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It's the Max and Mak show in HK
Qualifying Finals
A hectic afternoon at the HK Squash Centre with qualifying finals
taking place on four courts simultaneously, with a 13.30 start and a
17.00 deadline for the opening function. Yes, it was always
unlikely, and when the first two men's matches on court six each
took 72 minutes the schedule was blown.
The first of those saw Mark Krajcsak prevail in his Eastern
European encounter with Jan Koukal, and if that was a minor upset
then a major one was to follow as Hong Kong's Max Lee did it
again, coming from 2/1 down to defeat Ali Anwar Reda to the delight
of the packed crowd.
Max joins national champion Dick Lau in tomorrow's main draw.
The first match of the day was also a good one for the hosts as
Christina Mak beat Adel Weir in straight games to double HK's
entry in the women's main draw, joining eight-time national champion
Rebecca Chiu.
After a lengthy wait the final qualifying spot in the men's draw was
claimed by England's Chris Ryder, who came from 9/2 down in
the first one the way to beating Simon Rosner in three. Having drawn
David Palmer and Ramy Ashour in the Saudi and Qatar, Chris's wish in
the draw which immediately followed his match was for "anyone
outside the top four".
He got Gregory Gaultier ... |
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Women's Qualifying
Finals:
Louise Crome (Nzl) bt Park Eun-Ok
(Kor)
9/3, 9/6, 9/1 (29m)
v Duncalf
Christina Mak (Hkg) bt Adel Weir
(Rsa)
9/4, 9/2, 9/3 (25m)
v Naude
Suzie Pierrepont (Eng) bt Line
Hansen (Den)
9/4, 9/5, 9/5 (41m)
v N.Grinham
Amelia Pittock (Aus) bt Chiu Ka Kei
(Hkg)
9/2, 9/0, 9/1 (15m)
v Brown
Peta Hughes (Aus) bt Joey Chan (Hkg)
9/5, 10/8, 9/4 (49m)
v Botwright
Sarah Kippax (Eng) bt Joshna Chinappa
(Ind) 9/3,
9/3, 9/4 (33m)
v Kawy
Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt Aisling
Blake (Irl)
4/9, 9/3, 9/7, 9/7 (41m)
v Bailey
Manuela Manetta (Ita) bt Leung
Shin-nga (Hkg) 9/5, 9/1, 9/5
(25m)
v Kheirallah
Men's Qualifying
Finals:
Omar Abdel Aziz
(Egy) bt Steve Finitsis (Aus)
10/12, 11/7, 11/3, 11/3 (38m) v
Iskandar
Mark Krajcsak (Hun) bt Jan Koukal
(Cze)
12/10, 11/8, 10/12, 11/8 (72m) v
Ashour
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Jesse
Engelbrecht (Rsa) 11/5, 11/9, 11/5
(30m)
v Palmer
Max Lee (Hkg) bt Ali Anwar Reda
(Egy)
11/8, 2/11, 5/11, 11/6, 11/7 (72m) v Beachill
Aaron Frankcomb (Aus) bt Bradley
Hindle (Aus) 11/6, 11/8, 11/7 (48m)
v Barker
Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt
Chris Simpson (Eng) 4/11, 12/10, 11/7, 11/4 (42m)
v Grant
Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Simon Rosner
(Ger)
14/12, 11/5, 11/7 (45m)
v Gaultier
Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt Adil Maqbool
(Pak)
11/7, 7/11, 11/5, 11/1 (34m)
v Ong |
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 "I
had the wildcard for the last two years, so even though I had to
qualify it's great to be in the main draw again.
"My preparation has been good. I've been working on my drops and
boasts and today was the first time I was able to see the
improvement in a match situation, so I'm pleased with that.
"Also, I went to Qatar last week and learned a lot from watching the
top players.
"It's funny, I usually do well in the big tournaments, but when I
play $4k events I often end up losing in the semi-finals or
something, so hopefully I can g further in this one and earn some
big points …"
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Christina Mak (Hkg) bt Adel Weir (Rsa)
9/4, 9/2, 9/3 (25m) plays Naude
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Louise Crome (Nzl) bt Park Eun-Ok (Kor)
9/3, 9/6, 9/1 (29m) plays Duncalf
 "I
felt pretty good out there today, very comfortable on my volleys in
particular.
"Court seven here is one of may favourite courts in the world, it's
fast-paced off the front but if you put it tight at the back it will
die, I'm always happy when I see my name against court seven.
"I've played here for three years now and qualified last year and
now again, so happy to have made another main draw …"
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Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Steve
Finitsis (Aus) 10/12, 11/7, 11/3, 11/3 (38m) v
Iskandar
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 "I
started so nervous, and tense. I still got game ball in the first,
but I couldn't take it.
"In the second I felt I was flying, I lost all the tenseness and
started hitting the ball tighter and moving well.
"I was trying to make it so fast in the first, but then I started
playing medium-paced balls and moving him around more, which meant I
was getting more opportunities …
"I've qualified for two Super Series events in two weeks now, which
is a really big thing for me …"
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Amelia Pittock (Aus) bt Chiu Ka Kei
(Hkg)
9/2, 9/0, 9/1 (15m) plays Brown
 "She
hasn't been playing as much as she used to, but I know she's had
some really good results so I made sure I went out hard and fast,
moving her around the court from the start.
"I didn't qualify here last year, so I was happy to get a bye in the
first round, it gave me a chance to get over the jetlag …"
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Mark Krajcsak (Hun) bt Jan Koukal (Cze)
12/10, 11/8, 10/12, 11/8 (72m) v Ashour
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 "It's
always very physical when we play, but I know that if I can keep the
speed up he will tire as each game goes on. I was 10/5 down in the
first but I knew I had a chance to win it.
"He was disappointed to lose it, and that allowed me to take the
second, bt he started pushing hard in the third and made it really
hard for me.
"I got a good start in the fourth - I got a couple of good calls too
- and although I was very tired I knew he was probably more tired
than me so I kept on pushing. I got to 10/6, but needed a bit of a
lucky dropshot to win it after he got back to 10/8.
"It's the first time I've qualified for a really big event, it's
definitely my best points so far so I'll have a good rest now and
I'm happy to play anyone tomorrow …"
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Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Jesse
Engelbrecht (Rsa) 11/5, 11/9, 11/5
(30m) v Palmer
 "It's
the first time I've ever qualified for a Platinum event, so I'm well
chuffed. I can't remember the number I've lost 3/2 in the qualifying
finals for this type of event.
"I can play better than I did today, and so can Jesse, we both gave
a few glimpses of good shots but it just wasn't consistent enough.
He led all through the second and I was starting to think 'not
another 3/2', but I did enough at the end and I'm very happy to win
3/0.
"But I'm just so happy to win, and really looking forward to
tomorrow …"
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Suzie Pierrepont (Eng) bt
Line Hansen (Den) 9/4,
9/5, 9/5 (41m) plays N.Grinham
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 "I'm
not bothered about the scoreline, it's just nice to win. We play all
the time in practice, and she's bee been beating me for a while, she
usually goes two games up for a few points.
"So, when I was 2/0 up I was worried – 'this isn't what normally
happens'!
"I'd hoped to qualify - it's the third time in a row I've qualified
here – even though I wasn't seeded to, especially after I had a
shocker last week in Qatar.
"I didn't look at the draw to see who I might get – in Madrid I
looked, saw I might get Alison [Waters] and thought how bad it would
be to draw her three times in a row … and of course I got her, so I
just don't look any more …"
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Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt
Chris Simpson (Eng) 4/11, 12/10, 11/7, 11/4 (42m) v Grant
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 "I
found it hard to get a grip on the court at the start, and he played
well in the first, but once I started to find the range of my shots
it felt much better and I grew to like it.
"It helped me having seen Saurav win just before me, and he helped
me out in between games
"Since I came back from my injury I have a different attitude, so
it's nice to see my opponent more nervous than me before the start
of a match, I'm just enjoying my squash so much these days.
"I played a couple of big events just after I case back, which was
probably a little early, but I've played a few smaller events over
the past few weeks which has helped me a lot.
"I'm really looking forward to playing tomorrow, and I hope it's on
this court, even if it means playing one of the top seeds …"
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 "It
was really exciting when I qualified here last year and it meant a
lot to me, but it was more tense this time, especially since I
injured my back last week.
"I know she had a lot of supporters, but I had a few in the crowd
too, which felt good.
"It felt like I dropped off a little in the second, but I knew I had
to stay strong and I came back up.
"I'm just happy to be in the main draw again, and I'll try to learn
something from whoever I play …"
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Peta Hughes (Aus) bt Joey Chan (Hkg)
9/5, 10/8, 9/4 (49m)
plays Botwright
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Max Lee (Hkg) bt Ali Anwar Reda (Egy)
11/8, 2/11, 5/11, 11/6, 11/7 (72m) v Beachill
 "This
was much tougher than yesterday's match. Then it was all at the
back, but today I had to play all over the court, it was really
tough.
"Once I fell behind I had to catch up in the fourth and fifth. Last
time I just kept it to a length, but this time I had to play more
shots, drops and boasts, if I played it to the back I knew he would
just get it.
"It's my first time in the main draw, and you're bound to get one of
the world's top players so I'm just looking forward to it …"
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Manuela Manetta (Ita) bt Leung
Shin-nga (Hkg) 9/5, 9/1, 9/5
(25m)
 "It
was nice to have a day off yesterday, and physically I felt ok
compared to last week when I wasn't 100%.
"I had a shocker in the first round of qualifying here last year so
I'm glad it went well today – I like these courts and the conditions
a lot.
"No pressure on me tomorrow, let's just see who I get …"
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Tenille Swartz (Rsa) bt Aisling
Blake (Irl)
4/9, 9/3, 9/7, 9/7
 "She
just attacked me a lot in the first, I wasn't ready for that and
just defended when I should have attacked.
"I started attacking more from then on, taking it early, hitting
through the ball and getting her behind me and it all started to
come together.
"It's my first time in Hong Kong, it's definitely an experience …"
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Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt Adil Maqbool
(Pak)
11/7, 7/11, 11/5, 11/1 (34m) v Ong
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 "I
didn't get a good start, going 5/0 down in the first, but I picked
it up and won it 11/7.
"I thought I was getting better, but in the second my length was too
short, and on that court you have to play deep, so if you give him
the chance to put it in the back it's dead.
"In the third and fourth I started putting more pressure on him, and
he started to get a bit tired.
"Qualifying for two big events in two weeks is great, it's another
of the big boys now so let's see …"
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Aaron Frankcomb (Aus) bt Bradley
Hindle (Aus) 11/6, 11/8, 11/7 (48m) v
Barker
 "We
know each other's games inside out, we played a lot in Australia.
"In the first game I got on top early and maintained the lead. The
second was closer but I managed to squeeze out to 5/2, 5/3, and held
it.
"The third was really tight, and although it's never nice to win on
a conduct stroke, I'm happy to be in the main draw of a Platinum
event for the first time …"
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Chris Ryder (Eng) bt Simon Rosner
(Ger)
14/12, 11/5, 11/7 (45m) v Gaultier
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 "I
was 9/2 down in the first but managed to come back and win that one.
I was winning a lot of points at the front of the court so In kept
putting it short when I could. Last time I played him it was a tough
four games, so I really made an effort to close it out in the third
because I know he's very fit .
"I qualified for Saudi and got Palmer, qualified for Qatar and got
Ramy, so it would be nice to get someone outside the top four this
time …"
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"I
found it hard to get into a rhythm as she goes for her shots all the
time. She gets some good winners, but hits the tin as well so I knew
if I just stuck in there it might pay dividends. The start of all
three games was close, but I managed to pull away each time.
