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 Charlotte
Open 2015
22-26 Apr, Bethseda, Usa, $5k |
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26-Apr, Final:
[3] Eric Galvez
(Mex) 3-2 [4] Lewis Walters (Eng)
11/6, 10/12, 11/8, 9/11, 11/8
Galvez grabs Charlotte prize
 The final of the Charlotte Open was
the longest and most exciting match of the tournament.
The wiley Lewis
Walters and the 'pirate' Eric Galvez were gladiators as they moved around
the court. The energy for and from the crowd, most of whom had not
seen a PSA match before. was palpable.
Great movement punctuated by killer
drops was the hallmark of the first game. From 4-all the pirate was in
hustle mode. the only error on his side was clipping the
top of the tin on game ball. Galvez takes the lead 11-6.
 Game two saw tight drivess from the pirate taking, a 3-0 lead. Walters
claws back but at 4-5 an unforced error stops his progress. With steely
determination the pirate tried to keep his emotion on check, a
Walters volley cross court meant he was not out of the game and, ever
calm, Walters played great width to level at 10-all. The pirate did a great
drop but then finds the top of the tin and Walters wins the
seconnd game.
 The third game saw deep and wide play. At 3-1 Walters holds a great
shot for a stunning cross court kill. Great depth continues for both
players, great deception by the pirate to go 9-8. With a
backhand cross kill the pirate wins the third game.
Long rallies was
the hallmark of the fourth game. The pirate executed great backhand
drops and play continued with great deliberation from both players.
At 7-5 Walters is up and both players bring on the big guns with
hard low drives but Walters win it, tow games all.
 The fifth saw a ferocious display of speed and power as each player
tried to take the ascendency, but outstanding play from the pirate
seeh him take the match 3-2.
"Thanks to all to coming here on
a usual family day," said a delighted winner in his afterm-match
speech. "Congratulations to Lewis and thanks to everyone and hope to
see a bigger and better event next year."
Walters added: "Thanks to the sponsors and everyone for coming down
to watch us play on these great courts. And Eric for the finals
match, even if he did win. We all hope Connie will continue putting
on these tournaments."
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Galvez caps winning run
Photos by Asim
Amin
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  Charlotte
Open 2015
22-26 Apr, Bethseda, Usa, $5k |
Round One
23 Apr |
Quarters
24 Apr |
Semis
25 Apr |
Final
26 Apr |
[1] Tom Ford (Eng)
11-4, 11-1, 11-3 (23m)
[Q] Francisco Mendez (Mex) |
[1] Tom Ford
11/6, 11/8, 8/11, 11/6 (65m)
[8] Amaad Fareed |
[1] Tom Ford
11/, 3/11, 11/8, 3/11, 11/7
(76m)
[3] Eric Galvez |
[3] Eric Galvez
11/6, 10/12, 11/8, 9/11, 11/8
[4] Lewis Walters |
[8] Amaad Fareed (Pak)
4-11, 11-8, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8 (55m)
Faraz Khan (Usa) |
[5] Sunil Seth (Guy)
10-12, 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 (45m)
[Q] Vikram Malhotra (Ind) |
[Q] Vikram Malhotra
11/6, 8/11, 11/5, 11/4 (45m)
[3] Eric Galvez |
[3] Eric Galvez (Mex)
11-7, 11-6, 15-13 (35m)
[Q] Cameron Stafgford (Cay) |
[wc] Cass Sunstein (Usa)
11-4, 11-2, 11-5 (24m)
[4] Lewis Walters (Jam) |
[4] Lewis Walters
10/12, 11/5, 11/4, 11/5 (55m)
[6] Alex Ingham |
[4] Lewis Walters
11/7, 9/11, 11/1, 12/10 (65m)
Reuben Phillips |
[Q] Jesus Camacho (Mex)
15-13, 11-6, 4-11, 11-8 (53m)
[6] Alex Ingham (Eng) |
Nicolas Caballero (Par)
11-9, 11-7, 10-12, 10-12, 11-9 (70m)
[7] Jonathan Maloney (Eng) |
Nicolas Caballero
11/13, 11/5, 11/3 (35m)
Reuben Phillips |
Reuben Phillips (Eng)
9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 (63m)
[2] Dane Sharp (Can) |
Qualifying Finals:
Vikram Malhotra (Ind)
3-0 Kale Wilson (Tri)
11-3, 11-4, 11-2 (15m)
Francisco Mendez (Mex)
3-2
Sam Gould (Usa)
11-9, 4-11, 2-11, 11-6, 11-7 (62m)
Jesus Camacho (Mex) 3-0 Victor Manuel Garcia (Mex)
11-6, 11-3, 11-6 (35m)
Cameron Stafford (Cay) 3-0 Alex Grayson (Nzl)
1-5, 11-7, 13-11 (37m)
 Stafford
v Grayson 3-0
Straight hard rails saw the players neck at neck for the
opening points. Staffords deception and ability to wrong
foot his opponent paid off for a 11-5 win in the 1st game.
Continuing with great reach and deception paid dividends as
Stafford consistently put his opponent under pressure.
 Camacho
v Ramerez 3-0
Comacho started the match with a commanding lead of 7-2.
The change of pace and multiple boasts seemed to throw
Ramirez off his game. Great control by the young Mexican
with a tremendous display of drops and lobs led to a
convincing 3 – 0 win.
 Malhotra
v Wilson 3-0
Malhotra kept his opponent under constant pressure
through the match. Wilson was caught off balance by the
constant pace of Malhotras attacking shots, Malhotra winning
in a brisk 15 mins
Correa v Gould 3-2
Sam Gould MIT assistant coach played a very close match
with Mexican Correa .A close game in the first saw Correa
win. That charge was halted in the 2nd and 3rd games which
Gold won to 4 and 2 respectively.
Correa not be outdraw fired of 7 amazing points to Gold 1 to
win the 4th .Player were neck at neck in the 5th with Correa
racing away to win in a long 62 min Match.
Qualifying Round One:
Kale Wilson (Tri) bye
Vikram Malhotra (Ind) 3-0 Shahid Hussain (Pak)
11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (27m)
Sam Gould (Usa) 3-0 Mir Zaman Gul (Pak)
12-10, 11-2, 13-11 (31m)
Francisco Mendez (Mex) 3-0 Austin Carpenter (Usa)
11-1, 11-0, 11-1 (15m)
Jesus Camacho (Mex) 3-0 Zeeshan Javed Khan (Usa)
11-8, 13-11, 11-9 (36m)
Victor Manuel Garcia (Mex) 3-0 Matthew Dwyer (Usa)
11-3, 11-1, 11-5 (16m)
Alex Grayson (Nzl) 3-0 Graeme Dykes (Zim)
11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (25m)
Cameron Stafford (Cay) 3-0 Jeremy Barnes (Aus)
11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (19m)
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25-Apr, Semis:
An All English affair
Galvez 'The Pirate' 3-2 Ford 'Beiber'
A tense Ford hit a couple of unforced errors early in the match and
the game was marked with tight shots down the wall on (left handed)
Beibers forehand. Beiber rallied with great stretch and movement but
the Pirate was relentless 11-8 to the Pirate. Beiber great sidewall
drops had the Pirate at sea.
he pace increased the second game with a great display from both
players keeping difficult shots in play. The reverse boast at the
front of the court was working well for Beiber as The Pirate found
the top of the tin for 4 out of 6 points. Beiber cross courts became
more effective moving the Pirate around 11-3 Beiber.
The 3rd game saw a great display of stretch and drive by the Prate.
Beiber did a couple of unforced errors 11-3 Pirate. Beiber set up
some great shots at the start of the game and did not look back the
Pirate evidently saving himself for the 5th. 11-3 Beiber. The Pirate
charged out of the gate up 7-3 in short work with hard rails on
Beibers forehand. An avalanche of tight low shots saw the Pirate win
11-7.
Lewis 3-1 Reuben
After the frenetic pace on the first semi the second started as a
tame affair of patiently played shots. Reuben showed great length
and looked like a man on a mission. Patient tight rails was the
hallmark of the 2nd game. at 5-5 Lewis picked up the pace and both
players retrieved some unbelievable balls to the delight of the
crowd. 1-1.
Reuben came out tired and slow for the 3rd while Walters bounced
around. Reuben conceded the game in an attempt to save himself for
the fourth game. Long rallies marked the start of the fourth game. Reuben
rallied and gave it his all but Lewis wins in four.
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24-Apr, Quarters:
Phillips joins seeds in semis
Galvez v Malhotra 3-1
Qualifier the "Mumbai Machine"
appeared undaunted by his higher ranked opponent but at 6-6 'the
Pirate' Galvez ran away with a string of winners.
The Mumbai
Machine fought back in the 2nd with high pressure brilliant squash,
The 3rd saw the tables turn with The Pirates outstanding deft touch
on the drops. A wonderful unplayable lob set up the winning point.
The Pirates 'enthusiasm' in the 4th led to some frenetic squash with
both players jostling for the T. Several rallies were set up by the
Mumbai Machine only to fall due to unforced errors. A tight rail by
the Pirate set up a run of points from 4-4 to win the match 3-1
Beiber v Batman (Ford vs Fareed) 3-1
The first game saw both players engaged in patient long rallies. At
6-6 Beiber ramped up the attack taking the next 5 points. In the 2nd
game both players came out fiercely relying more on shots than
patience. Ford threw up many effective lobs but both players had
unforced errors at the front of the court.
Forget Batman - Fareed
was more like a rabbit on speed in the 3rd game, staying low and
springing around the court, especially fast at the front of the
court surprising Ford with his dexterity. Ford at 8-8 attacked with
great and graceful skill vs the torrential onslaught of the pirate.
Ford gained the lead and never looked back in the 4th winning 11-6.
Walters v Ingham 3-1
In the first game both players had trouble finding their length - a
long to and fro game ending in a 14-12 win to Ingham. Lewis attacked
with tight shots as well as incorporating and effective use of lobs.
Lewis constantly attacked his left handed opponents backhand winning
the 3 games to 5,4,5.
 Reuben vs Caballero 3-0
The 2 qualifiers started out reasonably on par with a tight finish
in game 1 of 13-11. Reuben was on fire for the rest of the match
with crushing rails and cross courts. Nico fell under the onslaught
and never caught up.
23-Apr, Round One:
Three upsets in round one
There was a trio of upsets in
the first round in Charlotte, as qualifier Vikram Malhotra
put paid to fifth seed Sunil Seth, while at the bottom of the draw
Nicolas Caballero and
Reuben Phillips both won to guarantee an unseeded semi-finalist.
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Preview from the local press |
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