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Berkshire Open 2011
04-11 Apr, Williamstown, Usa, $30k |
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10-Mar, Final
El Hindi takes True North title
Zafy Levy reports
Wael El Hindi capped a great run through the 2011 True North
Berkshire Open by defeating Tom Richards this afternoon in
three tight games before a packed house seated behind the PSA glass
tour court set in the middle of a sponsor’s village of shops in the
Chandler Athletic Center at Williams College.
 Despite
the lopsided game score, the match might have turned at 9-9 in the
third game as Richards fought back from a 9-4 deficit to knot the
score with a pressuring attack of volleying and taking that had the
taller Egyptian stretching and lunging to keep up with the pace and
the sudden and severe direction changes.
At that very moment, with his reservoir of energy depleted—at least
temporarily—El Hindi resorted to the softest, riskiest,
front-wall-dripping misdirect off a loose ball in the middle of the
front court that sent Richards scurrying one way while the ball went
another. As the ball left El Hindi’s racquet with the lightest,
softest, sleight-of-hand, underhand twist of his racquet, it hung in
the air for what seemed like ten seconds before kissing the front
wall on the way down no more than an inch over the tin. And, at
once, you could see the tension in El Hindi’s frame suddenly
evaporate: a magical shot risked and rewarded at just the right
moment.
 At
the start of the match, it was very much the wily, experienced
veteran against the more easily flustered, up-and-coming youngster
looking for his first win over a top tenner. El Hindi knew exactly
what he was about, controlling the T with precision volleying and
nestling the ball softly up front along either side wall, trying to
draw a loose enough return from Richards so he could then volley the
ball deeply behind him. The fact that this pattern also forced
Richards to run around El Hindi was not an accident, which point was
“discussed” more than once with Referee Brad Burke—by both players!
As might be expected, the Egyptian veteran got the better of the
less experienced Englishman in these exchanges—some heated—clearly
throwing his concentration and rhythm off just enough to make a
difference in the outcome. At this level, where a good shot
separates a bad shot by the tiniest of margins—inches at most—the
smallest disruption to a player’s movement and ball-striking
readiness can easily be the difference between a three game affair
and a five gamer. In this case, one player accepted it as merely a
part of the pattern of play while the other felt it as an abuse of
the rules.
 The
truth of the matter is that Richards is on the way up, and he is
ready for a breakthrough win, as Williams College President, Adam
Falk, so aptly remarked in presenting the runners-up check to him.
He is fit, strikes the ball cleanly, can leave it short as well as
drive for length, can move on the court with anyone in the top ten
and is obviously competitively more than capable. Squash fans would
be wise to see where he stands by the time the 2012 Berkshire Open
rolls around.
But this day, and this weekend, belonged to El Hindi: four matches
without losing a game. An elegant spokesman in victory, he humbly
accepted the winner’s check from True North President, Rob Able, by
complimenting his opponent and the sponsors, and he spoke warmly to
the horde of kids who had spilled over to the venue from the US
Silver Nationals being held concurrently across Chandler Quad at the
Simon Squash Center.
The final story line to a great weekend of squash—Wael El Hindi over
Tom Richards: 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 in 38 minutes.
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Final Gallery |
  Berkshire
Open 2011
04-11 Apr, Williamstown, Usa, $30k |
Round One
06/07 Apr |
Quarters
08 Apr |
Semis
09 Apr |
Final
10 Apr |
[1] Wael El Hindi (Egy)
11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (49m)
Chris Ryder (Eng) |
[1] Wael El Hindi
11-5, 11-6, 11-8
Arturo Salazar |
[1] Wael El Hindi
11-5, 11-9, 11-8
[3] Miguel Angel Rodriguez |
[1] Wael El Hindi
11-9, 11-7, 11-9
Tom Richards |
Omar Abdel Aziz (Egy)
11-5, 11—8 , 11-9 (35m)
Arturo Salazar (Mex) |
Borja Golan (Esp)
9-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 (50m)
[Q] Chris Gordon (Usa) |
Borja Golan
5-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8
[3] Miguel Angel Rodriguez |
Joey Barrington (Eng)
12-10, 13-11,9-11,11-6 (72m)
[3] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) |
[4] Shahier Razik (Can)
11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5.
[QW] David Phillips (Can) |
[4] Shahier Razik
11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8
Tom Richards |
Tom Richards
12-10, 12-10, 5-11, 10-12, 11-1
[2] Jonathan Kemp |
[Q] Shaun Le Roux (Eng)
13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3
Tom Richards (Eng) |
Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)
12-10, 11-4, 11-8
[Q] Shawn Delierre (Can) |
Nafiizwan Adnan
11-7, 11-8, 11-5
[2] Jonathan Kemp |
Julian Illingworth (Usa)
11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11,11-7
[2] Jonathan Kemp (Eng) |
2010 Event
05-Apr, Qualifying Finals:
Shawn Delierre bt Wade
Johnston
11-8,6-11,11-7,4-11,13-11
David Phillips bt Zac
Alexander
11-4 , 11-9 , 13-11
Shaun Le Roux bt Muhd Asyraf Azan 11-4 ,
11-13 , 7-11, 11-9, 11-9
Chris Gordon bt Omar El-Kashef
11-4 , 11-9 , 13-11
04-Apr,
Qualifying Round One:
Shawn Delierre bye
Wade Johnston beat Maxym Leclair 3-0 (29min)/ 11-1, 11-0,
11-9
David Phillips Beat Patrick Chifunda 3-1 (45min) 11-4,
4-11, 11-8, 11-5
Zac Alexander beat Graham Bassett 3-0(25min) 11-5,
11-4/11-2
Muhd Asyraf Azan vs Luke Butterworth 3-0 (41min) 11-7, 11-7,
11-7
Shaun Le Roux beat Neil Hitchens/ 6pm 3-0 (41min) 11-5,
11-4, 11-9
Omar El-Kashef Beat Maxime Blouin 3-0 (31min) 11-5,
11-6, 11-7
Chris Gordon beat Ryan Cuskelly 3-1 (91min) 13-11, 6-11,
11-3, 14-12
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09-Mar, Semi-Finals
El Hindi and Richards to contest
Berkshire final
Zafy Levy reports
Great squash was the theme at the 2011 True north Berkshire Open his
evening as two high-quality semi-final matches were played before a
packed house at Williams College’s Chandler Gymnasium.
 The
tournament top seed, the tall, rangy Egyptian, Wael El Hindi, had to
be his very sharpest to deal with the electric speed of his younger
opponent, Columbian Miguel Rodriguez, whose energy, reflexes and
agility allowed him to escape one predicament after the next, and
forced El Hindi to hit at least three winners for every point he
won.
And, el Hindi did! He refused to get flustered—or tired—by the
Houdini-like extrications from seemingly impossible position
deficits, maintaining his control of the T—and the points—with
volleying accuracy that had Rodriguez zigzagging across the
diagonals from one corner to the next.
In the end, the second game proved to be the turning point, as El
Hindi, after winning the first, seemed up comfortably in the second,
8-4, only to see five points slip quickly by and turn the score into
a 8-9 deficit. But, he steadied, focused in once again, and started
to patiently squeeze Rodriguez out of position rather than go for
the quick strike risking a tin-out.
And, once he pulled himself together to claim the second game, the
third went his way relatively easily. The final line: 11-5, 11-9,
11-8 in 40 minutes for top seed El Hindi.
 The
second match paired two of kind: two Englishmen, rankings only three
spots apart (#21 vs. #24), and styles mirror images. Hard hitting,
fast paced, and absolutely clean as a whistle in terms of clears and
calls, the rhythm was action packed all the way through, with up and
back patterns, lots of volleying and superb retrieving.
Tom Richards, head-banded and short hair, nipped the first two games
in extra points, as Jonathan Kemp, head-banded and moppy hair, let a
9-6 lead in the first slip away and tinned out on several key points
in the second, before running away with the third game and rescuing
the fourth from match ball down. Unfortunately for Kemp, the fifth
game got totally away from him as a spate of errors undid him early
on.
Richards’ stroking which is more compact and more efficiently
produced than Kemp’s, whose lengthier preparation and more stylistic
flourishes speak to the old-school English style, perhaps made him
less prone to the tins that proved Kemp’s undoing. The match line:
12-10, 12-10, 5-11, 10-12, 11-1 for Richards in 58 minutes.
Tomorrow’s final should be a great one: the elegant Egyptian
currently wearing the crown versus the upstart Englishman trying for
a breakthrough win. Match time is at 1pm.
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08-Mar, Quarter-Finals
Quarters in William's College
Zafy Levy reports
The four quarter final matches were played tonight as the Berkshire
Open continued on the third night of its five day run on the PSA
glass tour court in Williams College’s Chandler Gymnasium.
The top two seeds advanced with relative ease as neither Wael El
Hindi, the elegant Egyptian, nor Jonathan Kemp, the mop-haired
Englishman, lost a game in advancing.
 El Hindi’s weight and length were too decisive and his control of
the T too suffocating to allow up-and-coming Arturo Salazar to put
his athleticism on the offensive, and Salazar was reduced to chasing
down ball after ball until his position deteriorated to the degree
that even his fantastic retrieving ability could not bail him out.
The scores and minute match time accurately reflect El Hindi’s
dominance: 11-5, 11-6, 11-8.
 As for Jonathan Kemp, no errors, great defense when needed and
superb decision-making when faced with offensive chances put him one
step ahead of the less precise although equally athletic Muhammad
Adnan whose rails and cross courts where just not accurate or deep
enough to allow him to control the T. And, again, the match stats
say it all: 11-7, 11-8, 11-5, in 30 minutes.
However, sandwiched in between the these matches, two five-gamers
kept the crowd, boosted nearly to capacity by the arrival of 270
juniors (and their coaches and parents) who began play today at the
Simon Squash Center in the U.S. Silver Nationals.
 After the first two games, headbanded Englishman, Tom Richards, was
so totally in control that it was hard to imagine that it would take
another hour for a winner to be determined. A nearly imperceptible
tightening of his defensive length and width, coupled with reducing
his unforced errors, put fourth seed Shahier Razik back into the
match, eventually forcing a fifth game. Still even at 7-7 in the
final game, Razik just tired ever so slightly at that point to yield
four of the next five points relatively quickly and with it the
match: 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 7-11, 11-8 in 85 minutes.
 The most entertaining of the night’s pairings matched former top
tenner, Borja Golan, who is finally recovering his form after a
disastrous knee injury put him out of the game for almost year,
against a man with magical feet and hands, Columbian Miguel Angel
Rodriguez, whose athletic movement around the court and deceptive
stroking made for a great contrast in styles. Golan used found every
corner and crack on the court with his uncannily pinpoint accuracy,
working the ball short and deep and controlling the T, only to be
forced to reestablish his attack time after time even during the
course of the same rally, as Rodriquez sprinted, darted and
stretched his way to one remarkable get after another.
 The final
analysis says that Golan was forced to hit too many perfect shots
and as the margin was squeezed tighter, the very few unforced errors
became the difference in the outcome: 5-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8
to Rodriguez in 94 minutes
The two semi-finals matches are scheduled tomorrow for 5pm and 6pm
on the glass court. |
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07-Mar, Round One:
Round One Concludes
Zafy Levy reports
The four first round matches of the lower half of the draw were
played tonight as the Berkshire Open featured its second night on
the glass court in Williams College’s Chandler Gymnasium.
Form held for the first three matches, as the favored players
advanced with relative ease.
Fourth seed Shahier Razik had a bit of a hiccup in the third game,
but otherwise was too court savvy and too tight to the walls for
Canadian David Phillips who had trouble recovering his position once
he was drawn to the front. The fifty minute match went to Razik:
11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-5.
The second match on saw Sean le Roux let a chance to win the first
game slip away in extra points, but overall Tom Richards, despite a
third game lapse, never seemed truly threatened. As a squash
athlete, le Roux shows promise, but Richards—a consummate
professional—controlled play with excellent length and width which
drew way too many errors from le Roux. Despite its four game length,
the match time was an efficient 37 minutes: 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3.
The crowd anticipated the usual shenanigans from Shawn Delierre,
whose on-court lawyering and bump-and-run style creates its own
energy and distraction, but Head Referee Brad Burke would have none
of it which allowed Muhammad Adnan to play his balletic and flowing
style undisturbed. Perhaps if Shawn had converted one of the four
game balls he had in the first before losing six straight points and
the game, he would have found energy to make trouble for Adnan, but
the match went quickly (and quietly) from there on: 12-10, 11-4,
11-8 in 44 minutes.
Just like last night, the last match on was the best, as two good
friends and training partners squared off the play for the third
time in the last two years, most recently just three weeks ago, when
Jonathan Kemp defeated Julian Illingworth in the fifth to win the
KIG Open in Los Angeles. And, as predicted, beautiful squash it was:
similar styles of play, long rallies, beautiful movement, intensely
competed, but barely a let called in the 5 games marathon. In the
end, it was the ever-so-slightly more accurate racquet-work of Kemp
that made the difference in 68 minutes: 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11,11-7
Quarter final matches will begin tomorrow evening at 5pm. |
Today's Photo Gallery
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06-Mar, Round One:
Seeds progress in main draw opener
Zafy Levy reports
 A
four match card opened main draw play at the 2011 True North
Berkshire Open on the glass court at Williams College’s Chandler
gymnasium. Results moved in an orderly fashion through the first
three matches, as the favored players all advanced with relative
ease.
Top seed Wael El Hind, was too strong, too precise and too
polished for Englishman Chris Ryder, and an efficient, but
lengthy three gamer—11-7, 11-5, 11-8 in 49 minutes was the result.
Next up, an even match might have been predicted based on rankings,
but Arturo Salazar demonstrated why he is very much a
player-to-watch on the SPA tour, as his fluid movement and compact,
decisive stroking were way too reliable for the athletically
out-matched Egyptian, Omar Abdel Aziz: 11-5, 11—8 , 11-9 in
35 minutes.
 Chris
Gordon, still reasonably fresh from his qualifying run which
earned him his best win of his young career, a four gamer over #40
ranked Ryan , surprised the Spaniard Borja Golan in the first
game before succumbing to the superb accuracy, control of the T and
economy of movement of his more experienced opponent: 9-11, 11-5,
11-3, 11-3 in 50 minutes.
 The
evening’s final match was a battle royale as Englishman Joey
Barrington and Columbian Miguel Angel Rodriguez, fought
through a four game tussle that left both players exhausted and what
was left of the night’s good-sized crowd amazed and deeply
appreciative of their efforts. In the end, Rodriguez prevailed but
by a sliver: 12-10, 13-11,9-11,11-6 in 72 minutes.
Tomorrow’s play begins at 5pm and features the four remaining first
round matches from the bottom half of the draw.
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Today's Photo Gallery
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05-Apr, Qualifying Finals:
Qualifying Complete in Williamstown
Zafi Levy reports
Coveted spots in the main
draw were at stake tonight in the final round of qualifying for the
2011 True North Berkshire Open, being played on the wide courts of
the Simon Squash Center before moving over to the glass court main
venue for tomorrow evenings first round matches.
The closest and most exciting match of the evening was the first one
on, as they ever-energetic (both physically and verbally) Shawn
Delierre barely edged out equally combative Wade Johnston
13-11 in the fifth game of a 90 minute match. There was little to
choose between the two save for just one or two too many unforced
errors off the racquet of Johnston and the dogged retrieving of
Delierre./ Delierre plays Mohd. Adnan in main draw
In other matches this evening, David Phillips put together a
surprisingly easy upset over Zac Alexander who, after
rescuing the first game 13-11 from two match balls down, proceeded
to either tin out or leave balls too loose for the strikingly
accurate shot-making of Phillips who rolled through the next three
games relatively easily: 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 in 40 minutes. /Phillips
plays Shahier Razik in the main draw
Muhd Asyraf Azan looked very sharp indeed against the very
creative shotmaker, Shaun Le Roux. Ultimately Le Roux’s
creative flair proved too much for Asyruf. Le Roux won an extremely
5 games match in a match that lasted 82min. 11-4 , 11-13 , 7-11,
11-9, 11-9 in 82 minutes./ Le Roux plays Tom Richard in Main draw
And, in the final match of the evening, Chris Gordon
solidified last night’s win over top fiftyer Ryan Cuskelly—his best
ever—by staying solid and in control of the T with a three game win
over Omar El-Kashef: 11-4 , 11-9 , 13-11 in hard 45 minutes
encounter. / Gordon plays Borja Golan in the main draw
The first of tomorrow night’s four match slate begins at 5pm on the
glass court in Chandler Gymnasium.
04-Apr, Qualifying Round One:
Great night of squash at the
Simon Squash Centre
American #3, and world 70, Chris Gordon, played the match of his
life beating top ranked qualifier, Ryan Cuskelly in four games.
The match lasted 91min in which Cuskelly had to take a 10min injury
break in the 2nd game after twisting his ankle after a mid court
collision with Gordon.
Gordon will face Egyptian Omar El Kashef in the final round of
qualifying, the Egyptian made quick work of young Maxime Blouin from
Canada in three straight games.
Muhd Azan and Saun Le Roux won comfortably against Luke Butterworth
and Neil Hitchens respectably. Both players will face off tomorrow
for a place in the main draw of the event.
David Phillips from Canada and Zac Alexander from Australia will
play tomorrow for a place in the main draw after winning decisively
against Patrick Chifunda (ZAM) and Graham Bassett (USA).
Wade Johnson from Australia made quick work of young Maxym Laclair
from Canada and will face Shawn Delierre from Canada tomorrow in a
highly anticipating match.
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Day One Photo Gallery
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