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Florida State Open 2013
03-08 Dec, Boca Raton, Usa, $10k |
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9th-December-2013
Avila wins Florida Open
Avila wins his second Florida Open and
denying Zaman to win his second title on the Life Time Squash Tour
this year. Zaman beat him last week in Edmonton, but Avila got the
better of him this week with a 3-0 win in 40 min.
Zaman was leading 8-1 in the first and Avila rattled the next 10
points to win 11-9. Second game was 11-7 and third 11-5.
Quarters in Boca Raton
Top seed Alfredo Avila, from Mexico, favors the courts, he is keen
to extend the rallies and it was evident in this hour long battle
with Abdulla Al Tamimi. The young Qatari had a collision that may
have impacted his ability to sustain the fight in the 4th game, but
will be happy with his performance at this event.
Billed as a must-see event by that locals watching, Hisham Ashour
did not disappoint. His repertoire of shots was on full display. The
younger Canadian Graeme Schnell when asked, commented that “I may
have respected him too much, it was such a pleasure to play him.
I’ve grown up watching him and it was an incredible experience to
play Hisham as he’s such a legend in the game, I’m happy with my
performance here and I’ll always remember my match against Hisham”.
Englishman Reuben Phillips looked to be in control even though
Frenchman Johan Bouquet leveled the match at 1-1. The second game
was a winnable one for Phillips, but after losing it he seemed to
have lost his way a little bit and two broken rackets did not help
when he was trying to bring back his concentration.
The young Pakistani Farhan Zaman was in very good form. Losing the
first game of the match seemed to renew his focus and he was not
going to be denied. He and Eric Galvez clearly had a good feel for
each other’s game but the short game that Zaman was able to command
was in the end too much for the player from Mexico. Zaman hit a
number of crucial nicks to really take the fire out of the
ever-gallant Galvez.
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Peter Cheshire (Tournament Director) Fahram Zaman, Joe Griffin,
Alfredo Avila and Andre Maur (Tour Director) |
  Florida
State Open 2013
03-08 Dec, Boca Raton, Usa, $10k |
Round One
05 Dec |
Quarters
06 Dec |
Semis
07 Dec |
Final
08 Dec |
[1] Alfredo Avila (Mex)
13-11, 11-6, 13-11 (90m)
[Q] Syed Hamza Bukhari (Pak) |
[1] Alfredo Avila
12/10, 12/10, 11/13, 11/2
Abdulla Al Tamimi |
[1] Alfredo Avila
12/10, 5/11, 11/9, 11/8
[4] Hisham Ashour |
[1] Alfredo Avila
11/9, 11/7, 11/5
[2] Farhan Zaman |
Arturo Salazar (Mex)
4-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-2, 11-7
Abdulla Al Tamimi (Qat) |
Joe Chapman (Bvi)
11-7, 6-11, 11-5, 11-4
[Q] Graeme Schnell (Can) |
[Q] Graeme Schnell
11/5, 13/11, 11/4
[4] Hisham Ashour |
[Q] Ahmad Alzabidi (Jor)
11-7, 12-14, 11-7, 11-7
[4] Hisham Ashour (Egy) |
[3] Yasir Butt (Pak)
9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6
Reuben Phillips (Eng) |
Reuben Phillips
6/11, 11/9, 11/3, 11/5
Johan Bouquet |
Johan Bouquet
13/11 8/11 14/12 11/5
[2] Farhan Zaman |
Johan Bouquet (Fra)
11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-4
[Q] Adrian Leanza (Usa) |
Eric Galvez (Mex)
12-14, 11-7, 11-8, 11-5
Chris Ryder (Eng) |
Eric Galvez
8/11, 11/8, 11/5, 11/6
[2] Farhan Zaman |
Peter Creed (Wal)
11-9, 11-6, 11-5
[2] Farhan Zaman (Pak) |
04-Dec, Qualifying Finals:
Syed Hamza Bukhari (Pak) 3-0 Sean Conroy (Irl)
11/7, 11/5, 11/8
Ahmad Alzabidi (Jor) 3-0 Todd Harrity (Usa)
11/9, 11/7, 11/8
Adrian Leanza (Usa) 3-2 Cameron Stafford (Cay)
11/7, 16/14, 6/11, 8/11, 11/5
Graeme Schnell (Can) 3-1 Eric Tepos (Mex)
12/10, 7/11, 11/8, 11/7
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Under way in Boca Raton
Sean conroy won in a walk over
Ahmed Al Zibidi bt Charlie Johnson 11/9, 11/7, 11/8 (41m)
This was a very physical contest with a lot of jockeying for the T
position. Charlie Johnson had two full-out dives to stay alive in
crucial rallies but ultimately was caught out by a few loose shots
he probably would like to have another shot at. Anything that was
not on the rails saw Ahmed use his power and size to command the
middle of the court and take control of the match.
Cameron Stafford bt Le Roy Leong 11/6, 11/2, 11/8 (32m)
The big hitting Cayman Islander player seemed to have a very relaxed
demeanor on the court until he decided to hit one with a pace that
was quite severe and clinical . The courts in South Florida do tend
to play quite warm and probably suits players like Stafford that are
accustomed to playing in the tropics. Leong provided some
serious resistance but was caught out by two backhand drops from
Stafford that were magical.
One where Stafford was seemingly tied up in knots as the ball
approached him on the T but he was somehow able to fend off the shot
with a backhand cut that was almost cavalier and meanwhile the ball
went straight into the left-hand, front court nick for an a outright
winner. It looked a little unorthodox as it happened but it was
inch-perfect in its application.
Graeme Schnell bt Micah Franklin 11/7, 11/8, 11/9 (46m)
This was a classically played squash match by any measure. These two
players battled with some beautiful flowing squash for the better
part of 38 minutes. Micah looked to seize the 2nd game when he held
an 8-4 lead but the Bermudian had three untimely tin errors that
ultimately changed the pendulum in the favor of the recent Univ. of
Calgary graduate.
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