03-Mar, Final:

[3] Emma Beddoes (Eng) 3-1 [7] Victoria Lust (Eng)
           11/5, 11/8, 9/11, 11/6
 

Beddoes takes inaugural Courtcare Open title

After the semi-finals the crowd were packed in again at David Lloyd to see how Emma Beddoes and Victoria List would play after having tough five-setters yesterday.
 
It was Beddoes who made the better start. Looking to be moving well and hitting her targets. She took off to a 5-2 lead then hit a lucky back wall nick and received a stroke to pull away to 7-2.

A long rally followed and Beddoes hit an error for Lust to get back to 3-7. But she re-grouped and pulled away again closing out the game 11-4 on a Lust boast that went in the tin.

The start of the second was similar. Beddoes pulled out to a 3-0 lead before being pegged back to 3-3. It was Lust’s turn to get a few points in a row going out to 8-5. Lust hit an error for Beddoes to get back to 6-8 and then they traded rallies until 8-8.

A few long rallies followed with both girls waiting for the right opportunity to attack. A couple of lets were given in back to back rallies before Beddoes pulled out to 10-8 and closed out the game 11-8 on a great forehand length. Beddoes now 2-0 up and looking good for the title.

The third game saw Lust come out with a little more structure. Finding the depth in the court a little better and making Emma cover a lot more of the court. The game was tight the whole way through to 7-7 before two errors by Beddoes gave Lust a 9-7 lead.

That was followed by a great length by Lust and Beddoes struggled in the back hand corner for the ball to land just short of the front wall giving Lust 10-7.

Beddoes scrapped a couple of points back with a lucky nick and a trip from Lust before Lust finally converted taking the game 11-9 on a cross court drop into space created from an excellent length.

2-1 to Beddoes but Lust back in it!

Beddoes re-grouped well and came on the court looking good. She started the game well going out to a 6-3 and 8-5 lead. She pulled away to 9-6 and was looking in control again.

A few lets happened before Beddoes claimed her first match ball at 10-6 and she only needed one to take the match and become the first ever Courtcare champion.

Beddoes said afterwards:

“Tthank you the crowd and the sponsors. It’s been an amazing event and I’d like to Thanks Laura and Chris for putting on a great event.

"It makes a difference having a player run an event as she knows what we want and we have had everything we have needed all week from Laura and Chris.

"Thanks to CourtCare for committing to run this event for 5 years and I hope to be back next year”.
   

Twitter: @CourtCareSquash

Wooden Racket Finalists

7/11, 11/9, 11/8, 6/11, 11/6

[7] Victoria Lust

 11/5, 11/8, 9/11, 11/6

[3] Emma Beddoes

11/9, 11/5, 8/11, 10/12, 12/10

[2] Sarah-Jane Perry

28-Feb, Qualifying Finals:

Salma Hany Ibrahim (Egy) bt Harriet Ingham (Eng)     11/6, 11/5, 11/5
Nouran Gohar (Egy) bt Kirsty West (Eng)                    11/2, 11/8, 11/3
Milnay Louw (Rsa) bt Chloe Mesic (Fra)                       11/4, 11/5, 11/6
Yathreb Adel (Egy) bt Hannah Davis (Wal)                   11/2, 11/4, 11/5


28-Feb, Qualifying 

Salma Hany Ibrahim (Egy)  bye
Harriet Ingham (Eng) bt Chloe Harrison (Eng)                  11/3, 11/2, 11/2

Kirsty West (Eng) bt Muqaddas Ashraf (Pak)                     11/3, 11/1, 11/7
Nouran Gohar (Egy) bt Jess Davis (Eng)                           11/1, 11/2, 11/0

Milnay Louw (Rsa) bt Jenny Wright (Eng)                        11/6, 12/10, 11/8
Chloe Mesic (Fra) bt Ineta Mackevica (Lat)                        11/7, 11/3, 11/6

Hannah Davis (Wal) bt Laura Mylotte (Irl)                          w/o
Yathreb Adel (Egy) bt Lauren Bayliss (Eng)                      11/1, 11/2, 11/5

After yesterday’s quarter finals the crowd down at David Lloyd were excited for today’s semi-finals. 1st up in front of a pack crowd was Salma Hany the giant killer of the event so far against Vicky Lust who is looking to get her ranking back up to what it was a year or so ago.

Hany made the better start racing out to a 6-1 then 7-4 lead. A long rally followed with Lust retrieved brilliantly but been caught out on a great hold and boast by Hany and she moved out to an 8-4 lead. A couple of let calls followed and the rallies became a little tense before Salma eventually got game ball on a stoke. She closed out the game at her 1st opportunity with a great cross court drop winning it 11-7.

The beginning of the second followed in a similar fashion to the 1st with Hany being positive and hitting great lengths. She went out to a 4-1 lead only for Lust to pull back to 3-4. The game at this point seemed to depend on Hany’s winners and errors. The rallies were fast paced and Hany again hit winners to pull away again to 7-4 to then hit 3 errors to allow Lust to level back to 7-7. Again things got tense. A lot of stoppages for lets and a few dirty looks being thrown by both women but at 8-8 Hany hit 3 more errors almost back to back and handed Lust the game 11-8.

The momentum now seemed to have shifted in Lust’s favour. She was picking up some of Hany’s best shots and getting onto the ball early when she got the chance. Lust went out in front this time taking a 4-1, then 5-3 lead. Then it was Hany’s turn to stage a mini comeback with some high paced competitive rallies both girls traded shots and winners. They shared the next few points until 7-7 before Hany again hit a couple of errors giving Lust a game ball. Lust served at gameball for Hany to go for a cross court nick and missing only for Lust to hit the sitter in the tin. Hany then served at 8-10 but it wasn’t to be as Lust closed out the game 11-8 on a great back hand cross court flick. 2-1 Lust!

The early 4th carried on with the same momentum as the 3rd with Lust pulling away to 3-0. She then seemed to step back slightly and let Hany back in and before she knew it Lust was down 6-3 after a handful of quick winners from Hany’s racket. Although Hany was starting to look a little jaded at times she dug in hard with the occasional fist pump to keep the adrenaline going and she pushed through and took the 4th game 11-6. This very exciting match now had what everyone wanted which was a deciding game!

It was Hany who now made the better start in the 5th. She was looking good and went out to a 4-1 lead before 2 errors in a row let Lust close the gap to 4-3. Hany then hit an outrageous 3 wall boast nick to stop the Lust run and she went 5-3 up.

Hany however was looking more and more tired and with Lust picking up all her shots she went for some quick winners which didn’t work and Lust made her move counter attacking with great effect and pulling out to a 10-6 lead.

Lust was really positive at this point and closed out the match quickly winning the 5th 11-6.

Vicky Lust beat Salma Hany 7/11, 11/8, 11/8, 6/11, 11/6

Afterwards  Lust said:

“I’m really happy to win that. I tried to keep my game simple and not over think things. These young Egyptians are really talented and I wanted to try and play with the game plan I set out with.

"I’m loving training in Canada at the moment. I have a good coach and it’s different to training in England because I have a lot of focus on my game which I think is what I needed.

"I will recover well now and hope the next semi is a long one!”

[she got her wish!]

The second semi final was the #2 seed Sarah-Jane Perry against the #3 seed Emma Beddoes.

The match started with Beddoes hitting her targets well and picking up a lot of balls. Perhaps frustrating Perry into a few errors. The 1st was tight and the big rally came at 9-9 where Perry again hit an unforced error giving Emma a game ball which she took on the first opportunity closing the game out 11-9.

The early stages of the 2nd were similar to the 1st with both girls sharing the points until Perry again hit 3 forehand boasts into the tin almost in a row. She was having some serious word with herself on court much to the crowds amusement. Although she tried to get herself back in the match with a couple of ‘come on’s’ it was too little too late and Beddoes closed out the game 11-5 taking a 2-0 lead.

Perry, who loves to share what she’s thinking with the crowd, walked through saying ‘ the ball isn’t doing what it should today’ and it was looking like Beddoes was in the driving seat.

However……. Perry dug in well in the 3rd. She got in front better and hit her targets with much more accuracy. She started to play with more of a purpose and cut out almost all the unforced errors. She looked focussed and more clear on what she wanted to do. Beddoes was still playing well and this was by far the best quality patch of the game.

Both women playing well and they were level for most of this game until 8-8. At which point a huge rally took place with Perry winning it on a great back hand counter drop to be followed by a Beddoes error and another back hand drop winner from Perry to close out the game 11-8. Perry was back in the match with Beddoes now looking a little tired.

The 4th again was so close the whole way through. Beddoes had a lead at 6-3 only to be pegged back to 6-6 with a few great attacking shots from Perry. From 6-6 the game was point for point until 9-9. Beddoes was looking a little fatigued at this point and ended up on her back a few times by the effort of Perry trying to get to the ball.

Then Perry had a backhand volley drop opportunity only to miss and hit the middle of the tin much to Beddoes relief and that handed her a match ball at 10-9. The next rally progressed only for Perry to hit an outrageous forehand cross court volley nick from nowhere. Followed by a huge scream and another error from Beddoes, Perry closed out the game 12-10 on a backhand boast.

So, another five-setter and this match was turning into a marathon.

Emma came on looking more lively. She was bouncing and looking up for it. She was moving better and that combined with a couple of Perry errors meant Beddoes moved out to a 4-1 lead.

It was never going to be straight forward though and Perry clawed her way back to 4-4 and went past Beddoes at 5-4. It was now Perry looking the stronger of the two women. It was close again and then at 6-6 again Beddoes was on the floor and landing awkwardly she took a three-minute injury break to attend to her knee.

Once back on court long rallies followed with neither player wanting make a mistake. At 8-7 to Perry a couple of lets followed and Beddoes was again on the floor. A quick wipe down and when they got going again Beddoes hit a great back hand drop winner taking her level at 8-8. Perry then hit the ball out and Beddoes was again on the floor but this time with cramp as opposed to a collision.

Another wipe of the floor and the women were back playing. However, the ball seemed to have dropped in temperature which suited Beddoes and she hit a couple of quick winners to go 10-8 match ball up.

Another long rally and Emma looked for a let only to go down again in the forehand front and after another floor wipe the ref decided on no let and Perry was back at 10-9 and another quick winner and it was 10-10.

It was a great comeback but then at 10-10 Perry hit the tin. She let out a huge scream and Beddoes closed out the match on her second match ball 12-10.

She gave a leap of joy and Beddoes was through to the Final!

Emma Beddoes bt SJ Perry 11/9, 11/5, 8/11, 10/12, 12/10

Afterwards Emma said:

“That was really hard for both of us. I’m pleased to be in the final and I need to do what I can to recover for tomorrow’s match.

"It’s tough playing SJ. She’s bigger than me and so I ended up on the floor a lot in that match but none of it was intentional and it’s just both of us trying our best to get to the ball.”

Twitter: @CourtCareSquash

Draw & Results

01-Mar, Quarter-Finals:
Top seed toppled in Chorley
Laura Massaro and Scarlett Smith report

A busy day at David Lloyd Chorley with two rounds of play in the the inaugural Courtcare Open, promoted by longtime member and world number Laura Massaro and her brother Chris Lengthorn, head coach at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.

Seven of the eight seeds progressed to the quarter-finals, the exception being teenage Egyptian qualifier Salma Hany, who followed up her win over sixth-seeded Swiss Gaby Huber with a stunning comeback win over top seed Sarah Kippax to reach the semi-finals.

Salma Hany bt Sarah Kippax 11/4, 11/8, 13/15, 11/9, 11/8

Sarah started the match brilliantly.

Moving well and hitting her areas. She was forcing Salma into making mistakes who was trying to force her opportunities too much. Sarah took a convincing 2-0 lead 11/4, 11/8.

The 3rd was the turning point of the match. Salma got up the court a bit more and hit a good length.

She seemed to take more margin for her short shots and it meant the 3rd game was very competitive. Tight all the way, Sarah had a match ball at 11-10 before Salma came back and took her game ball to win the game 15/13.

After this Salma was much more attacking and although Sarah looked calm she seemed to be more tentative going short. The rallies were hard fought but Salma took advantage of her short game working. She took a tough game 11/9.

The 5th again was even and hard work. Both girls lifting and moving well.

Salma pulled away mid way through the game taking a 10-6 lead and eventually closed out the match 11-8 with a big fist punch to finish.

Salma said “That’s the biggest win of my career. I’m so happy to be in the semi-final. The crowd were great and I will do my best to stretch and recover for tomorrow”

Vicky Lust bt Lisa Aitken  11/6, 11/7, 11/8

This match, which saw another seed fall, was a fairly one sided. Vicky kept her game plan simple and did the basics well.

She seemed calm the whole way through and kept her temper in check. Lisa seemed a bit more flustered and was making errors.

Vicky moved well and took her chances when she could. Although Lisa looked a little out of sorts, Vicky’s length was good quality and forced Lisa to play more defensively at times than she maybe would have liked.

Vicky said “I had a plan and tried to stick to it. It’s great to beat a seed and I’m pleased to be in the semi.

"Training is going well in Canada now where I’m based and I’m really enjoying working with my coach over there”.

Emma Beddoes bt Lauren Selby 11/5, 11/7, 11/0

Emma started the match looking sharp and moving well. She seemed to have a tactic of moving Lauren and picking up balls and trying to extend the rallies where she could.

The longer the rallies went on the more on top Emma was. She took the 1st game 11/5.

In the 2nd Lauren got in front more and took her opportunities showing her skills off to the crowd.

Unfortunately Emma was picking a lot of the balls up and Lauren fell short towards the end of the game losing it 11/7.

The 3rd was all Emma. It was one sided and fairly short with Emma grabbing the win 11-0.

Afterwards Emma said “I’m really pleased to be through to the semi and happy to be back playing after being out with injury. I’m enjoying my squash and excited for tomorrow.”

Sarah-Jane Perry bt Melody Francis 11/7, 14/12, 11/0

Both women started the match well and the 1st game was tight until 7-7.

A couple of hard rallies and Sarah-Jane held the ball well and sent Melody the wrong way and it was enough to pull away and take the game 11/7.

The 2nd was similar with SJ playing well and moving Melody around the court.

SJ played some amazing shots and pulled away again to 10-7. Melody then staged a mini comeback and hit a great kill and dying length to get back level to 10-10. A couple of hard rallies and an error by Melody and SJ closed it out 14/12.

The 3rd was completely one sided with SJ dominating and controlling the rallies. She powered into the semi-final with an 11-0 win. [the pair afterwards exchanged some friendly banter on Twitter about the last-game bagel ...]

SJ said “That was a good match. Really pleased I didn’t drop that 2nd game but Mel played well.

"Last time I played Emma was in PSL and I won a 70min marathon so hopefully I can do well tomorrow”.
 

Twitter: @CourtCareSquash

Draw & Results

Twitter: @CourtCareSquash

Draw & Results

Youngsters from Chorley’s primary and high schools were the first to take part in the county's first professional squash tournament, The Courtcare Open which takes place this week.

Children from St Peter’s school, St Joseph’s, Brinscall St John’s and Whittle-le Woods primary schools and Southlands High School, Albany Academy and St Michael’s Secondary School took part in a pre-event children’s tournament which completed their four weeks of coaching in partnership with the event.

The Courtcare Open, which starts on Thu 28th Feb, is being run by international squash star Laura Massaro and her brother, Manchester Head Coach Chris Lengthorn, at their home club, David Lloyd Chorley.

The event is a global affair and players near the world top 20 will be taking part including England’s Sarah Kippax, plus some of England’s up and coming juniors from the North West of England including Lancashire’s Chloe Harrison and Cheshire’s Jessica Davis.

Massaro, the current world number three, is excited about the tournament starting:

“The children have really enjoyed being coached and playing squash, some for the first time which is great to see and now we’re ready for the tournament to start!

“It’s been a lot of hard work to organise but I’ve really enjoyed it and there should be a lot of good matches over the next couple of days. It’s great to give something back to the club that has supported me throughout my career and to the local area.”

The photos show the top three teams with their prizes.

All juniors were exposed to a full roadshow with 4 weeks after school coaching which then lead into the competition at David Lloyd.

The pupils then all received free tickets to the Courtcare Open and David Lloyd Chorley will open their doors to the community after the event as an exit route to continue playing squash.

Twitter: @CourtCareSquash

"I had the idea of running my own event last year.

"I was in Cleveland, Ohio for the Cleveland Classic and realised what a great tournament Nathan Dugan put on for his club and members.

"All the players love that tournament for its club feel and all the extra little organisational things that Nathan thought about.

"I had wanted to give something back to the tour and I suppose I was inspired there to give it a go at my own club.

"My brother Chris, who is Head coach in Manchester, has got on board with me and over the past 8 months we have planned the event, found a brilliant Sponsor in CourtCare (amongst others) and are now ready to deliver our first professional tournament.

"We aim to keep it going over the next three years. We would like to grow the event as time goes on but we will see how our first effort goes!

"I really want the players to be looked after and treated as the hard working professionals they are. I also want our club members to be inspired by the players and come out and support them when they play.

"We have tied in a junior development programme which my brother has created with the experience from his Manchester job. With these local schools on board I hope that will give the tournament a lively feel too.

"It's been a lot of effort so far but I've really enjoyed it. I've been pestering all the tournament organisers this year getting advice and tips but it's only once we get started they have said I will learn what it's really like!"

“Entries are open for the event now and WSA have such a strong tour at the moment I am sure we will get some great players coming to play.

"Entry closes on the 22nd January so I’ll look forward to the draw being done and welcoming the girls to David Lloyd, Chorley when the event starts. "
 

Main & Qualifying Draw