, which I think I was doing fairly well today.

“I think there’s something wrong with the WISPA computer, I’ve been drawn to play Nicol in the quarters five times recently! Still, I’ll be trying to put into practice a few things I’ve been working on with my coach, and see if I can put a stop to that run of defeats …”

Perry avoids Donna repeat

“I probably should have won that in three,” said a relieved Madeline Perry after beating Australian qualifier Donna Urquhart 3/1 in the fourth women’s match of the day.

The Northern Irish woman took the first comfortably enough 11/6, came from 10/8 down to win the second on extra points 13/11, but then lost five points in a row from 8/6 up in the third as Urquhart threatened to make the sort of comeback she did against Perry in the Cayman Islands.

Perry avoided the potential crisis though, quickly going 6/2 up in the third before finishing it off 11/5 to set up a quarter-final with Camille Serme.

“I thought I had it at 8/6 in the third,” she admitted, “but she took a few quick points and suddenly we were into another game. It was always in the back of my mind that I lost to her from two-nil up in Cayman, so I made sure I came out fast at the start of the third and felt pretty comfortable after I got a lead.”

Rachael ends Raneem’s run

Raneem El Weleily had beaten four top ten players in a row in winning the Carol Weymuller title in Brooklyn a week ago, so world number three Rachael Grinham was well within the sights of the rising young Egyptian’s radar, especially when Raneem took the first two games 11/8, 11/5.

“I knew she had fantastic shots,” admitted Grinham after the match, “so I started off trying to keep it tight and play a bit safer than I normally would.

“But that wasn’t working, so I though I’d just have to go for it.”

Go for it she did, and what resulted was a feast of attacking squash from both players that the crowd on the traditional courts, two floors below the glass court which they were both trying to book their next match on, watched with thorough enjoyment and at times disbelief.

There was never anything approaching a decent lead for either of them throughout the five games, as the Australian took the next two 11/9, 11/9, and the fifth went point for point up to 9-all.

Raneem got a matchball 10/9, then another at 11/10, and a third at 12/11 as both players scampered around the court at breakneck speed. Rachael’s opportunity came at 13/12 and she took it with a delicate wrongfooting crosscourt dropshot to finally put an end to Raneem’s run – for now, at least.

“I can’t believe that was just a first round match,” said a relieved but delighted Rachael at the end.

“I’ll be as sore as hell tomorrow, but I enjoyed that, probably more so because it’s the first close match I’ve won in a long time. I’ll be glad of that rest day tomorrow …”

Watch the last few rallies

Duncalf ends USA interest, Au takes out last Egyptian

It was far from the ‘destruction’ that Amanda Sobhy reckoned Jenny Duncalf had inflicted on her in their only other meeting, last year in Australia, but once the English second seed had recovered from a 5/9 deficit in the first to take it 12/10, she was resolutely in control of the match, taking the next two 11/6, 11/5 to finish the match in under half an hour.

The same was true for Duncalf’s quarter-final opponent Annie Au, who beat seventh seed Omneya Addel Kawy with plenty in reserve, 11/1, 11.1, 11/3 in just 17 minutes. I didn’t see any of it but, by all accounts, the Egyptian was carrying an injury and the Hong Kong youngster took full advantage.

“She wasn’t right,” admitted Annie, “but I’ve seen her come back to win matches from two-nil down so I knew I had to just keep on pressing and not give her the chance to come back into it.”

Laura rounds it off

The women’s quarter-fin als were completed when Laura Massaro doubled English interest in the bottom half of the draw as she beat Malaysia’s Delia Arnold in four games 11/13, 11/4, 11/6, 11/4.

“I was disappointed to lose the first after being 10/7 up,” admitted Massaro, “but it was a tough game all through, we had some long rallies in all the games. It felt like I played pretty well for most of the match, I did what I needed to do .

“I’ll have a go on the big court now, so it’s good to have a rest day to get some practice on there, it’s always very different conditions on the glass court.”

The post TODAY in Philly, Last Sixteens: appeared first on U.S. Open Squash .

TODAY in Philly, Round One:

Steve Cubbins — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:22:00 +0000

Rodrigues races through, Darwish limps out, and Sobhy does it again …

After the top half of the draw saw all the expected players progress, today it was turn of the players in the bottom half.

England’s Adrian Grant got the ball rolling, beating Shawn Delierre in straight games after initial problems dealing with the Canadian’s unorthodox style. David Palmer was taken close in all three games against compatriot Ryan Cuskelly, but the veteran’s experience told. Dutchman LJ Anjema also won in straight games, against another qualifier in Chris Ryder, and Amr Shabana, the 2009 US Open champion, beat fellow EgyptianWael El Hindi, the reigning champion, in an up and down four game affair.

The evening session started off with a marvelous display of running,retrieving and athleticism by Colombia’s Miguel Angel Rodrigues and he effectively ran the ideas out young Egyptian Ali Anwar Reda, coming from 2/1 down to win in 83 minutes.

Thierry Lincou ended home interest in the men’s event with a solid win over wildcard Chris Gordon, but the evening ended with two retirements.
First, second seed Karim Darwish, carrying an ankle injury, pulled out during the fourth game of his match with Malaysia’s Azlan Iskandar, and young Swiss Nicolas Mueller went through to the last sixteen without stepping on court as Jon Kemp was forced to pull out with a back injury.

In the women’s qualifying finals, Australia’s Donna Urquhart won her all-left-handed battle with Joey Chan, while Delia Arnold and Dipika Pallikal both squandered match ball opportunities to win in straight games before beating Victoria Lust and Low Wee Wern, both in four games.

Once again it was left to new Harvard student Amanda Sobhy to keep US interest alive, and she didn’t disappoint, with a tough five-game victory over New Zealand’s Jaclyn Hawkes which set up a meeting with world number two Jenny Duncalf in tomorrow’s first round.

Men’s First Round, bottom half:

Adrian Grant (Eng) bt [Q] Shawn Delierre (Can) 12/10, 11/5, 11/4 (37m)
[8] David Palmer (Aus) bt [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)   11/8, 11/9, 11/9 (51m)
Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) bt [Q] Chris Ryder (Eng) 11/6, 11/7, 11/5 (42m)
[4] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Wael El Hindi (Egy) 11/7, 11/4, 9/11, 11/5 (58m)

Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) bt Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)   11/9, 11/13, 3/11, 11/5, 11/5 (82m)
[6] Thierry Lincou (Fra) bt Chris Gordon (Usa)   11/9, 11/5, 11/6 (32m)
Azlan Iskandar (Mas) bt [2] Karim Darwish (Egy)   11/4, 5/11, 11/7, 7/2 rtd (38m)
[Q] Nicolas Mueller (Sui) bt Jonathan Kemp (Eng) w/o back injury

Women’s Qualifying Finals:

Donna Urquhart (Aus) bt Joey Chan (Hkg)   11/5, 11/8, 9/11, 11/6 (37m)
Delia Arnold (Mas) bt Victoria Lust (Eng) 11/6, 11/9, 10/12, 11/9 (60m)
Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Low Wee Wern (Mas) 11/9, 13/11, 15/17, 11/8 (73m)
Amanda Sobhy (Usa) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl) 8/11, 11/7, 7/11, 11/9, 11/8 (53m)

Main Draw: Urquhart v Perry, Arnold v Massaro, Pallikal v Brown, Sobhy v Duncalf

Grant works it out

“He’s very unorthodox and hard to read, it took me a game and a half to work him out,” admitted Adrian Grant after the Englishman had beaten Canadian qualifier Shawn Delierre in the opening match of Day Four of the U.S. Open at Drexel University.

Delierre, coming off the back of marathon matches on his way to winning the Nash Cup last week as well as two qualifying matches here, almost took the first game, but couldn’t convert two gameball opportunities at 10/8.

Amidst a series of lets, Grant took the next four points, then won the next two game comfortably, with Delierre accepting the inevitable from early in the third.

“Once I found my feet I managed to present my game to him and I felt more and more confident,” added Grant.

Ryan runs into immovable object

David Palmer isn’t an opponent that anyone wants to see against their name in the first round, and for Ryan Cuskelly, a fellow Aussie of Palmer’s, it was doubly difficult, coming on the back of two tough qualifying matches while Palmer, the eighth seed, was fresh.

But young Ryan put up a good show – better than that, he matched his illustrious opponent for much of the three games. Palmer took a 6/2 lead in the first but Cuskelly fought back to 7/6 before Palmer closed it out with some typical power hitting. The second was nip and tuck, but from 9-all it was Palmer who again found the edge, again powering the winning ball deep.

Only at the start of the third did Cuskelly bow to the pressure as Palmer opened up to 9/3. Once again though Ryan dug in, got as close as 9/8 and was disappointed to see a probable winning drop at 9/10 just, just clip the tin.

“I knew he’d keep fighting,” said Palmer after the match. “I was a couple of points behind in the second but managed to his some winners at the end, which was crucial, and I probably relaxed a little after getting a good lead in the third, but I though I played pretty well to get to that point.

“ If he keeps on playing with an attitude like that it will go well for him in the future.

“I can’t afford long matches, at 35 I need to win 3/0 when I can, so it was good in the end and I’m looking forward to coming back tomorrow.”

LJ closes out Chris

Another three-nil result, another qualifier goes no further, but as Laurens Jan Anjema will attest, once again it wasn’t quite that simple.

The Dutch champion was never headed, but Chris Ryder battled well, from 6/2 and 10/3 down in the first, and from 7/3 in the second, he strived to make it tough without seriously threatening in either game.

A 4/1 deficit in the fourth didn’t deter him either as he made his way back to 4/3 and 7/5, but Anjema took the final four points, finishing off rallies he stayed in control of to move into the last sixteen.

“Chris is very clever tactically,” said Anjema, “so I had to try to get the upper hand early and try to put him under pressure physically.

“It was a bit too chaotic for my liking at times, but I’m happy with how I played and pleased to get off with a three-nil win.”

Shabana wins all-Egyptian Champions’ clash

Amr Shabana won this event in Chicago in 2009, and Wael El Hindi followed that success in the same city last year, so one recent champion was sure to go out early.

The early exchanges were won pretty conclusively by Shabana, who too a good lead in each of the first two games, El Hindi pulling a few points back in each but never really threatened in games that had mixtures of short rallies and occasional bursts of speed and typical Egyptian brilliance.

To be honest I then wend downstairs to see the women’s matches, and it was something of a surprise to see that El Hindi had pulled a game back. Certainly in the fourth Shabana assumed early control and went on the win the game comfortably enough, the match lasting just short of the hour.

“It’s always difficult playing someone you know so well,” said Shabana. “Wael hasn’t played a lot of squash in the last six months, and is just coming back, but he still made it pretty difficult for me at times.”

Rodrigues “the Cat” strikes

MC Bryan Ramona thought he’s seen some great squash, some fantastic athletes, and some incredible speed around court last night in his first experience of world class squash. “You ain’t seen speed until you’ve seen Rodrigues,” I informed him, adopting some of the local vernacular.

And he hadn’t either. Displaying some extraordinary running, retrieving, leaping, diving and unorthodox shotmaking, Miguel Angel Rodrigues got the better of Ali Anwar Reda in a magical five game match, 11/9, 11/13, 3/11, 11/5, 11/5.

It looked as though the young Egyptian had weathered the storm as he edged the second to level the match and eased through the third.

But there was no stopping Miguel tonight – I particularly loved his 360-degree spins, and the dropshot he plays while running backwards, having dashed to the front after his opponent’s high boast before engaging reverse gear.

In the end poor old Ali was bamboozled, couldn’t find anywhere to put the ball that Rodrigues couldn’t get to, and finished up putting ball after ball into the tin in the final game.

Americans like their nicknames. “We’ll have to call you ‘the Cat’ after that display,” said an impressed Ramona. He might be right, too.

A tame ending …

After all that excitement, the evening petered out somewhat, as Thierry Lincou made fairly short work of US wildcard Chris Gordon, throwing in a few exhibition shots – not all of which worked – towards the end of his 11/9, 11/5, 11/6 win; second seed Karim Darwish, carrying an ankle injury into his match with Azlan Iskandar, retired when 2/1 and 7/2 down; and qualifier Nicolas Mueller received a walkover after Jonathan Kemp was forced to pull out with a back injury.

Donna wins left handed tussle

“It felt longer than that,” said Donna Urquhart after hearing her match with fellow left-hander Joey Chan had lasted 37 minutes for four games.

“She was hitting a lot of winners, I suppose, and getting a lot of quick points whereas I was having to work for my points!

“She’s a bit of a shot player,” added the Aussie, “but we had a good few long rallies too, I was trying to nullify some of her attacking.

“Overall I think I played well, I’ve been trying to reproduce the form I’m showing in training in match conditions so it’s good when it comes together on the day.

“All the girls in the main draw are tough, I’m just happy to have qualified …”

Match balls saved in vain

The next two women’s matches featured Malaysians, and both were involved in nail-biting encounters.

Delia Arnold faced yesterday’s giant-killer Victoria Lust, and had matchballs for at three-nil win, but had to settle for a fourth-game victory after Lust came from 7/10 down to take the third. Arnold won 11/6, 11/9, 10/12, 11/9 in exactly an hour.

Low Wee Wern faced the opposite problem as she saved match balls in her third game against Dipika Pallikal, taking that one 17/15, but like Lust, she couldn’t hold on to fourth game leads – Arnold was 6/9 down, Pallikal 2/5 – as a relieved Indian closed it out 11/9, 13/11, 15/17, 11/8 in a whopping 73 minutes.

“In the third all I was thinking about was that I’d been match ball up against Wee Wern twice before and lost,” said Dipika. “Once I lost that game I just wanted to try to keep the ball in play in the fourth. I think I played well to come back in that game and take it.

“I’m getting a real taste of the senior game now, and really enjoying it. Working with Sarah Fitz in Melbourne has brought my game on a lot, she’s helped me change my game and I’m much more confident about taking on the top players.

“It feels great to be in the main draw of one of the world’s leading events. I don’t mind who I draw, as long as I play well … and win of course!”

Sobhy scores another first-time win

To the delight of the home crowd, the final spot in the main draw was taken by USA number one Amanda Sobhy, who won a see-saw match with Jaclyn Hawkes, eventually prevailing 8/11, 11/7, 7/11, 11/9, 11/8 in 53 minutes.

“Another good win over someone I’ve never beaten before,” said a delighted Sobhy, “college life is obviously working out!”

Sobhy meets second seed Jenny Duncalf tomorrow.

“I played Jenny last year in the Australian Open,” added Sobhy. “I didn’t do very well, actually she destroyed me, so hopefully I’ll do better this time!”

Play begins at noon on Sunday, with eight men’s second round and eight women’s first round matches.

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TODAY in Philly, Round One

Steve Cubbins — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:25:48 +0000

Shorbagy comeback denies Boswell as Sobhy keeps US flag flying …

Qualification complete, the $115,000 PSA men’s division of the Delaware Investments U.S. Open kicked off at noon at the Daskalakis Athletic Center at Drexel University with eight men’s first round matches – the top half of the draw.

The opening session saw three qualifiers back on court soon after their successes last night, but Tom Richards, Daryl Selby and Hisham Ashour were in no mood to show mercy. The world rankings predicted a close match between Omar Mosaad and Cameron Pilley, ranked 14 and 16, but the Egyptian came through in three close games.
The evening’s entertainment featured three seeded Englishmen in Peter Barker, James Willstrop and top seed Nick Matthew, all of who progressed comfortably enough. It was a different tale for seventh seed Mohamed El Shorbagy though as the Egyptian found himself two games down to Australian Stewart Boswell, 13 years his senior. Youth prevailed in the end as El Shorbagy took the next three games to complete a day without seeding upsets.

Meanwhile on the traditional courts the $60,000 WISPA women’s event also had eight matches starting at noon as qualification for the biggest-ever Women’s US Open began. All the expected winners emerged, including the USA’s Amanda Sobhy, who, after a disappointing campaign for the hosts in the men’s qualifying, kept the US flag flying with a solid three-nil win over England’s Emma Beddoes.

Video tour of the venue just before play started

Men’s Round One, Top Half :

Tom Richards (Eng) bt [Q] Tarek Momen (Egy) 7/11, 11/3, 11/9, 13/11 (61m)
Hisham Ashour (Egy) bt [Q] Alan Clyne (Sco) 11/8, 12/10, 9/11, 11/4 (49m)
Daryl Selby (Eng) bt [Q] Simon Rosner (Ger) 7/11, 11/5, 11/9, 11/3 (71m)
Omar Mosaad (Egy) bt Cameron Pilley (Aus) 11/9, 11/8, 11/8 (60m)

[5] Peter Barker (Eng) bt Olli Tuominen (Fin) 11/3, 11/2, 11/9 (40m)
[1] Nick Matthew (Eng) bt [Q] Zac Alexander (Aus) 11/4, 11/5, 11/8 (50m)
[7] Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Stewart Boswell (Aus) 8/11, 9/11, 11/7, 11/5, 11/4 (64m)
[3] James Willstrop (Eng) bt Alister Walker (Bot) 11/9, 11/8, 12/10 (43m)

Women’s Qualifying Round One:

Donna Urquhart (Aus) bt Alex Clark (Sco) 11/8, 11/9 , 11/7 (24m)
Joey Chan (Hkg) bt Sabrina Sobhy (Usa) 11/5, 11/3, 11/6 (20m)
Victoria Lust (Eng) bt Sarah Kippax (Eng) 11/9, 11/8, 8/11, 8/11, 11/9 (65m)
Delia Arnold (Mas) bt Olivia Blatchford (Usa) 11/5, 11/7, 11/8 (26m)

Dipika Pallikal (Ind) bt Orla Noom (Ned) 11/8, 11/2, 11/6 (27m)
Low Wee Wern (Mas) bt Elpiniki Clement (Usa) 11/1, 11/6, 11/8 (22m)
Amanda Sobhy (Usa) bt Emma Beddoes (Eng) 11/3, 11/9, 11/2 (23m)
Jaclyn Hawkes (Nzl) bt Olivia Fiechter (Usa) 11/5, 11/9, 11/5 (23m)

Richards first through

First on court were Englishman Tom Richards and Egyptian qualifier Tarek Momen, two players aged 25 and 23 who played each other a lot in their junior days, but were meeting for just the second time in PSA competition.

It was Momen who made the better start, pulling clear from 7-all to take the first game 11/7, but Richards struck back to level, Momen giving the game up once Richards had established an 8/2 lead.

Richards looked to be continuing in the same vein in the third, but his 7/1 advantage was eroded by some typically sharp Egyptian play, but Richards finally clinched it 11/9 to take the lead.

The fourth game was level all the way with both players fighting hard and moving swiftly around the McWil all glass court. Richards it was who managed to edge ahead, 10/9, 11/10 and 12/11 before finally clinching the match 13/11 in just over the hour.

“Tarek always used to beat me in juniors,” said Richards after the match, “so he probably had a psychological advantage going into the match. But I knew the way I wanted to play and I thought I executed it pretty well, apart from losing a bit of discipline in the middle.

“But I got through it and it worked out ok, I’m pretty pleased to win that one.”

Hisham gets his revenge

The second match was an archetypal “shotmaker v runner” affair, and today it was shotmaker Hisham Ashour who got the better ov Scottish qualifier Alan Clyne, gaining revenge for his defeat in Malaysia in their only previous meeting.

Not that Clyne is simply a runner, his rise up the rankings and significant recent wins prove otherwise as he develops into a feared opponent for anyone, but neither does the elder Ashour rely on hitting winner and the errors that comes with that approach these days. Clyne’s 84-minute qualifying final last night won’t have helped his cause either.

The Egyptian took the first after etablishing a 10/5 lead, hung on to a 7/3 lead to sneak the second, fell quickly 6/2 behind in the third and almost clawed his way back, then carried that momentum to take a decisive advantage in the fourth.

In particular, Hisham got the better of a brutal rally at 3/1 in the fourth, they type that Clyne often sees his opponents dissolve after, but Hisham held his own and it was the Scot who who could see the writing on the wall thereafter.

“I’m pretty happy with how I played,” said Ashour, “he’s a very tough opponent who can give anyone in the top 20 a lot of trouble. There was a bit of revenge on my mind for Malaysia, too, I knew I had to be 100% focused from the start and not give anything away.

“I haven’t won for the last two tournaments so I need to do well in this one and hopefully the wins will keep on coming.”

Selby sees off Rosner challenge

After an impressive series of wins for Germany in the World Teams in Paderborn, Simon Rosner has been on a high, and playing well with a lot of confidence. Further evidence of that came as he took the first game against Daryl Selby 11/7.

The Englishman, who had looked a little lethargic in the opener, upped his game to take the second , pulling away from 5-all to 11/5, then came from 4/8 down in the third, getting the better of a tense finish with plenty of lets to take the lead 11/9.

If the whole match took 71 minutes, the fourth game took only a small portion of that as Selby eased to the win with Rosner looking dispirited from early in the game.

“It was a fine game, a tough match,” said Selby. “It was intense and fast, he got on top in the first, I reversed it in the second and the third was crucial. I heard him blowing a bit when he was 8/4 up, I managed to put in a few hard rallies and got back to take it.

“Simon’s defence has always been good but now his attack is up there too. It’s never easy having to play on a different court after two qualifying matches, but he was one of the toughest qualifiers to draw so I’m happy to get off with a 3/1.”

Mosaad and Barker in control

This was a first meeting between two of the tallest players on the tour, and it was Egyptian Omar Mosaad who, having recently overtaken Cameron Pilley in the rankings, beat the Australian in three close games which in truth he looked the likeliest winner throughout.

Pilley was always in touch, but couldn’t seem to find an answer to Mosaad’s power and reach – only in the third did he lead, albeit briefly, taking four points in a row from 4-7 down after the ball was lost out of court.

Mosaad soon got used to the new ball though, and took four points of his own to clinch a place in the second round.

England’s fifth seed Peter Barker also enjoyed a relatively untroubled passage into the last sixteen.

Normally renowned for being quick out of the blocks, Olli Tuominen couldn’t get a foothold in the first two games as Barker dominated to win them 11/3, 11/2.

The Finn threatened to fly in the third, recovering from 6/9 to level at 9-all, but Barker soon clipped his wings to finish it off 11/9.

“I was happy enough with the first two games,” admitted Barker, “but he surprised me a bit in the third, coming out and firing in some good winners.

“I’ve played Olli a few times, he’s been a tough oppoent for everyone over the years, and he was one of my first big victories a few years back, so I’m happy to get off in three this time.”

Zac meets his match

It’s tough enough taking on the World Number One when you’re fresh, let alone when you’ve just had two brutal qualifying matches on very different court conditions to get here in the first place.

That’s what Zac Alexander faced, and although top seed Nick Matthew won straight games, as you would expect, the youg Aussie acquitted himself well, never looking overawed and making Matthew work hard to make sure he didn’t have to play more than the three games.

“I’d heard of Zac as an upcoming player for a while, but never played him before,” admitted Matthew. “Coming out of the AIS I knew he’d move well and be a clean striker of the ball, so I wanted to make sure I started out strongly.

“It’s good to get a runout after the last tournament which didn’t finish too well for me, so I’ll enjoy the rest day and look forward to the next round. Omar is a strong player and you can see that if he can beat Cameron in straight games I can’t afford to take him lightly.”

Alexander was tired, but pleased with his day’s work: “I can’t feel my legs! He didn’t give me anything, like I expected, but I was impressed with his paly, he was even sharper than I expected him to be.”It’s been a tough few days, I’d like to thank my coach Rod Martin for all the work he’s done with me over the last few months in New York, it’s really helping me a lot.”

Shorbagy comeback stops Boswell

Pretty much outplayed for the first game and a half, seventh seed Mohamed El Shorbagy wasn’t doing himself any favours with unforced errors, but Stewart Boswell, the almost-veteran Aussie who was giving away 13 years to his opponent, thoroughly deserved his two-game lead.

Shorbagy started coming to terms with the match at the end of the second, but Boswell kept ahead, just. But it was pretty much one way traffic for the next three games as Shorbagy, playing much better now, took advantage of a tiring opponent.

“This is only my second World Series tournament of the year, and I was quite nervous at the start,” admitted the two-time world junior champion.

“After a slow start I started to play better from the middle of the second, and I could have won that but he played better than me at the end of it.

“I was pleased with my performance to come back and take the last three games.

“It should be a tough match with Tom tomorrow, I’ve beaten him a couple of times but he’s a much better player now and I think we’re going to have quite a few hard maches over the next few years …”

Willstrop rounds off the day

The day concluded with a straight-games win for third seed James Willstrop over his former England team-mate Alister Walker, now resident in the US and representing Botswana.It was never easy, but Willstrop was never headed and held firm as Walker closed twoards the end of each game.

“First rounds are never easy these days,” said the tall Yorkshireman, “and screlines often don’t reflect the nature of the match, like this one. We know plenty about each other, we’ve been playing since we were 12.

“It’s a similar story with Daryl next round, we’ve had some heavy matches so I’m looking forward to a rest day and getting as well prepared for that as I can.”

Lust wins all-English battle, Sobhy keeps US flag flying

The women’s competition started off with comfortable wins for Donna Urquhart and Joey Chan, two left-handers who will meet for a place in the main draw tomorrow.

Victoria Lust took an unexpected two-game lead over fellow-Englishwoman Sarah Kippax, but the higher-ranked Kippax struck back to level, all four games being closely contested.The decider was no different, but it was Lust who pulled away from 7-all to earn three match balls, taking it on her third opportunity.

“I like a good 3/2,” she quipped afterwards, “not really but it always seems to happen! That’s the highest-ranked player I’ve ever beaten though, so I have to be happy with that.

“I played really well in the first two then she tightened up. I managed to pull it back in the fifth, but at 7-all I felt the lace in my shoe break! I didn’t want to stop because I knew I couldn’t fix it, but it was on my mind in the last few points!”

Delia Arnold, Dipika Pallikal and Low Wee Wern all won comfortably enough, then the crowd swelled to see probably the match or the day between the USA’s Amanda Sobhy and England’s Emma Beddoes.

And they weren’t disappointed as the former world junior champion, now studying at Harvard, took Beddoes by surprise in the first game, then survived a close second before going on to win with increasing authority in the third.

“I’m so happy that I played much better – ten times better – than in New York last week, and it’s the first tme I’ve beater Emma too,” said a delighted Amanda after the match.

“College is totally different from what I expected, I’m so glad I took that route rather than turning pro straight away. Now I have four years of team squash plus the whole social and academic experience, which I’m really enjoying already.

“I had to adjust to a new life in the first couple of weeks so squash and training took a back seat, but I’ve been putting some serious training in over the last two weeks, which I have to do if I’m playing in tournaments like this, and slowly but surely it’s coming back and getting better day by day.”

Sobhy remained the only US winner of the day though, as Jaclyn Hawkes rounded the matches off with a straight game win over Olivia Feichter to set up a meeting with Sobhy tomorrow.

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TODAY in Philly, Qualifying Finals

Steve Cubbins — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:32:42 +0000

Top seeds crash out in marathon qualifying finals

Day two of the Delaware Investments US Open Squash Championships saw the conclusion of the men’s qualifying competition, with two matches in each of four Philadelphia Clubs.

At Drexel University Nicolas Mueller had to withstand a fast-paced attack from India’s Siddarth Suchde, who took the game to the young Swiss from the outset, taking the first game 11/7 and opening up a good lead in the second. Unfazed, Mueller fought back to take the second and third games 11/8, 11/5, but in the fourth Suchde again attacked at pace and led 7/4.

His strategy was high risk though, and several clips of the tin brought Mueller back into the game, and from 9-all two more errors brought relief to the Swiss and disappointment to the Indian.

“It was a tough first two games,” said Mueller. “He played well to go 1-0 and 5/2 up, but I was just too loose. I managed to get some quick points to get back into it, and started to control it better in the third. The last was point for point, he hit a few winners but fortunately he hit more tins.

“I’m happy to be in the main draw – I don’t mind who I get, you have to beat everyone to win the tournament!”

Further disappointment followed for the Indian camp as top seed Saurav Ghosal found Ryan Cuskelly just too steady and too determined as the Australian battled his way to an 80-minute upset win. The first two games were shared, then Cuskelly took a crucial lead after saving a game ball in the third game.

Ghosal’s renowned speed around court was much in evidence, but Cuskelly was controlling the rallies well, and more often than not it was the Indian who was going for the risky shot to try to finish the rallies.

Midway through the fourth the effort seemed to be telling on Cuskelly as, for the first time, he looked fatigued and from 4-all he fell 8/4 behind with Ghosal seeming to be taking charge. But the left-handed Aussie found some extra reserves to level at 9-all and force two final errors from the Indian racket.

“I found a couple of extra gears,” said Cuskelly after the match. “It’s called training,” quipped coach Rodney Martin, the former World Champion who has been working with Cuskelly in New York.

“I wouldn’t have minded a shorter match,” added the winner, “but I have to be happy with taking out the top qualifying seed to make the main draw.

“The work I’ve been doing with Rodney is starting to pay off now, I’m able to play the type of game I want to play, keeping it tight, forcing the loose ball out of them and attacking when the opportunity comes. I felt my game was struggling, but he’s really given me a boost.

Cuskelly’s reward is a meeting with fellow Aussie David Palmer, the eighth seed, while Mueller drew Englishman Jon Kemp.

Over at Merion Cricket Club Chris Ryder and Shawn Delierre enjoyed straight game victories, as did Simon Rosner at the Germantown Cricket Club, where Tarek Momen took 71 minutes for his five-game win over Robbie Temple.

The Racquet Club of Philadelphia saw two brutal matches, as Scotland’s Alan Clyne beat qualifying second seed Ong Beng Hee in four games and 84 minutes, the longest match of the two day qualifying competition. Zac Alexander, the last-minute entrant who upset Steve Coppinger last night, continued his run with a 3/1 victory over world junior champion Marwan El Shorbagy in exactly an hour.

Alexander drew the short straw ah he came out of the hat of qualifiers first, to be slotted against top seed, world champion and world number one Nick Matthew.

Men’s Qualifying Finals:

Drexel University
Nicolas Mueller (Sui) bt Siddarth Suchde (Ind) 7/11, 11/8, 11/5, 11/9 (58m)
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) bt Saurav Ghosal (Ind) 11/7, 6/11, 13/11, 11/9 (80m)

Merion Cricket Club
Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Martin Knight (Nzl) 11/3, 11/7, 11/5 (56m)
Shawn Delierre (Can) bt Julien Balbo (Fra) 11/5, 11/7, 11/6 (45m)

Germantown Cricket Club
Tarek Momen (Egy) bt Robbie Temple (Eng) 11/4, 9/11, 11/3, 8/11, 11/7 (71m)
Simon Rosner (Ger) bt Joey Barrington (Eng) 11/4, 11/8, 11/4 (41m)

Racquet Club of Philadelphia
Alan Clyne (Sco) bt Ong Beng Hee (Mas) 10/12, 11/8, 12/10, 11/9 (84m)
Zac Alexander (Aus) bt Marwan El Shorbagy (Egy) 11/2, 12/10, 3/11, 11/8 (60m)

Main Draw Matchups: Matthew v Alexander, Richards v Momen, Hisham v Clyne, Selby v Rosner, Grant v Delierre, Anjema v Ryder, Palmer v Cuskelly, Kemp v Mueller

Action continues on Friday with eight men’s first round matches (top half) on the Glass Court, and eight women’s qualifying round one matches on the traditional courts at Drexel University. Both start at 12.00.

Impressive progress in the arena

During the day, preparations in the Daskalakis Athletic Centre moved on apace, with yesterday’s essentially bare auditorium rapidly filling up and being transformed into what promises to be one of the best venues ever, catering for spectators, players, organisers and media in nicely-partitioned sections and making very good use of the impressive space available.

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TODAY in Philly: Men’s Qualifying

Steve Cubbins — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:20:33 +0000

Alexander makes the most of late entry as Americans bow out

The 2011 Delaware Investments US Open Squash Championships kicked off in Philadelphia with four matches at each of four Philly clubs, including Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Center where all the main draw matches (and all the women’s matches) will be held on the all-glass court that is in the finishing stages of being erected.

It wasn’t a good day for the hosts as all six US competitors fell at the first hurdle, but in the final match of the day young Australian Zac Alexander made the most of a late callup to the competition.

First on the traditional court at Drexel were Australian Ryan Cuskelly and young Finn Henrik Mustonen. After a tough opening game which Cuskelly led throughout and took 11/8, he closed out the match with increasing authority, taking the next two games 11/6, 11/3.

“I’m pretty happy with how I played my first match for two months,” said New York based Cuskelly, who was being coached by former world champion Rodney Martin. “He’s very fit and gutsy and gets a lot back, so I was rying to control things with good length to force the openings, and in the end he started making a few errors.

“After the Australian Open I came back to enjoy the New York Summer and a couple of good months training with Rod. We’ve been working on a few things and it’s nice to see them coming together, hopefully it will continue to pay off in this tournament.”

India’s Siddarth Suchde enjoyed a similar style of win, recovering from 6/0 down in taking the first game against ‘local’ entrant Jaymie Macaulay 12/10 and the next two more comfortably as the Scottish International, now based in nearby Fairmount, tired.

“It wasn’t the greatest of starts,” admitted Suchde, who studied at Edinburgh University with Macaulay. “I was probably too relaxed and a bit complacent, but he surprised me and played really well at the start, getting everything right.

“Tomorrow will be a really tough match, I have to make sure I’m ready right from the start!”

Then came the main event of the evening as John White, the former world number one who is head coach at Drexel, took on qualifying top seed Saurav Ghosal.

The audience had swelled as many of White’s admirers and students strained to watch, and he made a good enough start, catching the young Indian out with the power of his shots and his ability to kill the ball – especially in the front right corner of the court – and taking an 8/6 lead in the opening game. Cries of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” followed winning points from White, the Australian who represented Scortland before moving to coach in the US four years ago.

As the match wore on Ghosal, whose speed around court drew admiring gasps from the audience, became more and able to counter White’s shotmaking, and after taking the first game 11/8 courtesy of a series of White errors, took the next two – both entertaining – 11/6, 11/4 to move into tomorrow’s finals.

“He’s a speedy boy,” said White of his opoponent. “He gets everything back and it’s hard to find a way past when you haven’t played in that standard of match for a while. I enjoyed it though, it was a good match and fun for the crowd, hopefully they’ll all be back for the rest of the tournament over the next few days.”

“I played John once before, when he was still on tour,” said Ghosal, “so I knew what I was going to get. He hits the ball so hard, especially on the forehand, and you have no idea where it’s going. I tried to keep it on the backhand but he found winners from elsewhere, so I just had to try to get the ball straight and as tight as I could.

“I’m pleased to get off 3/0, he’s the draw nobody wanted but I was really looking forward to playing him, he’s such a fair player and a crowd pleaser – I always tell the kids in India if you want someone to look up to and emulate John White is the one to look at.”

The final match at Drexel saw Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller beat Kamran Khan, the Malaysian who is the son of Pakistan’s squash legend Jansher Khan, 11/6, 11/6, 11/8.

Meanwhile the matches at Merion Cricket Club all featured home players, but the USA’s Graham Bassett and Julian Illingworth, fell at the first hurdle,with USA number one Julian Illingworth losing in straight-games to Canadian Shawn Delierre, winner of last week’s Nash Cup in Ontario.

At Germantown Cricket Club there were wins for Joey Barrington, Simon Rosner, Tarek Momen and Robbie Temple.

Back in Downtown Philadelphia at the long-established (1898) Racquet Club of Philadelphia, World Junior Champion Marwan El Shorbagy produced a signigicant upset as he beat Czech #1 Jan Koukal, ranked some 17 places above the 18-year-old Egyptian.

The final match of the day saw 22-year-old Zac Alexander, a late callup to qualifying competition yesterday, also produce an upset in beating South Africa’s Steve Coppinger in four hotly-contested games.

“I only heard on Tuesday morning that I was in the draw,” explained Alexander, “after the Salazar twins were apparently involved in a car accident. It’s not the best way to make the draw, I hope they’re ok, but I’m very happy with the win. Steve’s a big guy, and with it being so hot and bouncy on that court it was tough to get the ball away from him.”

Alexander plays El Shorbagy for a place in the main draw. “I’ve never seen Marwan play,” concluded Alexander, “but it’s about time I played someone younger than myself!”

Day One Photo Gallery

Drexel University

16.30 Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) bt Henrik Mustonen (Fin) 11/8, 11/6, 11/2 (44m)
17.30 Siddarth Suchde (Ind) bt Jamie Macaulay (Sco) 12/10, 11/6, 11/4 (42m)
18.30 Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt John White (Sco) 11/8, 11/6, 11/4 ( 36m)
19.30 Nicolas Mueller (Sui) bt Kamran Khan (Mas) 11/6, 11/6, 11/8 (37m)

Merion Cricket Club

17.30 Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Graham Bassett (Usa) 11/4, 11/3, 11/6 (28m)
18.30 Shawn Delierre (Can) bt Julian Illingworth (Usa) 11/4, 11/5, 11/6 (31m)
19.30 Julien Balbo (Fra) bt Todd Harrity (Usa) 11/8, 16/14, 11/7 (46m)
20.30 Martin Knight (Nzl) bt Dylan Murray (Usa) 11/3, 11/6, 11/5 (28m)

Germantown Cricket Club

17.30 Joey Barrington (Eng) bt Iago Cornes (Esp) 11/8, 11/7, 11/8 (33m)
18.30 Simon Rosner (Ger) bt Matthew Karwalski (Aus) 11/6, 11/6, 12/10 (39m)
19.30 Tarek Momen (Egy) bt Adrian Waller (Eng) 11/7, 12/10, 8/11, 11/9 (60m)
20.30 Robbie Temple (Eng) bt Joe Russell (Eng) 9/11, 11/7, 11/5, 11/4 (45m)

Racquet Club of Philadelphia

17.30 Alan Clyne (Sco) bt Chris Hansom (Usa) 11/3, 11/1, 11/3 (32m)
18.30 Marwan El Shorbagy (Egy) bt Jan Koukal Cze) 11/7, 6/11, 11/6, 11/9 (57m)
19.30 Ong Beng Hee (Mas) bt Gilly Lane (Usa) 11/4, 11/9, 11/3 (38m)
20.30 Zac Alexander (Aus) bt Steve Coppinger (Rsa) 7/11, 11/9, 11/5, 11/9 (56m)

The post TODAY in Philly: Men’s Qualifying appeared first on U.S. Open Squash .

The Day before: You’re in Dragon Country

Steve Cubbins — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:23:49 +0000

TODAY at the US Open – Tue 27th, the day before:

It’s looking like it could be a good event, this forthcoming Delaware Investments US Open.

First impressions of Philadelphia, the centrally-located Crowne Plaza Hotel, and the venue at Drexel University’s Daskalakis Athletic Centre are all good, to say the least.

Philadelphia seems to be a lively, compact city, and the downtown area in which the tournament hotel is located has everything you could want within easy walking distance. The University is just 20 blocks down Market street - turn left out of the hotel and you’re entering the Athletic Centre 5 minutes later on the underground or 15 minutes walking.

The new part of the centre has the two traditional courts where some of the men’s qualifying matches will take place, including Drexel’s own head coach John White against Saurav Ghosal, and two floors up in the older part of the complex you enter the Dragons’ Den.

It’s a huge area, the McWil court that has just finished going up looks lost at the moment, but there’s more seating to go in, taking capacity up to 1,200, dividing curtains, the players’ zone, the retail village, the ‘squash zone’ where visitors can test their power and accuracy (John White is first in the queue), are all to be added or finished.

It’s going to look very different, and very impressive, by the time we get the first glass court match under way at noon on Friday.

The walk back to the hotel revealed some of the work that event director Conor O’Malley and his team have been doing in raising the profile of the event in Philadelphia, with banners and posters on pretty much every corner. As well as big efforts to put the event at the forefront of Philadelphia’s collective mind, all of Drexel’s 12,000 students are invited to the opening day free of charge – let’s hope they don’t all turn up at once!

The evening stroll also revealed any number of landmark buildings or architectural features – we’re going to have fun with the camera this week, that’s for sure.

Qualifying gets under way at 16.30 at Drexel and 17.30 at three other Philadelphia Clubs on Wednesday – we’ll bring you what we can but don’t expect miracles, only Dragons can perform those …

Steve Cubbins

The post The Day before: You’re in Dragon Country appeared first on U.S. Open Squash .

U.S. Open Squash » 2011

TODAY in Philly: the FINALS

Massaro and Shabana dominate U.S. Open Finals

Massaro dominant

Shabana irresistible

Finals Photo Gallery

Preview, for posterity

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Massaro maintains her grip

Matthew still on top

Shabana sets up Matthew rematch

Preview – for posterity

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Shabana and Lincou through as Massaro and Duncalf set up all-English semi

One of those days for Rachael

Not so easy for Duncalf

Shabana and LJ entertain Philadelphians

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Brown KO’s David as Matthew and Willstrop guarantee English finalist

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Kasey pulls off biggest upset

Matthew squeezes out Shorbagy

Willstrop makes all-English semi

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Anjema ousts Palmer, Rachael ends Raneem’s run …

Shorbagy regains his focus

Hisham cut short

Matthew and Willstrop make it an English afternoon

LJ gets his win

Shabana shows his class

Azlan takes advantage, Lincou keeps Rodrigues at bay

Serme Scrapes past Khan

Nicol finds her stride

Kasey dashes Dipika’s hopes

Perry avoids Donna repeat

Rachael ends Raneem’s run

Duncalf ends USA interest, Au takes out last Egyptian

Laura rounds it off

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Rodrigues races through, Darwish limps out, and Sobhy does it again …

Grant works it out

LJ closes out Chris

Shabana wins all-Egyptian Champions’ clash

Rodrigues “the Cat” strikes

A tame ending …

Donna wins left handed tussle

Match balls saved in vain

Sobhy scores another first-time win

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Shorbagy comeback denies Boswell as Sobhy keeps US flag flying …

Richards first through

Hisham gets his revenge

Selby sees off Rosner challenge

Mosaad and Barker in control

Zac meets his match

Shorbagy comeback stops Boswell

Willstrop rounds off the day

Lust wins all-English battle, Sobhy keeps US flag flying

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Top seeds crash out in marathon qualifying finals

Impressive progress in the arena

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TODAY at the US Open – Tue 27th, the day before:

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