24-Jan, Final:
Salazar repeats in Calgary Bob Ballinger reports
The 9th annual Talisman Energy Bankers Hall Club Pro-Am in the
Stampede city of Calgary, Canada is now in the books with yet
another classic match as defending champion and number three seed
Arturo Salazar of Mexico beat number found seed Jan Koukal of
the Czech Republic three games to one to become the first repeat
winner of this event.
In front of yet another full gallery at Bankers Hall Club the final
started for Koukal the way all his previous matches did which was
with a first game loss by a count of 11/4. And then according to
form perhaps and his earlier matches he started to assert himself
and his game taking the second game by a 11/7 score. The match at
this point truly was a classic with both players mixing in great
retrieving and amazing short game work to thrill the crowd.
So no doubt the third game could be a pivotal one and the ebb/flow
continued as it had done in most of the big matches here this week.
Salazar takes a 4/0 lead only to Koukal come back with a run of his
own to go up 5/4; then a 7/6 Salazar lead becomes 10/7 as Koukal
made a few errors and perhaps lost a bit of concentration to a few
calls that did not go his way. So Salazar takes this game by an 11/7
score but we know Koukal is not done yet based on his work here this
week! A tight cautious first few points by the players turns into a
brilliant display of patient squash mixed in with full out attacking
squash with some wonderful dropshot and counter drop activity going
on as well.
Koukal went on a good run of points with this brand of squash and
produced a 7/3 lead seemingly taking us to a deciding fifth game.
But Salazar pegged his way back to an 8/7 lead then it was 8/8, then
9/8 Salazar, 9/9, then match point Salazar at 10/9 where Koukal hit
a perfect return of serve volley cross court into the nick which
Salazar had no reply for and we were at 10/10! The last two rallies
saw Salazar attack and win the match with an amazing cross court
drop shot that Koukal could not get to…..game, match, and repeat
champion Arturo Salazar in 65 minutes of play.
So the 9th annual event here was a beauty for sure and with the 10th
being talked about there is a chance for something unique in next
years tournament to celebrate the occasion!
Spectacular Semis in Calgary
Semi final play in the 9th annual Talisman Energy Bankers Hall Club
Pro-Am in the Stampede city of Calgary, Canada produced the
finest back to back matches in the history of this event. The
overflow crowd at Bankers Hall Club were truly treated to a
spectacular set of matches that showcased the talents and
determination of four very fine athletes.
First up was top seed and last weeks tournament champ in Vancouver,
Martin Knight of New Zealand going against number four seed Jan
Koukal of the Czech Republic. Going into this match Koukal had gone
five games in both his first round and quarter final match but said
he felt good despite the lengthy matches…..good was most definitely
an understatement! As he had done in his previous two matches Koukal
would lost the first game going down 11/8 to Knight in a very tight
and very long first game. The second game started well for the top
seed as he went out to a 5/2 lead but Koukal asserted himself very
well to run off five straight points taking a a 7/5 lead, eventually
winning the game 11/8 to make this a best of three affair going
forwards. The third game could arguably be the finest game witnessed
in this event. There was never more than a three point difference
between the two; Knight had three game balls to Koukals two and it
was Koukal who eventually took this epic game 16/14 to take a two
games to one lead. The fourth game saw Knight dig in and do some
hard work to try and stop the run of Koukal. He was successful as he
never trailed winning at 11/6 to tie the match up. The fifth turned
out to be one sided in Koukals favor as the toll of winning four
hard matches in Vancouver and this being a third here in Calgary
caught up with Knight as he was noticeable hurting. Koukal took this
game 11/2 and the match in 100 minutes of amazing squash. As
mentioned in earlier reports here Koukal was involved in an epic
match here in 2004 with Eric Galvez of Mexico winning 15/14 in the
fifth, a match Koukal had told us was his hardest match ever…….after
this match with Knight he said that the Galvez was now ‘easy’ in
comparison to this one!
The second semi would no doubt have a hard time trumping the first
one in terms of excitement and quality of play…….we would say it was
dead even that way! Salazar and Simpson traded games with the
defending champ taking the first one 11/5 and Simpson taking the
second 11/9. Salazar was in full control in the third winning 11/4
and seemingly was going to take this match in the fourth but Simpson
showed why he is one of the young upcoming stars of the tour,
winning the fourth game by an 11/8 margin. The fifth was full of
momentum changes starting with Salazar seizing an 8/3 lead yet
perhaps fatigue starting to hit him as a series of unforced errors
allowed Simpson to climb back into the match at 8/8. Now it was back
and forth with some wonderful front court exchanges between the two
and equally amazing retrieving by both players. Simpson had one
match ball at 10/9 but could not convert it; then Salazar had a
match ball at 11/10 that he could not convert! Finally after 95
minutes of amazing athleticism this wonderful match was clinched
with Salazar winning 13/11 in the fifth.
So Sundays final here at Bankers Hall Club in downtown snowy Calgary
will feature the defending champion and number three seed Arturo
Salazar going against the number four seed and finalist in last
weekends PSA event in Salt Lake City, Jan Koukal. As if there was
not enough great story lines going on here…..how about the fact that
Koukal lost in five brilliant games last weekend in the final to
Arturo’s brother Cesar!!
Tops four make Bankers Hall Semis Bob Ballinger reports
It’s a very rare thing to see the top four seeds make their way to
the semis in any PSA event but in particular at the one star level
but it has happened here at the 9thannual Talisman Energy Bankers
Hall Club Pro-Am in downtown Calgary, Canada. But all four seeds
have had to work to get here as there was some wonderful action in
the quarter finals today.
First up in the lunchtime session was number four seed Jan Koukal
and number seven seed Laurence Delasaux. Delasaus took advantage of
a slow Koukal start to win comfortably 11/2 in the first game;
Koukal then rolled out of the gates in game two going up 4/0 and 6/1
before on his way to a 11/5 second game win; Koukal again seized an
early lead in the third game enroute to an 11/6 win; Delasaux was
able to steady things in the fourth also by taking an early lead to
go up 5-2 eventually taking it 11/5; the fifth was fairly tight most
of the way with Koukal eventually forcing a few more errors out of
Delasaux to secure his first ever semi final spot here in Calgary.
Next up was second seed Chris Simpson against Canadian hopeful and
number five seed Robin Clarke. Simpson was pretty much in control of
this match after they split the first two games as Clarke tired in
the third and fourth games allowing the young Englishman to take the
match three games to one in 48 minutes.
Evening play had the top seed Martin Knight of New Zealand going up
against Canadian qualifier Dane Sharp in what on paper seemed like
it would be a routine match for the Kiwi. This seemed to be evident
as Knight rolled over Sharp early in the first winning the first
seven rallied to cruise to a 11/4 win; Knight continued to control
Sharp and appeared to be enroute to a second game victory as he led
by 5-2. But Sharp truly did dig in and amazingly yet impressively
ran off 8 straight points to level the match at one
game each. In the third game Sharp continued his run of points
taking the first five points off of Knight.
He had now won 13 straight rallies against the top seed and seemed
to be very confident to say the least. Knight himself now dug in and
showed his experience of travelling and playing the circuit on a
full time basis as he was able to slowly peg his way back into the
game and the match taking a two game to one lead with an 11/7 win.
The fourth game was a beauty full of great shots, great retrieving,
some conversations with the officials and never more than a two
point lead for either player. Sharp led most of the way and was even
up 9/7 before finally falling 13/11 with a relieved Knight now into
the semis after 77 minutes of very entertaining squash.
The last match of the round saw defending champ Arturo Salazar
taking on 2006 champion here Matthew Giuffre in a rematch if you
will of their first round match one year ago here. Despite a tight
first game that saw Salazar win 11/9 it was a fairly comfortable
victory for the young Mexican as he won in three straight games in
just over a half hour of play.
So the semis have the top four seeds going at it all with some great
story lines. Top seed Knight of course won a two star event last
weekend in Vancouver and is enjoying his finest ever tournament here
at Bankers Hall Club…..second seed Simpson in his first appearance
here will be trying to win his first PSA event since 2008…..third
seed Salazar will be attempting to be the first ever repeat winner
here……and Koukal who has long been a fan favorite here after his
thrilling 15/14 in the fifth 2004 quarter final victory over Eric
Galvez here, has already improved upon his early exit last year
where he was the top seed.
A jam packed gallery court has been on display all week and it will
be no different for the semis and finals!
Its onto the main draw now at the 9th annual Talisman Energy Bankers
Hall Club Pro-Am in downtown Calgary, Canada. Three of the
matches went according to the seedings with one minor upset in the
other one.
First up at lunch time in front of a full house was an all Canada
affair with former champion Matthew Giuffre taking on Fred
Reid and winning comfortably in three straight games 11/3, 11/7,
11/5.
Next up was another all Canadian matchup with #4 seed Thomas
Brinkman going against Dane Sharp. Sharp took off to a commanding
7-2 lead in the first and breezed through to an 11/3 win; second
game he was again able to get a quick jump on Brinkman going up 5-1
before Brinkman finally started to settle into the match but the
lead was too much to overcome and Sharp was now up two games after
an 11/6 win. The third game saw Sharp go up 5-3 and then Brinkman
played his best squash of the match running off five straight points
to go up 8-5 enroute to a third game 11-7 victory. The momentum
quickly went back to Sharp though in the fourth as he went up 7-1
quickly and never looked back winning 11-3 to secure a spot in the
main draw.
The evening matches coincided with the start of the amateur play in
Alberta’s biggest tournament of the season so a packed house were
ready for some great squash. First up, Calgary raised Andrew
McDougall showed the crowd his improved play over the last year with
his trademark great retrieving and some new offensive abilities as
well. His match against local player Grayson Witcher was very
entertaining and played a quick pace with some wonderful rallies put
together by both players. In the end McDougall was just too steady
and too quick taking out Witcher in three straight games 11/3, 11/6,
11/8 in 41 minutes.
The final qualifying match was perhaps the one everyone locally was
looking forward to with Canadian university champion Graeme Schnell
of Calgary going against Peter Creed of Wales.
Everyone locally knows of Schnell’s abilities while Creed is unknown
to us here as its his first time playing this event. It was evident
early on that both players have similar games so it could be a
matter of who wanted it more and who would play the bigger points
better than the other. The first game was fairly tight all the way
with Creed taking a lead of 8-5 only to have Schnell win four
straight points to take a 9-8 lead.
Some in the crowd thought Schnell was going to run away with this
first game after that but Creed steadied himself and won it 12-10.
The second and third games were similar in that Creed seemed to be
just a touch more consistent than Schnell and played those end of
game rallies tougher as well. He took the second and third games in
identical 11-8 scores to go into the main draw after a very
entertaining 42 minute win.
Main draw action has four matches over the lunch hour and then the
other four in the evening sessions. Some great looking matchups will
no doubt produce some amazing squash as the main draw kicks in now!
Ninth time in Downtown Calgary
Defending champion Arturo Salazar from Mexico is back to
defend his title but is only seeded three in this very interesting
main draw for the ninth edition of the Bankers Hall Pro-Am..
Top
seed is New Zealand's Martin Knight who is fresh off winning
in Vancouver last week and he will be hard pressed to duplicate that
with the strong field in this event. Second seed is England’s
Chris Simpson, currently ranked #47 in the world.
Players to watch include #4 seed Jan Koukal of the Czech
Republic who seems to be having some better results recently and
will no doubt want to improve on his loss here in the quarter finals
last year when he was the top seed.
Sitting at the number seven spot is Laurence Delasaux of
England who has had a lot of success over the last few months
playing events in Canada and it would not be a surprise to see him
playing Sunday in the finals.
Canada is well represented in the main draw with Robin Clarke
as the number five seed; David Phillips at number six seed;
and local player Andrew Schnell as the wild card. Schnell is
the current Canadian junior champion as well as current Scottish
Junior Open winner and will have Salazar in his first round in what
will be a very exciting match with the Calgary crowd on his side for
sure!
Main draw players who have a qualifier in their first round will be
nervously watching the qualifying survivors, as former world #38 and
the 2005 champion here, Canada’s Matthew Giuffre will likely
come through and some money will be on him to go all the way to
Sundays final.
Qualifying rounds begin Tuesday night with four of Alberta’s top
players going head to head with Graeme Schnell, Paul
Tuffin, Grayson Witcher, and Bob Ballinger trying
to advance to Wednesday’s second round play.
It should be a great week of squash in this always popular
tournament. Its again a sold out affair in the amateur event/
Qualifying Round One:
With some injured PSA players pulling out of the 9th annual Talisman
Energy Bankers Hall Club Pro Am over the last week left a qualifying
draw with not the usual suspense of who would play and in what
round. So Tuesday night saw the four locals go at it with the reward
being berths in Wednesday’s final round of qualifying against the
top two seeds and the results backed up the current Alberta Men’s
rankings.
First match saw Alberta #4 Graeme Schnell going up against the very
recently married Paul Tuffin who sits at #6 in the Alberta rankings.
Tuffin played a strong first game taking leads of 4-1, 6-3, 8-4, and
9-7 but Schnell was able to take the first game 11-9.
The local Calgary crowd at Bankers Hall Club could see the quickness
and fitness level of Schnell take over in the second game as he won
that one 11-6 to take a commanding two game lead and then raced out
to leads of 4-1 and 6-3 in the third game before closing out the
match 11-9 and three games straight in 30 minutes of fast paced
squash.
Next up was host professional and Alberta #8 Bob Ballinger playing
the #5 in the province Grayson Witcher. The first game was close all
the way through with both players displaying some well thought out
rallies yet combined with alot of unforced errors as well. At 9-9 a
very well timed frame shot winner from Witcher off of a very tight
drop shot of Ballinger’s was what turned the game to Witcher as he
took in 11-9. The second was all Witcher as he relied on some very
heavy shots and more unforced errors from Ballinger to take it 11-5.
Despite the urgings of a full house at his home club, Ballinger
could not get off to a good start in the third game 6-2 and then
10-4 relatively easily. But one last push from the host pro took him
to 9-10 before Witcher pulled it out 11-9 in 35 minutes to secure
his deserved spot in the next round.
So Wednesdays final round of qualifying will see 3 Canadians assured
of a spot of the main draw in what should be a great day of squash
here in downtown Calgary.
Top
seed is New Zealand's Martin Knight who is fresh off winning
in Vancouver last week and he will be hard pressed to duplicate that
with the strong field in this event. Second seed is England’s
Chris Simpson, currently ranked #47 in the world.