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Last eight places taken up ...
 The
second day of action at the BSRA courts - it promised to be a loooooong
one - saw eight players qualify for the main draw - four of them
English.
Yes, some of them found themselves playing the likes of
Gregory Gaultier, David Palmer, Thierry Lincou and John White,
but as the British Virgin Islands' Joe Chapman said yesterday, "it's
every squash player's dream to play in the World Open," and these
guys gave it their all today in Bermuda ...
Qualifying Finals:
Alister Walker (Eng) bt Miguel Rodriguez (Col)
11/5, 11/9, 11/9
(45m)
plays White
Eric Galvez (Mex) bt Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)
11/9, 11/8,
11/8 (56m)
plays El Hindi
Bradley Ball (Eng) b Yasser El Halaby (Egy)
11/3, 11/3,
11/3 (25m)
plays Barker
Shawn Delierre (Can) bt Scott Arnold (Aus)
12/10, 11/5, 5/11, 7/11, 11/5 (77m) plays Palmer
Julian Illingworth (Usa) bt Omar Elborolossy (Egy)
11/8, 11/5, 11/7 (48m)
plays Lincou
Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Kashif Shuja (Nzl)
7/11, 11/4, 11/2, 5/11, 11/4 (43m)
plays Ong
Omar Mosaad (Egy) bt Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
11/5, 9/11, 9/11, 11/4, 11/6 (67m) plays Tuominen
Daryl Selby (Eng) bt Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11/4, 11/7,
13/11 (56m)
plays Gaultier |
Focus on Bermuda, Issue #1
Today's Daily News
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Qualifying Finals roundup ...
First into the main draw was England's top seed Alister Walker.
After a day off yesterday Walker looked sharp from the start. Miguel
Angel Rodriguez battled back well to lead the second and third
games, but Walker got the better of two tense finishes.
Eric Galvez earned a main draw slot, but three-nil was a
harsh result for young Ryan Cuskelly who hung on to the Mexican's
tailcoats all the way in three very close games. It was 9-9 in the
first, 8-8 in the second and 8-8 in the third, but it was Galvez who
had the finishing power.
Three games too for England's Bradley Ball, whose watchword
of yesterday - 'ruthless' - applied again with a new one - 'attack'
- as he despatched Yasser El Halaby in under half an hour.
Shawn Delierre kept to yesterday's gameplan - go two up, get
a good start in the fifth then squeeze out the win - as he and Scott
Arnold provided a real treat for the packed crowd on court two.
A second North American spot was claimed when Julian Illingworth
scored an impressive win over experienced Egyptian Omar Elborolossy,
looking more and more assured as the match progressed.
A third Englishman went through as Jonathan Kemp finally came
out on top of a see-saw battle with New Zealand's Kashif Shuja - "it
doesn't get much more up and down than that," said the victor, quite
accurately.
Omar Mosaad became the only Egyptian to qualify as he too
won an up and down encounter. Saurav Ghosa's speed and determination
saw him to a 2/1 lead but Mosaad struck back. A barrage of winners
took him to 10/2 in the decider but Saurav just wouldn't lie down,
saving 3 match balls amid a flurry of lets and fast, exciting
rallies, until a final dropshot agonisingly clipped the tin.
The final qualifier had the longest wait - top seed Daryl Selby
had a bye yesterday, but wasted no time going to up against Omar
Abdel Aziz. The third was a different story, the Egyptian clawed
back an early deficit, and with both
players very determined and plenty of work for the referee a tense
finish ensued. Daryl finally took it at the fifth time of asking,
leaving his opponent fuming.
The draw immediately followed, and Daryl's reward was a meeting with
second seed Gregory Gaultier - but at least he gets another day off
...
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Alister Walker (Eng) bt Miguel Rodriguez (Col)
11/5, 11/9, 11/9
(45m)
 "There
were some big points in the third there!
"I played really well in the firs game but then lost a bit of
purpose in the second. I was 8/4 down but managed to get it back
with my hitting.
"He had nothing to lose in the third, guessed a lot and made some
outrageous gets, but thankfully I managed to win those big points
towards the end."
 |
 "I
couldn't find my game early on, he was putting all the pressure on
and the court was difficult for me.
"Then I was up in the next two but couldn't finish them. I should
have applied more pressure when I was up but he played well and got
everything back.
"Just one tournament to go for me this year, in Mexico, then I'm
looking forward to a good rest."
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Bradley Ball (Eng) bt Yasser El Halaby (Egy)
11/3, 11/3,
11/3 (25m)
 "I
know I'm playing well at the moment, but I didn't expect to play as
well as I did today.
"It's just nice to be able to play with the freedom I'm doing at the
moment, it's a long time since I've been injury-free and able to
play like this, and there' no better time to be able to do it than
here.
"I'd like to play someone on this court, but I'd also like to play
on the glass court, so let's just see how the draw goes …"
 |
 "He
played very well – when he's on his game he's really on. I didn't
contain him at all and I didn't play the game I should have against
him, but he played so well …
"I don't feel I've been playing at my best recently, I've had the
odd good result but overall not so well. I moved to the states, New
York, in August so I'm still in a transition period.
"I'm not playing until the ToC so hopefully I'll get my act together
by then!"
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Shawn Delierre (Can) bt Scott Arnold (Aus)
12/10, 11/5, 5/11,
7/11, 11/5 (77m)
 "I
knew it was going to be tough, he's had some really good results
recently and to beat Liam Kenny in three yesterday was some
performance. I'd had a longer match but I've played back to back
long matches before so I wasn't worried about that, I just had to go
out and play my game.
"In the fifth I kept more to myself again, started playing each
rally more in myself than before, there were no rallies in the
fifth.
"The courts are tough, but I guess it's all in the head – I had two
tough matches on them! I always like places I win but it's nice here
in Bermuda and now I'm through to the main draw I'll move into the
hotel .. it's going to be memorable …"
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Julian Illingworth (Usa) bt Omar Elborolossy (Egy)
11/8, 11/5, 11/7 (48m)
 "I
went in trying to keep the pace high and to keep an even footing on
the lengths – he's got all the shots but his length is his strength.
Today I was hitting my lengths as well as I ever have, so I was
pretty delighted with that.
"After I'd established that it was fairly comfortable, I think my
movement and fitness are better than and I was able to start playing
my shots, which is my strength. He started coming back after I was
10/4 up in the fifth, but I spoke to Renan yesterday who was 2/0
10/4 up and lost so I knew I couldn't afford to take anything for
granted.
"Overall I'm very happy. If anyone had told me I'd have come out of
that 3/0 I would have taken it for sure. I'm excited to get to play
against some of the big boys, and I hope it's on the glass court
even though I'd probably do better on this court …"
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Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bt Kashif Shuja (Nzl)
7/11, 11/4, 11/2, 5/11, 11/4 (43m)
 "They
don't come much more up and down than that!
"We're both shot players and he got off to a good start. I just
wasn't up to speed in the first, I wasn't doing anything, just
hitting and hoping it would win the point.
"In the second and third I stepped up and dominated, playing good
simple squash. I stepped off the gas a bit in the fourth, and he got
some kind bounces at the start then hit some unbelievable drops,
just glued to the wall.
"In the fifth I stepped up again and it was back to the way it was
in the second and third, but if he'd played like he had in the
fourth it would have been really difficult.
"I had to drop out of Hong Kong injured and I've not done a lot of
work since so I was a little rusty, but I managed to get the pace
high enough in the fifth to take it.
"Looking forward to the main draw – I could probably put the ball
away better on the glass court but this one rewards a good shot, and
having had a game on it it would probably put me at a bit of an
advantage to play on here. We'll see …"
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Omar Mosaad (Egy) bt Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
11/5, 9/11, 9/11, 11/4, 11/6 (67m)
 "I
did well in the first, played some good shots so I thought that was
ok but he came back well, he played really well, especially his
shots to the back of the court, and at 2/1 down I was a little
tense.
"I played some good winners to take the fourth and get ahead in the
fifth but then I made some mistakes and he started to come back. I
was glad to see that last shot hit the tin!
"I'm so pleased to qualify in my first World Open, I hope I play
well in the next round and of course to get another win would be
great …"
 |
 "When
I went 2/1 up I really thought I was going to win it, but he just
came out firing in the fourth and he was just superb from then on. I
wasn't doing anything different from in the second and third, and I
wasn't exactly loose, but he was just cutting everything off and
putting away some great winners.
"I'm just sad that we both played so well, I think we both warranted
a place but someone had to lose and unfortunately it had to be me.
"I've really enjoyed it here though, Bermuda is a great place and
I'm looking forward to seeing some more of it now, then it's on to
the world teams in a week or so."
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Daryl Selby (Eng) bt Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11/4, 11/7,
13/11 (56m)
 |
 "I
felt fairly comfortable at the start, but I could have done with
wrapping it up a little easier. I got a bit tired at 7/3 in the
third and it was really hard from then on.
"It wasn't the prettiest game of squash, but we haven't played each
other before so we're not used to each others movement patterns. I
was generally trying not to give him too many angles, he's really
quick so I needed to try to contain him.
"I'm really looking forward to playing on the glass court now,
especially in a World Open, although I've been waiting for a while
for a good draw in a tournament, it hasn't come yet …"
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Qualifying Round One:
Daily News Issue #1
Alister
Walker (Eng)
bye
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) bt Nick Kyme (Ber)
11/5, 11/8, 11/3 (24m)
Eric Galvez (Mex) bt Melrindo Caines (Ber)
11/0, 11/2, 11/5 (15m)
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) bt Matthew Giuffre (Can)
12/10, 11/9, 11/5 (48m)
Bradley Ball (Eng) bt Chris Gordon (Usa)
11/5, 11/4, 11/5 (28m)
Yasser El Halaby (Egy) bt Morten Sorensen (Den)
11/9, 11/5, 7/11, 11/9 (42m)
Scott Arnold (Aus) bt Liam Kenny (Irl)
11/4, 11/8, 11/8 (41m)
Shawn Delierre (Can) bt Jesse Engelbrecht (Rsa)
11/8, 11/8, 10/12, 7/11, 11/9 (69m)
Julian Illingworth (Usa) bt Patrick Foster (Irl)
11/6, 11/4, 11/8 (35m)
Omar Elborolossy (Egy) bt Julien Balbo (Fra)
11/6, 11/5, 8/11, 11/7 (62m)
Kashif Shuja (Nzl) bt Chase Toogood (Ber)
11/6, 11/6, 11/3 (24m)
Jonathan Kemp (Eng) bye
Saurav Ghosal (Ind) bt Dick Lau (Hkg)
11/4, 11/3, 11/5 (24m)
Omar Mosaad (Egy) bt Joe Chapman (Bvi)
11/2, 11/5, 11/7 (18m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy) bt Bernardo Samper (Col)
11/4, 11/9, 11/9 (31m)
Daryl Selby (Eng) bye
Finals from 12.00 tomorrow, straight down the draw on court two
... |
No joy for Bermudians on day one
but AIS boys cause upsets ...
It was always going to be a uphill task for the four locals in the
qualifying draw. Nick Kyme and Patrick Foster, ex-professionals,
found the going too tough while Chase Toogood and Melrindo Caines
were playing at a level that was faster and harder than they were
used to, and though the crowd at the BSRA courts in Devonshire
really got involved they couldn't will their boys to victory.
It was a good day for Australia as AIS members Ryan Cuskelly and
Scott Arnold caused the only two seeding upsets of the day, seeing
off Matthew Giuffre and Liam Kenny respectively.
Earlier withdrawals meant that byes were awarded to the top three
seeds - all English - with fourth seed Bradley Ball joining them as
he eased past Chris Gordon, while Egypt also has a quartet set to
appear in Saturday's qualifying finals ...
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Miguel Angel
Rodriguez (Col) bt Nick Kyme (Ber)
11/5, 11/8, 11/3 (24m)
Rodriguez dashes hopes
of dream start
There was no fairytale start to the Bermuda World Open, despite the
raucous home support for Nick Kyme. Granted the wildcard last year,
Nick, having withdrawn from the tour a year ago, found himself in
qualifying and up against Colombian speedster Miguel Angel
Rodriguez.
 The
Bermudian held his own at the start, but Rodriguez began to pull
away, his speed around court the telling factor, and Nick began to
struggle to keep up as he went one down.
There were whoops and hollers on every point won, but not enough of
them. After falling 7/2 behind in the second he managed to close to
8/6, but the Colombian pulled away again and, maintained the
pressure throughout third to complete the win.
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"It's been a year
since I played at that level. After the Masters here last year I
took six months off, and it's only in the last three or four months
I've got back into it. I enjoy playing now, but the fitness isn't
there, if I wanted to get back into it I'd be starting from scratch.
"It was weird, having my new 'fan base' here, all my co-workers from
Marsh, where I've been for six months."
"I had my shot and I'm glad I took the opportunity. I miss the guys
though, so it's great to have them all back here, but it's time to
move on, I just enjoy my squash now.
 "It
was a different atmosphere with all the crowd behind Nick. It's good
in your first match to see how you're playing and get used to the
conditions – there's a lot of humidity here.
"I tried to play a few long rallies to start, then when I got
comfortable went for a few short ones. Tomorrow will be different,
it will be really hard but I'll be giving it 100% and looking
forward to qualifying for one of the biggest events of the year …"
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Eric Galvez (Mex)
bt Melrindo Caines (Ber)
11/0, 11/2, 11/5 (15m)
 "He's
a fantastic player, I know him and a few of the other pros from when
I played in the PanAm Games. I was a bit nervous in the first two,
but I just went all out for it in the third, stated getting more
confidence and just tried to have as much fun as possible.
"I thought my serve on match-ball might have been just up, but the
ref obviously saw it differently!"
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Bradley Ball
(Eng) bt Chris Gordon (Usa)
11/5, 11/4, 11/5 (28m)
 "I
just want to give as good an account of myself as I can this week,
that's all you can do at the end of the day. I've played so many
matches this season where I've let people in, I've learned that you
just can't afford to give anyone of these guys a chance.
"So I went out hard from the beginning, and even though it's really
hot on there I thought I played pretty well … ruthless!"
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Ryan Cuskelly
(Aus) bt Matthew Giuffre (Can)
12/10, 11/9, 11/5 (48m)
 "I
was a bit edgy at the start, with it being my first World Open, but
I managed to recover from 5/2 down to win the first. I didn't feel I
was hitting the ball too well, so I was having to rely on my speed
and on just gusting in out.
"I wanted to get a quick start in the third, which I did, and once I
got a few points up I threw up a few high ones which he went for and
hit he tin.
"I had a few bad results in tournaments in Canada a few months ago,
but I've been based in New York with Rodney Martin for the last two
months, training and doing lots of running and fitness work. I feel
I'm better and fitter than earlier in the year, so I'm pleased to
get a win in my first World Open appearance …"
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The local hopefuls - Patrick Foster, Melrindo Caines, Chase Toogood
and Nick Kyme |
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Yasser El Halaby
(Egy) bt Morten Sorensen (Den)
11/9, 11/5, 7/11, 11/9 (42m)
 "It's
my first time in the World Open – I've never been ranked high enough
before, and every time I got my ranking up I seemed to get injured!
I'm not used to playing matches at that pace in Denmark, so I had to
work hard to get into the match. I should have won the first, I was
leading that one, and it could have gone either way in the fourth. I
was really annoyed at hitting the tin at the end of that really long
rally on match ball, but overall I struggled to keep on playing at
that pace.
"I thought I had a chance to qualify, and I had my chances in that
match, but coming in unseeded I knew it was going to be tough. At
least now I'll be able to enjoy a few days' holiday here!"
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Scott Arnold (Aus) bt Liam Kenny (Irl)
11/4, 11/8, 11/8 (41m)
 "After
I saw Ryan get through I thought I'd better do it too!
"It's one of my best wins, Liam's a good players, and rankings-wise
it's one of the biggest I've had.
"I got a good start, but after the first he worked his way into it
more, and it was tough all the way after that it was just a tight
match all round.
"It's great that all the Aussies are still in though …"
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Shawn Delierre (Can) bt
Jesse Engelbrecht (Rsa)
11/8, 11/8, 10/12, 7/11, 11/9 (69m)
 "There
was nothing in it in each game, but I was the one that was always
playing catchup. Going 2/0 down to someone like Shawn is never a
good idea, he feeds on confidence.
"From then on though I started to relax a little and played my best
squash, although he made a really good start to the fifth. I got
myself all the way back to 9-all, told myself I couldn't throw it
away now, changed the way I was playing and went negative and that's
exactly what I did …
"It would have been sweet to win my first match in my first world
open, but it's the first of many, I hope …"
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Elborolossy beats Balbo 3/1 |
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Julian Illingworth (Usa) bt Patrick Foster (Irl)
11/6, 11/4, 11/8 (35m)
 "I
thought I might have played a bit better than that, to be honest. It's
true that he outplayed me all the way through, but as an
ex-professional I should have been able to move up the court and
take control of the rallies more.
"With so many people watching, all rooting for me, I really would
have liked to take a game, at least. I keep thinking about tinning
that easy shot when I was 7/4 up in the third … how did I do that ?!
"But he played a good solid game, no complaints.
"It was always going to be tough for the four of us, even with a big
crowd cheering for us. All of these guys seem to take the wind out
of you in the first half a game and it's tough after that …"
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Omar Mosaad (Egy)
bt Joe Chapman (Bvi)
11/2, 11/5, 11/7 (18m)
 "I've
known for two months that I'd be playing in this – every squash
player in the world dreams of playing in the world open, it's just
phenomenal to have even one match here, in my first PSA tournament.
"I thought I played well, I got a lot more points than I thought I
might and I really enjoyed the whole thing. I was lucky enough to go
to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne where I played Joe Kneipp, so
I'd played at this level before, but only once!
"I'm 17, and I'm the BVI national champion. I'll be going to
university in the US or England and I'll see what level of squash I
can reach over the next three years and take it from there."
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Omar Abdel Aziz
gets down to beat Samper |
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"It
was three straight, but very tough. We played once before but he's
playing a lot better now.
"That
was really tough. I was always playing catchup, he'd go three or
four up, I'd get back in every game to get a lead but then got tired
because I'd done heaps of work to get there. He played the big
points at the end of the games well, I played my best points in the
middle.
