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Madison Open 2009
20-25 Oct, Madison, WI, Usa, $6k

25-Oct, Final:
Samper beats top seed in final
Damon Bourne reports

Bernardo Samper was in excellent form and took a straight game win over Gilly Lane to claim the inaugural Madison Open title.

Gilly took a horrible start in the first but picked it up in the second to nearly level the match. At 10-8 and rolling, Gilly took his foot off and made two very silly tins to force a tie break. They evened at 11, but clearly Bernardo got into Gilly's head and finished the game 13-11. And that was it really. Gilly had no confidence, and nothing was working. Such a contrast with Saturday's match where everything worked!

It was a great tournament for Bernardo though as he only lost one set the entire week. This is the second win for him in month, so it will be fun to watch to see how he does at the next stop on the tour.

24-Oct, Semis:
Lane & Samper make Madison final

Gilly Lane upped his game tonight and beat Wade Johnstone in three thrilling games here in Madison. A slow start for Johnstone and some lucky bounces for Gilly made for a quick first game. Wade picked it up in the second, but Gilly imposed his game and kept the large Aussie behind him at all costs. In the third, Gilly was up 4-0 before Wade got on the board.

This game was pretty tight and Gilly was feeling it up until 10-8 when maybe some nerves crept in and he let tinned a couple to let Wade back in. Another point led to match ball, and this time Gilly finished it with an unreachable ball to the front left corner.

Bernardo Samper made quick work of Amr Mansi. After one tight game, the next two were quick, leaving the packed house wanting more.

So tomorrow pits Gilly against Bernardo. I talked with them both tonight after their matches and they are really looking forward to playing again in front of a very appreciative audience. We can't wait!

23-Oct, Quarters:
Lane win marathon in Madison

First match between Gilly Lane and Peter Creed. For most of the match there really wasn't much between these guys. Hard work put Peter up 2-1 up in games and 7-5 up in the fifth. And in what seemed like an instant, Gilly was up 9-5. Don't know if it was experience or what, but Gilly ran off 4 straight points before Pete could stop the bleeding, but it was too late and Gilly finished it on his second match ball.

After the match, Peter said he felt as if he were in control at 7-5, but then he let off the pressure a bit and within moments completely lost his momentum, and the match.

Even though Lane is about 100 spots higher in the rankings, Creed clearly can play at this level. He obviously has a lot of respect for Lane, and it's clear that he can be right there with him. Creed summed it with this: "Gutted. Absolutely gutted."

Wade Johnstone ended Ben Coleman's great run through the tournament in three straightforward games.

Amr Mansi continued his good play against a very game, Legotla Mosope. Mansi was too creative and it is clear that this former top 50 player is working his way back up the rankings.

Finally, Bernardo Samper upset the seedings with an entertaining win over Chris Gordon.

22-Oct, Round One:
Round One in Madison
Damon Bourne reports

The level of play went up a notch tonight in Madison.

The longest match of the night saw the young Englishmen Ben Coleman upsetting the higher ranked Bart Ravelli in a 73 minute marathon. Two fit guys, a bouncy ball and a hot court makes for a long match. Neither could tuck the ball away so the points went on and on until Ben finally was able to finish it off in four. They might be still playing had it gone to a fifth.

Contrast that match with the Amr Mansi-Fernando Lopez match that went 5 games and only 38 minutes. Some great retrieving, and a lot of attacking shotmaking that were either winners or tins.

Our other qualifiers ran into some stiff opposition. Anthony Graham, an extraordinarily fit player ran into Wade Johnstone which made for a very entertaining match. More than one person in the crowd tonight commented on how quick Wade's hands were and how clinical his shot placement was. It was a fun match to watch, but it seemed like only a matter of time before Johnstone simply wore Graham down with his precision and pace.

Ehimen Ehalen played Bernardo Samper and afterwards told me that he kept trying to slow Samper down, and just was not able to control the pace at all.

The Madison favourite Mark Heather played Chris Gordon and it looked like this match was going to be something special until an unintentional collision left Mark with a dead leg for most of the first and second game. He gamely played on and took the third, but Chris was able to close it out with some exceptional shotmaking and even more exceptional retrieving. He's not the prettiest mover in the game, but his court coverage is quite impressive.

Mike Corren was hampered by a quadriceps problem so was just not able to move well and lost to Legotla Mosope in three.

Peter Creed and Gilly Lane had routine wins over Wildcard Luke Butterworth and Keith Pritchard respectively.

Photos by Tom McInvaille

The Squash
Design Tour

Madison Open
Madison, WI Oct 20–25
Goshen Open
Goshen, IN Oct 28–31

Pittsburgh Open
Pittsburgh, PA Nov 04–08
Baltimore Cup
Baltimore, MD Nov 11–15
Rhode Island Open
Newport, RI Nov 18–22

Fairmount Open
Philadelphia, PA Dec 02–06
Florida Open
Boca Raton, FL Dec 09–13

Photos by Tom McInvaille

Madison Open 2009 20-25 Oct, Madison, WI, Usa, $6k
Round One 22 Oct	Quarters 23 Oct	Semis 24 Oct	Final 25 Oct
[1] Gilly Lane (Usa) 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 (20m) Keith Pritchard (Can)	[1] Gilly Lane 11-6, 9-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-8 (70m) Peter Creed	[1] Gilly Lane 11-4, 11-8, 12-10 (40m) [3] Wade Johnstone	[1] Gilly Lane 11-7, 13-11, 11-3 (36m) [5] Bernardo Samper
Peter Creed (Wal) 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 (25m) Luke Butterworth (Eng)
[3] Wade Johnstone (Aus) 11-9, 11-8, 11-7 (45m) [Q] Anthony Graham (Eng)	[3] Wade Johnstone 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 (36m) [Q] Ben Coleman
[8] Bart Ravelli (Ned) 12-10, 12-10, 5-11, 11-8 (73m) [Q] Ben Coleman (Eng)
Fernando Lopez (Mex) 2-11, 11-4, 11-5, 4-11, 11-6 (38m( [6] Amr Mansi (Egy)	[6] Amr Mansi 11-9, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6 (58m) Lekgotla Mosope	[6] Amr Mansi 11-9, 11-4, 11-3 (35m) [5] Bernardo Samper
Lekgotla Mosope (Bot) 11-3, 11-9, 11-6 (25m) [4] Mike Corren (Aus)
[Q] Ehimen Joseph Ehalen (Ngr) 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (25m) [5] Bernardo Samper (Col)	[5] Bernardo Samper 11-5, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5 (35m) [2] Chris Gordon
[Q] Mark Heather (Eng) 11-7, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8 (45m) [2] Chris Gordon (Usa)

Qualifying:

Ehimen Joseph Ehalen (Ngr) bt Jonas Laursen (Den)    11-9, 11-5, 7-3 rtd (20m)
Ben Coleman (Eng) bt Tiago Cabral (Bra)          10-12, 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 (53m)
Anthony Graham (Eng) bt Maxym Leclair (Can)              11-2, 11-6, 11-6 (20m)
Mark Heather (Eng) bt Paul Mathieson (Ita)                    11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (27m)

20 Oct, Round One:
Anthony Graham bt Ned Marks                        11-6, 11-3, 11-5 30 min.
Ben Coleman bt Damon Bourne                      11-8, 11-6, 11-3 35 min.
Mark Heather bt Omar El-Kashef     11-5, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-3 65 min.

21-Oct, Qualifying Finals:
English progress in Madison
Damon Bourne reports

There were some upsets today in final qualifying as three Englishmen made the main draw.

First on court were Jonas Laursen (219), the amiable Dane, against Ehimen Joseph Ehalen (359) of Nigeria. Jonas is a hard hitter and he came out firing against the rangy Nigerian. Some errors put Laursen down 0-3, but he looked to be settling in until something popped in the front of his lower leg. He managed to get to 7-5, but it was clear his movement was limited and he simply couldn't change directions. Ehalen won the first 11-9. Laursen returned to court for the second, and managed a respectable 9-11 by hitting winners off Ehalen's serve, but it wasn't enough playing on one leg, so he retired 3-7 in the 3rd.

Next on was Ben Coleman (383) and Tiago Cabral (250) of Brazil. This would be Ben's first real test on the PSA tour and he was put under a bit more pressure tonight than he was last night. Ben had the first game ball, but was denied the game by a more patient Cabral who finished it at 12-10. The second game was close up until 6 all when Ben pulled away to 9-7. Again Cabral clawed his way back into the game and tied the score at 10. It wasn't enough this time as Ben was able to close out this game 12-10.

A great start by Ben in the 3rd had him at 4-1 and then 6-2 up and it just didn't give Cabral enough time to work his way back into the game. 11-6 to Ben. The fourth was a carbon copy of the 3rd with Ben jumping to a 3-1 lead and then a 10-4 lead. Cabral staved off 4 match balls, but came up short in the end.

European Junior Champion Anthony Graham had another great match today chopping Maxym Leclair in 20 minutes. Anthony plays a very disciplined game and is extraordinarily quick. Maxym could not get Anthony out of the front of the court and found himself chasing the entire match.

Finally on court was PSA veteran Mark Heather vs. Paul Mathieson (242). Paul told me after the match that he knew as soon as saw the draw that he would have to play Mark, and as luck would have it, that's who he got. Mark started exceptionally well and dominated the centre of the court. Paul could not coax enough depth to remove his more experienced opponent off the T and suffered greatly for it. Paul said afterwards, "Even when I hit good length, it didn't matter as Mark was able to handle it easily."

20-Oct, Qualifying Round One:
Madison Open kicks off
Squash Design Tour
Damon Bourne reports

The inaugural Madison Open and first stop of the Squash Design Tour kicked off with a bang with some exciting squash for the members and friends of this brand new facility in Madison, Wisconsin.

In his first PSA appearance, youngster Anthony Graham took the first win of the night against Ned Marks. Anthony looked sharp against the former Denison University player.

Next on court was British U19 standout Ben Coleman vs. MSW club owner and teaching pro Damon Bourne. Suffice it to say, that despite playing squash for longer than Ben has been alive, Damon considered it a victory by simply keeping Ben on court for 35 minutes without even stalling too much.

The last match of the day was the Head Squash Professional at the University Club of Chicago and not incidentally, former World No. 39, Mark Heather vs. Omar El-Kashef of Egypt. Mark managed to win the first 11-5, despite starting with some nerves. The guys traded the next two games and then things got serious in the fourth.

Omar went up 9-4 and looked to be cruising, but Mark settled down and played a bit more aggressively to bring the score up to 8-9. Things got bit messy with a lot of mid-court contact and more than a few tumbles by both guys, but Omar turned it up and played some great shots and closed out the game 11-8.

In the decider, Mark had an excellent start and jumped to a 6-0 lead before Omar could get on the board. The Egyptian seemed a bit tired in this game after his efforts in the fourth, and the Englishman finished the match 11-3.

Madison kicks off new US tour

Madison Squash Workshop, the city’s first squash club and home to Wisconsin’s only regulation international squash courts, announced it will host a professional squash tournament, October 20-25.

The Madison Open is the first stop on a 7-city tour for mid-level professional players organized by Squash Design, a high-quality squash apparel provider. The Open will feature players from England, Wales, The Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Botswana, Mexico, Colombia, Australia, Egypt, Pakistan, and the United States.

“To have guys coming from all over the world to play here is really special. This will be the first time we will be able to see world-class squash played right here in Madison. With this event, I hope to generate more interest in this fast-paced racquet sport,” said Damon Bourne, co-owner of Madison Squash Workshop. The club is located at 3118 Kingsley Way.

The tour showcases the talent of up-and-coming players in the nation’s fast-growing game - squash. Players on the tour seek to earn tour points for their performance and will have the chance to vie for additional prize money based on their points standing.

“The Squash Design Tour will draw some of the world’s best players and provide a great showcase for our sport in America,” said U.S. touring pro and top seed in Madison, Gilly Lane. “I look forward to competing in these events and hope they serve as a stepping stone for the future of our sport in the U.S.”