28-Apr, Finals:                                          Latest from Arthur direct from Dublin

[Q] Alison Waters (Eng) bt [1] Madeline Perry (Irl)         11/4, 11/4, 12/10 (40m)

[1] Alister Walker (Bot) bt [3] Alan Clyne (Sco)        11/4, 11/6, 9/11, 11/3 (54m)
 

Arthur Curran reports

The women’s final promised to be a very close encounter between qualifier, although a former world No 3, Alison Waters, and the undisputed queen of Irish Squash Madeline Perry, the No1 seed and the current World No 4.

Unfortunately for the capacity crowd here at Fitzwilliam the match was not as close as was expected, with Alison taking control from the start and dictating play somewhat, but with both ladies playing with great athleticism and grace, she took the first two games in what appeared quite comfortable style 11/4 each.

Madeline seemed to be struggling a little with her movement, which she explained afterwards was due to very bad blisters on her feet, but she came back into the match much better in the third to take a well earned 7/2 lead, but slowly Alison bit into the lead to take a match ball at 10/9.

Although Madeline saved that first one, thanks to a tin from Alison, Alison then took the extra points for a 12/10 win and a 3 – 0 match score in 40 minutes.

“Delighted to have won here again in Dublin, to have beaten both Laura and Madeline along the way makes it feel really good,” said the new champion.

“I feel as though I am getting back to somewhere near my best as I was before my injury and now I just want to get back to the top of the rankings again.”

“I really struggled with my movement and balance because of these terrible blisters on my feet,” admitted Perry, “but Alison has played really well all week, having to play through qualifying, and she deserved her victory.”

11/8, 12/10, 11/8 (51m)

[3] Jaclyn Hawkes

11/4, 11/4, 12/10 (40m)

[Q] Alison Waters

11/9, 11/9, 12/10 (46m)

[2] Laura Massaro

23-Apr, Qualifying Finals

Alison Waters (Eng) 3-0 Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng)                   11/3, 11/6,11/1 (24m)
Deon Saffery (Wal) 3-0 Lisa Aitken (Sco)                           12/10, 11/8, 11/9 (35m)
Tesni Evans (Wal) 3-1 Carrie Ramsey (Eng)              11/5, 12/10, 5/11, 11/4 (45m)
Lauren Selby (Eng) 1-0 Zephanie Curgenven (Eng)         11/7, 15/14 retired injured

24-Apr, Qualifying Round One

Alison Waters 3-0 Claire O’Brien (Irl)                                      11/0, 11/2, 11/2 (14m)
Sarah Jane Perry (Eng) 3-0 Milou Van Der Heijden (Ned)        11/4, 14/12, 11/5 (28m)
Deon Saffery (Wal) 3-0 Orla Noom (Ned)                                11/7, 11/4, 11/7 (22m)
Lisa Aitken (Sco) 3-0 Emma Toolan (Irl)                                 11/3, 11/0, 11/5 (16m)
Tesni Evans (Wal) 3-0 Breanne Flynn (IRL)                              11/7, 11/1, 11/6 (23m)
Carrie Ramsey (Eng) 3-1 Kylie Lindsay (Nzl)              11/7, 14/12, 9/11, 5/0 rtd (39m)
Zephanie Curgenven (Eng) 3-0 Birgit Coufal (Aut)                 12/10, 11/9, 11/4 (23m)
Lauren Selby (Eng) 3-0 Claire Staunton (Irl)                           11/0, 11/3, 11/3 (18m)

11/2, 7/11, 11/4, 11/4 (40m)

[4] Jonathan Kemp

11/4, 11/6, 9/11, 11/3 (54m)

[3] Alan Clyne

10/12, 11/13, 11/2, 11/8, 12/10 (112m)

[2] Borja Golan

24-Apr, Qualifying Finals

Ben Ford (Eng) 3-0 Alex Phillips (Eng)                                  11/9, 11/9,15/13 (46m)
Karim Ali Fathi (Egy) 3-0 Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (Egy)      11/2, 11/6, 11/9 (39m)
Nathan Lake (Eng) 3-0 Steven London (Eng)                        11/7, 11/2, 11/8 (39m)
Ben Coleman (Eng) 3-1 Lewis Walters (Eng)                11/5, 6/11, 11/5, 11/7 (68m)

23-Apr, Qualifying Round One

Alex Phillips (Eng) 3-2 Chris Truswell (Eng)      8/11, 11/3, 9/11, 11/8, 11/1 (45m)
Ben Ford (Eng) 3-0 Sean Conroy (Irl)                                    11-4, 11-5, 11-3 (23m)
Mazen Sabry (Egy) 3-1 Sebastiaan Weenink (Ned)         11-8, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 (48m)
Karim Ali Fathi (Egy) 3-0 Conor O’Hare (Irl)                          11-6, 11-3, 11-2 (22m)
Nathan Lake (Eng) 3-2 Jamie Haycocks  (Eng)      11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-7 (66m)
Steven London (Eng) 3-0 Rory Birtwistle (Irl)                         11-7, 11-7, 11-7 (30m)
Ben Coleman (Eng) 3-0 Rory Byrne (Irl)                                11-5, 11-7, 11-4 (27m)
Lewis Walters (Eng)  bye

In the first men's semi final No 1 seed Alister Walker, now representing his native Botswana, defeated No 4 seed Jonathan Kemp of England in 4 games.

Alister took the first comfortably 11/2, but after leading 3/0 in the second, he let Jonathan get back into the game to lead 7/3 then despite pulling back to 7/8, Jonathan took the game 11/7.

However Alister got himself back on track to take the next two 11/4 in each game and the match 3 games to 1.

The final match of the night was, as so often happens, especially when Spaniard Borja Golan is playing, by far the longest, longer than his match last night by 2 minutes, 112 in total.

But tonight he did not come out on top, as Scotsman Alan Clyne fought his way back so strongly from being 2 - 0 down in the match of the day.

Borja took a strong lead winning the first two games although not without battle. Clyne came back blazing in the third, winning 11/2 in just five minutes. Clyne took the fourth with more of a battle from Golan.

The decider turned into a marathon of tight squash with rallies regularly lasting more than 100 shots. The fifth alone took 30 minutes and Borja was clearly tiring. Clyne moved with perfect discipline around the court, repeatedly getting back to the T and retrieving every shot. At 8/8, Golan’s delaying tactics were noted, but he reached match ball at 10/9.

Another seemingly endless rally, Clyne saved matchball and went on to get his own; winning 12/10 with Golan showing sportsmanship by acknowledging his shot was down.


Waters qualifies for final
with home heroine Perry

The first women's semi final, an all English affair, saw former World No 3 up against the current World No 3, and it was the former that reversed her defeat at the British Nationals to take this semi final in three very close games to take a spot in tomorrows final.

Alison Waters is still making her way back up the rankings after dropping to 32 because of a 12 month injury break, but she is not going to take long to get back to the top if she keeps playing like this, getting back very near her old form against current No 3 Laura Massaro, who defeated Alison in the final of the British Nationals in February.

The first game was very tight all the way, the lead changing hands an incredible 8 times, but at 9/9 Alison finished clinically to take the game 11/9. The second again was very close, this time with Alison holding a slight lead all through the game and from 8/8finished off again at 11/9. In the third Laura came back strongly to lead 8/3, then got game ball at 10/5, but with a succession of exquisite short drop shots Alison finished in one hand to take the game 12/10 and the match in three.

All the top seeds in the upcoming Women's British Open must be aware of Alison coming from amongst the unseeded players.

Irish eyes are still smiling here at Fitzwilliam as Ireland's favourite Madeline Perry fought her way into the final against New Zealander Jaclyn Hawkes, and what a battle it was, with both players fighting not just for every point, but for very square inch of the court.

The first game was exceedingly tight score wise, and there were lots of lets, but Madeline came through to take the game 11/8. The second was even tighter, with Madeline taking a 7/5 lead, Jaclyn coming back to get game ball at 10/8, but Madeline again excelled to take the game to extra points and won 12/10.

In the third Jaclyn took the lead at 6/4, Madeline came back to lead 8/6, Jaclyn levelled at 8/8 but again Madeline finished off, 11/8, and she was in the final.

First men’s quarter final looked as though we could be in for a slight surprise as American Chris Gordon took the first game 11/6 against Alister Walker.

But the No 1 seed proved why he is the No 1 seed to come back to take the next two games 11/4 and 11/3 playing some exquisite squash in his lovely bright colours against his friend and training partner back in New York and then took a big lead in the fourth 10/3.

However Chris was not to be outdone and fought back to 9/10, then unfortunately found the tin to give Alister the game and match.

Second men's quarter final was an all English affair, with No4 seed Jonathan Kemp taking control over his fellow countryman Robbie Temple, who is some 25 places below Jonathan in the world rankings.

Jonathan got on top on each game and although Robbie fought bravely, especially in the final game, he took the match in three.

First women's quarter final went eventually to the English former World No4 Alison Waters, who had a strange up and down match with the senior Egyptian player Omneya Abdel Kawy.

They both played very strongly in the first, with Alison getting to game ball at 10/9, Omneya levelling10/10, Alison again taking the lead 11/10, but Omneya came back strongly to take the game 13/11.

In the second and third Alison got on top with Omneya’s game falling off, with the Egyptian upsetting herself at some of the referees calls. Alison took the two games quite comfortably.

In the fourth Alison again started strongly, taking a 5/1, then 7/2, then 9/4 lead, but then Omneya came back into the game at 8/9, Alison got game ball at 10/8, Omneya levelled at 10/10 and again at 11/11, but Alison held out well to take the game 13/11 and the match 3 games to 1.
 

Second women’s quarter final saw two players closely matched in the rankings, with No 3 seed Jaclyn Hawkes from New Zealand just getting the edge on Sarah Kippax from England in three close games with both ladies playing some really good squash, but Jaclyn just took each game at the end.
 

The third women’s quarter final turned into an absolute festival of great squash from the World No 3 Laura Massaro and the local Irish girl Aisling Blake, ranked 23 places below Laura.

Laura took the first game fairly comfortably 11/3, without a hint of what was to come. What was to come was a fantastic show of strength, courage and lots of skill by Aisling, cheered on by the local partisan crowd. She stormed into a 6/1 lead, then 8/4, and allowed Laura only one more point before taking the game 11/5, which she celebrated with a big fist pump in the air.

Again in the third Aisling started strongly, leading 7/3 then 9/6, before Laura took five points in one hand to turn the game into a win at 11/9. Laura took the first three points in the next game, and seemed to be getting on top again, but Aisling fought back again to lead 7/5, Laura got the lead back to 9/7, Aisling levelled at 9/9, Laura got her first match ball at 10/9, Aisling dug deep again to get game ball at 11/10,

Laura got match balls again at 12/11 and 13/12, but much to the delight of the crowd who cheered every point Aisling won, she went on to take the game at 15/13 and the match to a deciding game.

Unfortunately for Aisling, and the crowd, she must have put too much effort into that fourth game and was unable to withstand the final onslaught from Laura as she went on to take the final game 11/1.

What a fabulous match of squash from two lovely ladies.

The final ladies match in the quarter finals kept all the Irish eyes smiling, as Irish favourite , No 1 seed and world no 4 Madeline Perry, resplendent in a lovely red costume, kept home hopes alight with a very methodical and clinical performance against 17 year old Nour El Sherbini.

Madeline did not have things all her own way however, as Nour slowly made her way into an 8/6 lead in the first, but Madeline played one beautiful hand to take the game 11/9. Again in the second, Nour had an 8/4 lead which the experienced Madeline pulled back to take the game 11/9.

In the third it was Madeline who had a good lead of 9/5 which Nour managed to pull back to 8/9, but again Madeline’s experience showed as she held out to take the game 11/9, and the match in three games.

Finally the last match of the day became not only the longest of the day, as is usual with the final match, but in fact the longest of the tournament so far, with 110 minutes of fantastic squash between Spaniard Borja Golan, No 2 seed and a huge favourite with the crowd here at Fitzwilliam, and Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet. After a battling 34 minutes Mathieu took the first game at 12/10, but then Borja came on strong and took the second in just two hands at 11/3 in only 12 minutes.

In another marathon game the third was 31 minutes long with Mathieu eventually triumphing 14/12, after Borja had two game balls. with The fourth at 6/6 Mathieu started cramping up, Borja took advantage and finished the game in one hand 11/6, then finally finished the match off taking the fifth 11/3 in just ten minutes.

So we have four different nationalities playing in the men’s semi finals tomorrow, and we are assured of a different winner this year than last year.

Gina Menzies reports

Madeline Perry, currently ranked 4 in the world will be seeking her fifth Irish Open squash title in the Cannon Kirk tournament to be held in Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club from 25-28th April.

But Perry may not have it all her own way. Last year’s winner, 18 year old Egyptian Nour El Tayeb is in the draw at no 5.

Last year’s final produced a world record for a women’s competitive match, lasting over 90 minutes, with El Tayeb coming back from 2 games down to win 16/14 in the final game against New Zealand’s, Jaclyn Hawkes. Jaclyn is seeded three above El Tayeb this time around.

The no 2 spot falls to England’s Laura Massaro, currently at a career high of 3 in the world. Madeline has a 3/2 record against Massaro so an enthralling week is in prospect.

Ireland has another high ranking woman in the draw. Sligo’s Aisling Blake ranked 26 in the world has drawn the toughest first round match against the championship holder, El Tayeb.

Alister Walker, World no 18 from Botswana, heads the men’s draw: one of the few players to have a victory against world champion, Amr Shabana in 2009. Alister subsequently reached a career high of 12 .

Ireland’s Arthur Gaskin makes the main draw. He has just won his first challenger tournament in Doha, Qatar, where he played 6 matches in 3 days and overcame the number 1 seed, Ammar Al- Tamini, ranked 100 places above Arthur in the semi-final.

In his way will be no 2 seed, and former winner of the Irish Open (2006) and frequent visitor to the event, World no 21 Borja Golan from Spain.