"When Jonathan Power meets old friend and player from the tour, tournament MC Martin Heath, withTitle Sponsor Jeremy Main from ReidBuilt Homes (Jonathan's best friend!)"

LIVE STREAMING

 13/11, 11/6, 11/9 (39m)

[4] Cesar Salazar

10/12, 11/6 11/8, 11/9 (87m)

[6] Mohamed Abouelghar

 11/6, 11/7, 14/12 (30m)

[6] Mohamed Abouelghar

Qualifying Finals:

Chris Gordon (Usa) 3-2 Shajahan Khan (Pak)  7/11, 11/8, 11/5, 7/11, 11/6 (78m)
Andrew Schnell (Can) 3-0 Mike McCue (Can)                    11/9, 11/6, 11/5 (37m)
Arturo Salazar (Mex) 3-0 Chris Hanson (Usa)                    11/5, 11/7, 11/4 (46m)
Jaymie Haycocks (Eng) 3-0 Matthew Serediak (Can)          11/3, 11/4, 11/4 (25m)

Qualifying Round One:

Chris Gordon (Usa) 3-0 Pete Goodings (Eng)              11/8, 11/9, 11/4 (21m)
Shajahan Khan (Pak) 3-0 Thomas King (Can)            11/4, 12/10, 11/5 (31m)
Andrew Schnell (Can) 3-0 Adrian De Vries (Can)         11/1, 11/1, 11/1 (17m)
Mike McCue (Can) 3-0 Elliot Selby (Eng)                     11/3, 11/5, 11/5 (32m)
Arturo Salazar (Mex) 3-1 Joe Green (Eng)        11/5, 11/8, 10/12, 11/7 (53m)
Chris Hanson (Usa) 3-0 Ashley Davies (Eng)              11/8, 11/7, 11/8 (35m)
Matthew Serediak (Can) 3-0 Brock Janzer (Can)         11/6, 11/6, 11/7 (31m)
Jaymie Haycocks (Eng) 3-0 Tyler Lee (Can)               11/6, 11/6, 11/0 (19m)

Quarter-Finals in Edmonton
Report by Tournament MC Martin Heath

Karim Abdel Gawad 3-1 Laurens Jans Anjema

Both players were in a hurry at the beginning of the match, playing at furious pace, though it was Gawad that managed to control the ball into the corners, moving the big Dutchman around and finishing off the rallies with incredible touch dropshots. Gawad used the forehand boast to great effect, dragging Anjema forward into what would normally be his danger zone, the front forehand, though it was played with such deception and precision that Anjema was only able to pop the ball up for Gawad to stick the ball away and move to a 2-0 lead with two 11-6 games.

There is a reason Anjema has been a top 10 player, and he fought well in the 3rd, moving forward in the court and using his wrist in the front forehand to whip the ball into the two back corners, catching Gawad too far forward on a number of occasions. But it was ultimately delaying the inevitable, as Gawad was always a step ahead, holding the ball and placing the ball accurately pretty much wherever he wanted. Anjema put up a solid fight, though was left lamenting that maybe he coulda shoulda lifted the ball, playing for position, though it was Gawad that moved through to the semis relatively unscathed.

Cesar Salazar  3-0 Alfredo Avila  

It was always going to be a physical battle between Cesar & Alfredo, albeit with different physical styles. Salazar controls the middle with strength and purpose, moving the ball around like he is directing traffic, and Avila likes to play a little scrappy, though can hang in the rallies and pounce on the counter attack with great effect. Though the ball comes quick off the frontwall, the courts at the Glenora Club in downtown Edmonton are pretty dead up front, which means that it's pretty difficult to rely on a counter attacking strategy. Salazar took advantage of this, controlling the middle and playing into the space with intent. Avila picked off some great shots and fought hard to win some scrappy rallies, though Salazar wrapped up a fairly routine victory where he always looked in control.

Nicolas Muller  3-2 Diego Elias

It was always going to be tight, though despite the seedings, the smart money was on the World Junior Champion to upend the smooth Swiss. Both players have similar styles, though Elias looks more stable on the ball, has more variety, moves to and from the ball smoother & quicker, and has the air of inevitable success. However, Muller has what Elias currently lacks: the ability to put the ball away and win the points when it matters. Elias looked the better player and ran out to a 1-0 lead, both players looking as though they were carrying small but significant injuries.

Muller took a 6-2 lead in the 2nd, though Elias fought back using his holds, moving the ball into the front court and then anticipating the crosscourt, volleying straight and low. Jansher Khan would have been proud. This type of play combined with good variety deep in the court and touch counter drops pulled the young Peruvian back to take a close fought game and go 2-0 up.

Elias took a 3-0 lead in the 3rd and things looked ominous for Muller, though he willed himself to fight to get forward, take more on the volley, hit a little harder deep and finish the ball off with precise volley kills & drops. Muller fought back to take a 6-4 lead and both players traded points until Muller took a few points lead and finished off the game 11-7.

Despite looking visibly shaken at losing the 3rd, Elias looked unstoppable and took a 7-3 lead in the 4th, though Muller hung in the game long enough to take it to the end game, which is where he excels. Fighting for every shot, hitting precise volley drops and crosscourt nicks as well as volleying Elias's crosscourts deep, Muller snatched an improbable 4th game from the jaws of defeat and gave the crowd something to shout about. Anything could happen now.

Both players traded points as is normal in a 5th game, though Elias persisted in moving Muller around, and while Muller looked fatigued, he was still picking up the balls and somehow picking off ridiculous winners and retrieving the ball tight to the wall. Elias was playing well, though was getting frustrated and made a couple of elementary errors at crucial times. Muller was running on fumes, though took his chances and snatched victory from the young Peruvian, the crowd delighted at the quality of the match and in Muller's fighting spirit.

Mohamed Abouelgar  3-2 Chris Simpson

This match was a fantastic contrast in styles between the athletically gifted, disciplined, risk-free Simpson and the power, speed, accuracy and high risk Abouelgar. When I say high risk, I mean high dive from a cliff in Acapulco into a paddling pool risky. Abouelgar has the shots and isn't afraid to play them from anywhere at any time. Great to watch, though inconsistent. The game started with Abouelgar reading the game incredibly easily, anticipating, and hitting both front corners with incredible ease. Simpson was fighting hard, though was outclassed in pace, accuracy, anticipation and finish.

While Abouelgar can play break-neck speed, when he slows down to 70%, he's as good as anyone in the world, though he can't control the kid inside him that wants to hit winners from everywhere, and this is how Simpson capitalized. His strategy was to be ok with being out of control and just keep fighting for every ball. At 2-0 and 10-8 to Abouelgar, Simpson was running, fighting and scrapping, and it paid off by Abouelgar hitting a couple of tins. Simpson picked off a couple of good winners and all of a sudden it was 2-1.

The 4th had the same pattern. Abouelgar dominating, 8-3 up, and Simpson kept on puttingthe young Egyptian deep in the court and tight to the wall, trying to muscle in front. And it worked. Again. Simpson pulled back to 8-8, then 10-9, and finally won the game 12-10. Another huge 5 game battle. Abouelgar still looked fresh, and he wasn't going to let this get away from him. He dominated almost every rally of the 5th game, and while Simpson fought as hard as he could, ultimately the timing, vision and accuracy of Abouelgar won out, taking the 5th 11-6.

It was a great display of different talents and sportsmanship, much appreciated by the crowd in Edmonton still hanging on to their seats near 11pm.
 

First round completed in Edmonton
Pete Goodings reports

Some fireworks were let off tonight in the first round with some incredible athleticism and unbelievable skill. A couple of fairly straight forward matches here tonight but there were lots of attritional rallies littered throughout the many matches this evening!

Karim Abdel Gawad 3-0 Arturo Salazar

Right from the first point it was clear that Arturo wasn't sitting back to let Karim dictate this match with some tremendous width on the cross courts and some really accurate short balls. The first game was laced with several deceptive holds and flicks from Karim whilst Arturo seemed happy to absorb these normally unreadable shots by waiting just that split second longer to see where the ball was actually going rather than respond to where the body language was telling him the ball should be going.

This was the theme for the entire 2 games and Arturo held his own really well, moving freely and just not quite getting the luck of the bounce at the tail end of each game. In the third Arturo had clearly sustained a thumb injury in the previous game and Karim stepped up the pace and found another gear whilst Arturo's bruised thumb took him out of contention. Still a great entertaining game to watch but Karim will be happy to come through that test in 3.

Laurens Jan Anjema  3-0 Alistair Walker

Laurens and Alistair played a very physical first game and it was LJ that came out on top. Alistair really tested LJ's movement and fitness tonight moving him from corner to corner for most of the 1st game and the verdict: LJ is in great shape!!

After a fairly lengthy 1st (LJ taking it on a tie-break), Alistair seemed a little lack lustre for the remainder of the match - appearing like there was something else on his mind. Never-the-less LJ forged ahead and closed out the game pretty quickly, finishing the 2nd and 3rd games faster than the whole of the first game. Another player happy to get through in 3.

Cesar Salazar  3-0 Shahir Razik

Shahir started a little slowly but at 8-4 down shone brightly for the rest of the first game, finding superb line and length and Cesar had no answers. Finding himself 1 down Cesar then began to change the tempo and excerpted some pace and took a higher 'T' position for the rest of the match - and this proved to be a great tactic as Shahir, who was trying really hard to draw Cesar into a slower game wasn't having any of it.

Eventually Shahir's movement looked like it became slightly laboured compared to the first and it was only a matter of time before Cesar would close the match out. A few glimmers of magic from Shahir but not enough to put Cesar off his single minded mission of getting into the quarter finals - The 4th was a token gesture and from 10-2 up Cesar had all but booked his ticket into the quarters, but still a nice match ton watch played in good spirits.

Alfredo Avila (MEX) 3-1 Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) 

After the first game Alfredo looked like he had the upper hand after some intense rallies and some unbelievable retrieving from both players, Alfredo taking it after a couple of unforced errors from Jaymie.

In the 2nd game it was all change as Jaymie became more severe with his attacking and was using great height and variety in his rally building, Alfredo never really knowing where to position himself as Jaymie's accuracy was spot on, especially at the front with some beautiful inch perfect drops. Jaymie couldn't reproduce this consistency in the 3rd and got increasingly frustrated with Alfredo's athleticism - his retrieval was like something out of a comic book - again a few critical errors at the wrong time was the only difference.

In the fifth it was all business from both players there was nothing between them and at - neither one appeared to be tiring after some brutal rallies and at 12-12 a blood injury (Jaymie ran into Alfredo's shoulder) caused around a 6 minute delay before the restart. Alfredo obviously took the break better than Jaymie and closed out the next 2 rallies quickly and took the match. Match of the night and well appreciated by the crowd!

Nicolas Mueller  3-1 Campbell Grayson

Bit of a gruelling match this one - both players taking a long time to find their stride in the first game. Nic taking first blood in a tough, tight tie-break.

In the 2nd Nic started looping the ball and flicking lots from the front and Campbell, whilst getting many of them back was doing more of the hard work and found himself hitting off balance a great deal. This gave Nic some easier balls to deal with and eventually led to taking another tie-break win.

In the third Campbell looked a different player and got more depth on the ball, moving with purpose and striking early, but even though he took the 3rd he started to look a little heavier than in the first 2 games and Nic took the 4th and the match by pushing Campbell all over the court - and with Nic's great hands, give him any kind of time on the ball and it's game over - and so it proved. Great battle and a really clean game.

Diego Elias (PER) 3-0 Andrew Schnell (CAN)

Andrew played Diego in qualifying last year and the result was a quick win for Diego. Even though the scoreline was the same this evening the match was a very different affair.

Both players have made big improvements in the past 12 months and the quality of the rallies were testament to this. Whilst Diego was controlling a majority of the points Andrew's retrieving and own shot-making made for a very enjoyable match to watch. The graceful elegance that Diego displays when moving (almost floating) to the ball is only matched by the intensity that Andrew displays when establishing dominance on the 'T' but the great physical conditioning that Andrew obviously has does have its limits and Diego kept Andrew on the edge of these limits for a majority of the rallies.

Only a few times did Diego have to be at full stretch and he managed to maintain control for most of this match. A great fun game to watch played in a tremendous spirit but ultimately there was only going to be one winner tonight - Diego in 3.

Chris Simpson  3-0 Karim Ali Fathi

If you ever want to see a game of chess on a squash court this was it. Right from the word go Chris absorbed everything that Karim threw at him.

Whilst Karim hit some unbelievable winners it was often followed up with 1 or 2 unforced errors and Chris seemed to absorb Karim's pace like a sponge, throwing in lots of lifted balls and often creating lots of space for himself when Karim's winners didn't go in. Chris waited for the openings and took decisive action when it came - but it was how long he was prepared to wait which impressed - never seeming to be stressed or troubled with anything that Karim threw at him.

A real master class of mature, consistent squash from Chris tonight and he didn't expend too much energy in doing so.

Mohammed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-2  Chris Gordon (USA)

The young Egyptian was tipped to take this one in 3 but Chris had other idea's. Chris was certainly moving slower this evening than last night and this was significant in how the Muhammed played the match.

There weren't many long rallies and at 44 mins for a 5-set PSA match it was certainly an unusual one. Chris taking the first but Muhammed was taking the ball so early and volleying so much it was hard for either of them to get any kind of rhythm at all. All games went 10 mins or less and all because Muhammed was attacking literally every ball that was above the service line! Chris won a majority of his points due to Muhammed's errors and tonight his winner rate was higher than his error rate.

In the 5th it was all one way traffic as Chris simply had no response to the number of winners and the continuous pace.

Tomorrow promises to be electric and we are all looking forward to another awesome evening.
 

Qualifying complete way in Edmonton
Pete Goodings reports

Jaymie Haycocks 3-0 Matthew Serediak

Right from the outset, it appeared that Matt's movement was laboured and he seemed to be favouring his left side. Jaymie quite quickly capitalized on the obvious issues that Matt was having and never looked to be in any trouble.

Matt simply couldn't mount any kind of challenge to Jaymie's solid striking, fluid movement and continual pressure and at this level there's nowhere to hide. Rather than finish it quickly Jaymie used the time well to get familiar with the court and found his line and length in readiness for tomorrow's Main Draw game.

Matt was clearly disappointed at not being able to compete but can hopefully get back to rebuilding his season.

Arturo Salazar 3-0 Chris Hanson

This match started at breakneck speed and many of the early exchanges were fast, aggressive and littered with shot play, mainly from the in-form Arturo.

The Mexican was taking the ball in incredibly well from the back of the court - millimeter perfect back hand drop shots from the back court often left Chris wondering what he had to do to break Arturo's attack down. Countered with aggressive forehand kills, again from the back of the court, Arturo seemed to be using a simple format for the whole match - wait for the right balance point to execute his winning position.

Tonight there was little that Chris could do to contain the build of pressure. Some longer rallies penetrated the into the latter stages of the 2nd game and Chris seemed to be building a tighter length game in the 3rd but it was too late as Arturo could smell the finish line and closed the game out in 3 with some very mature & patient, creative play.

Andrew Schnell 3-0 Mike McCue

Andrew's rich vein of success continued this evening with a textbook display of continued pressure. Mike battled extremely well in the first and held his own but a in a nip & tuck 2nd it was Andrew who showed more consistency gaining 2 points back each time Mike got 1.

From midway through the 2nd Andrew's line and length just got better and Mike couldn't respond. Andrew turned the screw in the 3rd game racing to a 6-0 lead and Mike couldn't bounce the pressure back, continually finding himself chasing more and more rather than being able to dictate any of his own rallies.

Andrew will be happy to get through in 3 having saved some energy for the Main Draw tomorrow.

Chris Gordon 3-2 Shahjahan Khan

By far the most compelling and competitive match of the evening with both players looking like they'd taken the upper hand after each game they'd won. No-one was predicting a winner here at any point during the entire match - it really could have gone either way.

The see-saw battle was purely down to who controlled the 'T' better - whoever did that in each game came out on top. It was Chris who proved to take the decisive stand in the fifth game and used a variety of lift and fast paced balls to best effect whilst making the most of his longer legs in taking his space on the 'T', Shah just having to do too much work whilst off balance towards the end of the match.

Some crucial decisions in the latter stages also unsettled the young Pakistan player and at 3-5 down Chris took the next 4 points and with that his hopes of reaching the Main Draw faded for the 2nd year in a row - Chris closing it out quickly at the end of the 5th. A great match to finish the night, fully appreciated by the large crowd.

Here's looking forward to some mouth-watering games in the Main Draw tomorrow!!
 

Qualifying under way in Edmonton
Pete Goodings reports

Despite the bad weather setting in it was a great turn out for the first day of the ReidBuilt Homes Edmonton Open Qualifying Draw. Some fairly straight forward matches but also one or two really close encounters that the appreciative crowd thoroughly enjoyed.

Chris Gordon (USA) 3-0 Pete Goodings (Eng)
This was a great match to start off the evening. The Head Squash Pro at the Royal Glenora took it to Chris from the first rally and some fast and furious rallies ensued. It went toe-to-toe for the first two games and it was nip and tuck throughout. Chris edged both games and was however merely was biding his time as it was inevitable that Pete would slow down. Not many long rallies here and in the 3rd the fun was over and Chris controlled the remaining few points at a canter, moving comfortably into the Qualifying Finals.

Shajahan Khan (Pak) 3-0 Thomas King (Can)
From the outset, Shah started fast and took the ball early with some great shot selection and Thomas struggled to find his rhythm in the first. In the second game Thomas seemed to quickly adapt to Shah's fast pace and responded with some good shot-making of his own forcing the tie-break but he couldn't quite convert it. In the third it was then pretty much one way traffic for Shah, but the young Canadian Junior equitted himself well and should be proud of his performance.

Andrew Schnell (Can) 3-0 Adrian De Vries (Can)
In a repeat of last year's first round match up it was unfortunate for Adrian as he found it impossible to really get going tonight. The relentless consistency from Andrew just completely contained him and the moment the ball popped out Andrew crushed the ball to such a great length or so tight and short that it very often didn't come out of the corner. Adrian is a great, fluid mover with superb touch, but he met a brick wall of such consistency this evening that he didn't really have a chance to shine. Here's hoping Andrew brings this game tomorrow as he looks sharp, focused and clinical.

Mike McCue (Can) 3-0 Elliot Selby (Eng)
Mike started the match only dropping 1 point of the first 11. This vein of form continued through until 4-0 up in the 2nd at which point Elliot finally found his line and length and used some great dying, fading balls to the back to get back to 5-5. Mike pushed on again at this point, never seeming to want to be behind and went straight through to take the game. In the third it was more of the same and Elliot, whilst digging in and hanging tough during some long, hard rallies, couldn't quite recover the accuracy from midway through the second game that he so desperately needed.

Arturo Salazar (Mex) 3-1 Joe Green (Eng)
Arturo and Joe had a great battle tonight with some long, drawn out rallies. Both players trying hard to work each other out of position. The deciding factor seemed to be the finishing when establishing good position and Arturo just seemed a little better at this tonight. Joe pushed and worked for some good openings and they were coming, but Arturo just seemed to get more of them and made the most of the opportunities more often. Great spirited performances by both players and a good clean match.

Chris Hanson (USA) 3-0 Ashley Davies (Eng)
Another hard match this with some long similarly long games to Arturo and Joe although this one went to 3. Chris took the early initiative and it proved decisive as he was only ever behind once (at the start of the third) in the entire match. There were some very fast paced rallies and the ball was being taken very wide on the cross courts by both players which meant volleying was sparse. Ashley's frustration with a few decisions from midway through the 1st game was clear for all to see as he simply wasn't able to break Chris down and this proved the be the case for the entire match. Chris stayed calm, solid and decisive throughout, whilst Ashley's control and decision making wasn't enough today in comparison. I'm sure these guys will have a few good battles in the future.

Jaymie Haycocks (Eng) 3-0 Tyler Lee (Can)
The start of the match looked like it might be a good, close encounter as both Jaymie and Tyler had some strong, committed rallies. Jaymie was taking the ball in short really well (almost at will), but Tyler was keeping his head and working hard to keep with him. In the 1st & 2nd game there were some reasonably balanced rallies, both players working each other out. However in the third the work that Tyler had put it clearly showed and the match fell away from him very fast and gave little resistance with Jaymie winning comfortably without dropping a point.

Matthew Serediak (Can) 3-0 Brock Janzer (Can)
Matt started the better of the two this evening but he didn't have it all his own way. Brock competed well and only a few unforced errors were the difference in the first. The second seemed to drift away from Brock and Matt looked like he was taking control and squeezing Brock out of the rallies. In the third however it seemed like Brock was starting to move Matt around and work him, but sadly it was too late - the work in Brock's legs was starting to tell and event though he managed to sneak a 7-6 lead he was all but done from there as Brock slowed and almost waived the white flag. Not a bad effort from the young junior from Medicine Hat and one to watch for the future.