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GoodLife Open 2011
13-16 Oct, Ottawa, Canada, $10k |
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16-Oct, Final:
GOOD DAY FOL ALEXANDER IN OTTAWA
Heather Wallace reports
[2] Zac Alexander
(Aus) bt [1] Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
11-6, 3-11, 9-11,11-8,
11-6 (68m)
 Everyone
was treated to a great final at the 2011 GoodLife Open in Ottawa
where No. 2 seed Zac Alexander beat No. 1 seed Mark Krajcsak in five
games.
In the first game, Alexander came out firing, hitting some great
winning volleys to take the lead, 7-2. Krajcsak got into the match,
with better length, containing Alexander to get back to 6-8, but
Alexander countered with some great length of his own & ran out 11-6
in the first game.
Alexander was definitely on song today with his volleying, again
forcing Krajcsak to do all the scrambling, but Krajcsak weathered
the volley onslaught & worked his way back into the match. He picked
up the pace of his shots forcing some easy errors from Alexander &
he took the second game 11-4.
The third game saw a more even affair, but midway through the game,
Krajcsak hit a number of tight drops to both front corners to take
the lead which he did not relinquish, winning 11-9.
Krajcsak at the start of the fourth was more creative at the front
of the court taking a 4-2 lead, however, Alexander in retrieving
these short shots hit a lot of "inside crosscourts" straight at the
body of Krajcsak which he could not deal with. This got Alexander
out of trouble & got him back in the game, winning it 11-8.
At the start of the fifth game, bets were flying around the crowd on
who was going to take the fifth with no clear favourite. It was a
tight game with long rallies, with Krajcsak at the beginning of the
game being more creative to take an early lead, but Alexander
answered with some deception of his own, to take the lead 7-4 which
caused Krajcsak to tighten up & make some quick errors. Alexander
capitalized on these errors taking the fifth game & the match 11-6.
This match definitely had its humour, when Alexander asked for a let
in the fifth, looking for the stroke was only given a let, to which
he replied" next time its a stroke". The referee duly complied
awarding a stroke on the next call, but to Krajcsak, much to the
amusement of the crowd. Alexander obviously enjoyed his stay in
Ottawa stating " I will definitely be back next year" He also paid
thanks to his coach, Rodney Martin, in the US whom he has been
working with for the past few months, " My win is a result of all
the work Rodney did with me & I thank him for that." |
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 GoodLife
Open 2011
13-16 Oct, Ottawa, Canada, $10k |
Round One
13 Oct |
Quarters
14 Oct |
Semis
15 Oct |
Final
16 Oct |
[1] Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
11-5,11-6,11-8 (34m)
Adrian Dudzicki (Can) |
[1] Mark Krajcsak
11-5,11-5,13-11 (39m)
Scott Arnold |
[1] Mark Krajcsak
11-7,11-5, 10-12, 12-10 (57m)
Peter Creed |
[1] Mark Krajcsak
11-6, 3-11, 9-11,11-8, 11-6 (68m)
[2] Zac Alexander |
Chris Truswell (Eng)
11-4,6-11,11-5,11-7 (39m)
Scott Arnold (Aus) |
Peter Creed (Wal)
11-7,12-10,11-8 (38m)
Thomas Brinkman (Can) |
Peter Creed
11-9,14-12,11-8 (59m)
[4] Joel Hinds |
Fred Reid (Can)
11-6,11-3,11-9 (23m)
[4] Joel Hinds (Eng) |
[3] Andrew Wagih (Egy)
11-5,11-6,11-7 (24m)
Matthew Serediak (Can) |
[3] Andrew Wagih
11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 11-5 (49m)
Dane Sharp |
[3] Andrew Wagih
5-11, 13-11, 13-11,11-8 (83m)
[2] Zac Alexander |
Lewis Walters (Eng)
6-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-5 (59m)
Dane Sharp (Can) |
Robin Clarke (Can)
11-7, 11-2, 13-11 (27m)
Tyler Hamilton (Can) |
Robin Clarke
11-4,11-9, 11-5 (21m)
[2] Zac Alexander |
David Letourneau (Can)
11-8, 7-11, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10 (60m)
[2] Zac Alexander (Aus) |
15-Oct, Semis:
TOP SEEDS TO MEET IN GOODLIFE FINAL
Heather Wallace reports
Tonight Mark Krajcsak may have had a tougher battle than
expected against unseeded Welshman Peter Creed. Both players
in the first game were rather inconsistent, sometimes hiting a great
winner & at times making the simplest of errors. Krajcsak's winner
to error ratio was a little higher, winning the first 11-7. In the
second game Creed seemed to have lost his focus at the start with
Krajcsak jumping out to 4-0 lead, Creed was guessing with little
success.
Creed regained his focus, got back into the rallies to tie the game
5-5, before Krajcsak reeled off some dead nick winners to take the
second 11-5. In the third it looked as if Creed decided he had
nothing to lose & both players put on a great display of attacking
squash , great athleticism in incredible retrieving shots. These two
traded points all the way through the second game. This was a great
display of winners & was squash very easy on the eye, very much
enjoyed by the crowd. Creed won the third 12-10.
In the fourth game, both players started the way they had left off
in the third game, both attacking & stretching each other all over
the court. Creed however looked to be working harder now, but he
hung in & again pushed the game to 10-10, Krajcsak however got the
fourth & the match 12-10.
The second semi final saw No. 2 seed Zac Alexander beat
Andrew Wagih 3-1 in a much anticipated match which did not live
up to expectation. This was a match which was marred by numerous
disputed officiating calls & resulted in rough disjointed match.
Wagih won the first game 11-5, before Alexander did a much better
job of hitting tight balls & becoming a lot more patient.
Alexander also did a much better job of handling the referee's
calls. At the end of the day both players had to deal with the same
referee & Alexander came out on top 3-1.
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14-Oct, Quarters:
CREED SCORES ONLY UPSET AS CANADIANS BOW
OUT IN GOODLIFE QUARTERS
Heather Wallace reports
Peter Creed upset the No. 4 seed, Joel Hinds 3-1
in Ottawa tonight at the GoodLife Open. This match was a close
affair with long rallies. Hinds was steady & Creed was the more
aggressive attacking the ball which won him points but also cost him
through clipping the tin. Each game was tight all the way through &
had contentious officiating calls in the late stages making each
player rather nervy. That is the life of squash, much like soccer,
dependent upon the human element of officiating! The calls went
against Creed in the first game, yet he prevailed to win it 11-9. In
the second game again when the score was tied 9-9, Hinds benefited
from a stroke call to get game ball, but again Creed dug in to take
the game 14-12. The third was more of the same however Creed looked
as if he wanted the match more & took the third 11-8.
No. 1 seed Mark Krajcsak beat Scott Arnold 3-0. In the
first two games Krajcsak was hitting great length putting Arnold
under pressure early in the rallies. He was very quick on to the
ball moving Arnold all over the court. He had an answer to all of
Arnold’s shots & counter attacked with a good mix of shots. He took
the games comfortably 11-5,11-5. In the third Arnold started well
hitting some tight drops which scored him points, Krajcsak also
helped Arnold’s cause by making some errors which had not happened
in the first two games. This game was tight all the way through with
the score tying 10-10, but a costly error by Arnold gave Krajcsak
match ball which he finished off to take the third 13-11 & the
match.
No. 2 seed Zac Alexander beat Robin Clarke 3-0 in a
straight forward win. Alexander did not want to make the same
mistake as the night before & get into a five set match. He was a
lot more concentrated & businesslike tonight. He was much quicker on
to the ball tonight taking it early wrong footing Clarke on numerous
occasions with some wicked working boasts. Alexander’s volleying was
also much sharper tonight stretching Clarke all over the court. This
forced Clarke into going for his shots off balance which resulted in
too many errors. Alexander never really looked in trouble throughout
his 3-0 win.
No. 3 seed Andrew Wagih gave the large crowd a great display of
attacking squash in his 3-1 victory over Dane Sharp. In the
first two games Wagih with his attacking mindset was so fast in his
movement taking the ball really early with great deception, that
Sharp was working at an extremely high rate to try to stay in the
rallies, but with little success. Wagih ’s ability to shape for each
shot in the same way had Sharp going the wrong way & having to
change direction numerous times. took the first two games easily,
11-5,11-4. To Sharp’s credit he came back in the third game by
hitting tighter balls & slowing down a bit. also made some
uncharacteristic errors to enable Sharp to take the third 11-9. In
the fourth game however, it was a different story. annoyed at losing
the third stepped the tempo up quite considerably, again taking the
ball so early, hitting some great shots at the front of the court.
finished in style with some deft deceptive shots which he took in
the air on the volley, giving Sharp no chance, winning it 11-5.
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Twitter @Panosaurexrex:
into the Semi-final with a 3-0 win over Joel Heinz.. World 73#
(7days... 66m). Next up Mark Krackersnack from Hungry (no.1 seed Wr
51#) |
13-Oct, Round One:
ALEXANDER STRUGGLES AS CANADIANS SHARP &
CLARKE MAKE THE QUARTERS
Heather Wallace reports
Undoubtedly the match of the evening was No. 2 seed, Zac
Alexander (Australia) just squeaking through to the Quarters
with a 5 set win over David Letourneau (Canada) who was a last
minute replacement in the draw after Andrew Schnell withdrew. This
match was a hard hitting affair with long rallies & both players
traded games, Alexander winning the first, 11-8 & third 11-7,
Letourneau the second, 11-7 & fourth 11-5. Once a player had the
lead in these games he never relinquished it. The fifth game was
entirely different, with both players trading points this time.
Letourneau’s go to shot was his forehand cross court cut which wrong
footed Alexander on three occasions whilst Alexander hit some
wonderfully tight balls which Letourneau could not pick off the
wall. Even the officials wanted in on the match, a stroke was called
to give Letourneau match ball, 10-9, & then a no let was called for
Alexander to tie the game up, 10-10. Alexander then hit a great dead
length cross court drive, followed by a forehand straight volley
kill to take the game 12-10 & the match.
In the first match of the day, Peter Creed (Wales) beat
Thomas Brinkman (Canada) 3-0. Both players traded points in long
rallies in the first game, with Creed having the slight edge at the
front of the court, taking the game 11-7. Again in the second game,
it was fairly even, with Brinkman getting a run of points to lead
10-8. He squandered 2 game balls to allow Creed to even the score up
& then finish the game off with a dead nick boast to win the game
12-10. Brinkman was again in the rallies in the third game, but made
some errors at crucial times. A little more patience was needed by
Brinkman if he was going to finish more of the rallies on the
winning end, but that will have to wait for another day. Creed was
better at the front & took the third game 11-8. An entertaining
match however!
In the second match of the day, Scott Arnold (Australia) who
was lucky enough to get into the draw as a reserve player when
Olivier Pett had to withdraw due to injury beat Chris Truswell
(England) 3-1. Arnold got off to a quick start winning the first
game 11-4. Truswell in the second game found some form & came back
to win the game 11-8. The long rallies of the second game seemed to
take their toll on Truswell who looked tired in the third game.
Arnold was definitely the fresher of the two players & applied the
pressure on Truswell with a mix of low attacking drives & working
boasts. Truswell started to shoot, but Arnold kept his focus, taking
the third game 11-5. Arnold totally controlled the fourth game with
Truswell hitting far too many short balls which Arnold took
advantage of. Arnold seemed to lose concentration a bit in the
fourth allowing Truswell some easy points on unforced errors.
However he regained his focus to take the fourth 11-7 & the match
3-1.
In the third match, No.4 seed Joel Hinds (England) beat Fred
Reid (Canada) 3-0. Young Reid got schooled in the first 2 games by
the vastly more experienced Hinds, with Hinds taking the games,
11-6,11-3. Reid lacked the patience to apply any sustained pressure
on Hinds, however Hinds relaxed a bit in the third allowing Reid a
run of points, only taking it 11-9. However in the end it was a
straight forward win for Hinds.
The fourth match was also a convincing win for No. 3 seed Andrew
Wagih ( Egypt) over Mathew Serediak (Canada), 3-0. Wagih
dominated the centre of the court in this match & although Serediak
hustled well, he left too many loose balls out there for Wagih to
put away for winners. It was a very comfortable win for the
Egyptian, 11-5,11-6,11-7.
The fifth match, again a convincing win for No. 1 seed, Mark
Krajcsak (Hungary) over local Ottawa boy, Adrian Dudzicki
(Canada), 3-0. Dudzicki worked hard to stay in the rallies, but
Krajcsak did too good a job at moving him around the court,
finishing many of the rallies with deft touch at the front of the
court.
The sixth match was the first win of the day for Canada! Dane
Sharp beat Lewis Walters (England) 3-1. The first game was a
scrappy affair with both players hitting many loose balls, Lewis
taking it 11-6. In the second game, Sharp settled down & found his
rythmn & started to hit a lot tighter, making very few mistakes,
taking it 11-5.
The third game saw long hard rallies between both players, but Sharp
was moving really well & as a result volleying well, stretching
Lewis. Sharp dominated the game, easily winning 11-3. The fourth
game was more of the same with Sharp in total control, Lewis was
overhitting the ball too much which gave Sharp all kinds of time to
set himself in the rallies & ultimately hit the winner. He took the
fourth 11-5, ultimately a comfortable match win.
The seventh match was a 3-0 win for local club favourite Robin
Clarke (Canada) over Tyler Hamilton (Canada). Clarke was up for
the match in front of his home club fans, although he did report he
was nervous before taking the court. He did not show it, hitting
great length, setting up & taking his opportunities. His win much
appreciated by the fans!
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For further information please contact,
tournament director, Heather Wallace at 613-820-9531 or at:
heather_w@bellnet.ca |
LOCALS CLARKE & DUDZICKI IN CLOSELY RANKED GOODLIFE OPEN FIELD
GoodLife Fitness, 2655 Queensview Drive, Ottawa, is pleased to
present the 11th GoodLife Squash Open which will feature
Men’s International Squash Players, PSA, $10,000US event, from 13th
to 16th October.
The top seeds for this year’s event are No.51 World Ranked Mark
Krajsak from Hungary & No. 70 World ranked Zac Alexander,
from Australia.
Of local Ottawa interest, Robin Clarke, World ranked No. 80 &
Adrian Dudzicki, World ranked 126 will be fancy their chances
in this tournament with all the players being closely ranked. Clarke
won the tournament in 2008 & was runner up in 2009. Dudzicki has
climbed the rankings quickly in the past year & is a tough
competitor. With the top 8 seeds being so closely ranked, this
tournament is wide open with no clear favorite. This event is also
part of the Canadian Circuit of PSA events.
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For further information please contact,
tournament director, Heather Wallace at 613-820-9531 or at:
heather_w@bellnet.ca |
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