|
North of Scotland Open 2015
31 Mar - 05 Apr, Aberdeen, $10k |
Final: [2] Greg Lobban 3-1
[5]Joel Hinds
11/6, 9/11, 11/9, 11/9 (82m)
Lobban takes home title in Aberdeen
David Ireson reports
The
first rally saw Joel (who had only brought two rackets with him)
break the second set of strings this week. He managed to borrow a
spare from one of the ASRC Juniors with possible the worst colour of
grip the crowd had ever seen – not sure that boy had ever washed his
hands… Anyway onto the squash. The first few rallies were pretty
cagey from both players – neither wanting to open the court up too
much. A few lets followed as both players eased their ways into the
game. Greg seemed to make a push at 3-2 up, and looked to increase
the tempo and volley more balls quickly taking a 7-2. Joel managed
to claw back a few points before some relentless retrieval from Greg
took him to 10-5 up, where he managed to close out the game on the
second attempt. First game to Greg 11/7.
It was good to see that despite the high tempo both players were
maintaining good quality under pressure in the second game, and also
trying to play through any minor interference. In the early stages
of the game there were some good holds (& head fakes!) from both
players, but both players’ retrieval remained solid. Greg seemed to
be a little better at punching a volley length off a poor cross
court from the front and this saw him edge ahead slightly taking a
5-3 lead. Greg was finding it difficult to get the ball past Joel on
the backhand – Joel’s reach coupled with some slightly loose play by
Greg allowed Joel to start controlling more of the rallies. Back to
6-6. At 8-8 Joel broke another string!! He had now moved from a
Black Night to a Dunlop to an Eye racket. He should definitely swap
to Eye. Slotting the ball now. Hit 3 winners to take the game 11/9.
A lot more interference in the third. Joel’s refusal to let anything
past him was creating problems for Greg. At 3-3 Greg seemed to start
varying the height and pace on his drives on the back hand side –
this stopped Joel’s volley and allowed Greg to get in front and
start opening up the court – moving the ball around all four
corners. Greg looked to lose focus at 7/6 down after some
interference in the front right, losing the next 2 points, however
an overhead forehand smash on the backhand side into the front right
nick followed by 2 straight volley drop winners on the backhand took
him to 9-9. A cheeky body shot down the middle from Greg moved him
to 10/9 up. Greg closed out the game 11/9.
At
least Joel’s racket didn’t show that much sign of string wear at the
start of this game... in the early part of this game there as a lot
more interference again on the back hand side. Greg not managing to
keep the ball out of Joel’s volley. It looks like Greg is going to
have to hit the ball a bit harder and lower on the backhand to get
it past Joel… at 8/7 Lobban played a boast into the front left
corner and Joel fell on the way through to the shot and “Glasgow
kissed” the side wall (for those non Scottish people this means
head-butted). Joel looked in real discomfort. Following a few
nervous moments play resumed with Greg leading 9/7. Greg hit the tin
to go lead 9/8. No let for Joel and Greg has 2 game balls. An
outrageous no let for Greg 10-9. Backhand drop winner and Greg takes
the title 11/9.
|
|
North
of Scotland Open 2015
31 Mar - 05 Apr, Aberdeen, $10k |
Round One
02 Apr |
Quarters
03 Apr |
Semis
04 Apr |
Final
05 Apr |
[1] Eddie Charlton (Eng)
11/2, 11/13, 11/5, 8/11, 11/7
[Q] Tom de Mulder (Bel) |
[1] Eddie Charlton
7/11, 11/9, 9/11, 11/4, 11/6 (68m)
Alejandro Garbi |
Alejandro Garbi
11/4, 3/11, 8/11, 11/3, 11/9 (63m)
[5] Joel Hinds |
[5] Joel Hinds
11/6, 9/11, 11/9, 11/9 (82m)
[2] Greg Lobban |
[6] Lance Beddoes (Nzl)
11/9, 6/11, 11/9, 5/11, 12/10
Alejandro Garbi (Esp) |
[5] Joel Hinds (Eng)
11/5, 9/11, 11/6, 11/9
Sanjay Singh (Mas) |
[5] Joel Hinds
11/13, 11/4, 9/11, 11/5, 11/7 (56m)
[Q] Mohamed Elgawarhy |
[3] Ben Coleman (Eng)
11-7, 8-11, 11-1, 9-11, 11-7
[Q] Mohamed Elgawarhy (Egy) |
Dougie Kempsell (Sco)
9/11, 9/11, 11/3, 11/4, 11/6
[4] Piedro Schweertman (Ned) |
[4] Piedro Schweertman
5/11, 13/11, 11/4, 9/11, 8/11 (68m)
[7] Carlos Cornes |
[7] Carlos Cornes
11/3 11/4,
11/6 (35m)
[2] Greg Lobban |
[Q] Matias Tuomi (Fin)
11/9, 11/5, 11/4
[7] Carlos Cornes (Esp) |
[Q] Nathan Lake (Eng)
11/6, 7/11, 8/11, 14/12, 11/8
[8] Adil Maqbool (Pak) |
[Q] Nathan Lake
11/7, 11/6, 11/0 (33m)
[2] Greg Lobban |
James Earles (Eng)
11/5, 11/7, 11/5
[2] Greg Lobban (Sco) |
01-Apr,
Qualifying Finals:
Matias Tuomi (Fin) 3-1
Ben Grindrod (Nzl)
11/6, 5/11, 11/8, 11/6 (51m)
Tom De Mulder (Bel) 3-0 Arthur Moineau (Fra)
11/7, 11/3, 12/10 (44m)
Mohamed Elgawarhy (Egy) 3-2 Jan vd Herrewegen (Bel)
11/9,9/11,6/11,11/9,11/7 (59m)
Nathan Lake (Eng) 3-0 Bernat Jaume (Esp)
11/9, 11/7, 11/4 (43m)
31-Mar, Qualifying Round One:
[1] Matias Tuomi (Fin) 3-0 Phil Nightingale (Eng)
11/9, 11/3, 11/4 (41m)
[7] Ben Grindrod (Nzl) 3-0 Gavin Sutherland (Sco)
11/5, 11/5, 11/6 (26m)
[6] Arthur Moineau (Fra) 3-0] Chris Leiper (Sco)
11/8, 12/10, 11/9 (28m)
Tom De Mulder (Bel) 3-1 [3] Kevin Moran (Sco)
6/11, 11/1, 11/9, 11/4 (50m)
[4] Mohamed Elgawarhy (Egy) 3-0] Chris Shinnie (Sco)
11/6, 11/5, 15/13 (20m)
[5] Jan van den Herrewegen (Bel) 3-0 Mike Black (Sco)
11/7, 11/1, 11/5 (19m)
Bernat Jaume (Esp) 3-1 [8] Lyell Fuller (Eng)
7/11, 12/10, 11/6, 11/7 (53m)
[2] Nathan Lake (Eng) 3-0 Jamie Henderson (Sco)
11/7, 11/9, 11/8 (37m)
|
Semi-Finals in Aberdeen
David Ireson reports
[5] Joel Hinds (Eng) v Alejandro Garbi (Esp)
Alejandro
looked like his legs were quite tired in the first, not really able
to put any purchase on the ball when he was stretched at the front
of the court. Joel looked to exploit this, boasting and dropping the
ball into the front of the court to test the Spaniard’s movement.
Joel took the early advantage doing this and took the game 11/5. In
the second game was a complete reversal of the first. Alejandro was
looking to get up the court and take the ball on the volley. Joel’s
length and width was not as good as it was in the first, and some
loose balls allowed Alejandro to take advantage – playing some nice
straight drops from deep in the court. Alejandro took the second
game 11/4.
In the third game Joel started like he finished in the second not
hitting good enough length and width, however looked to be getting
back into it midway through the game, however some poor decision
making from the referees denied Joel some blatant strokes, Alejandro
clearly standing on the ball in the front corners. This frustrated
Joel and Alejandro closed out the game 11/7. So much better from
Joel in the fourth. Solid length and width, no errors, taking the
ball short at the right moment, and most importantly wasn’t getting
involved with the referees. Takes the game 11/3. Its amazing how
subtle the margins are in a squash match, but how sometimes the
smallest of things can make all the differences.
The fifth game was a real battle of how could play the best length
and or attacking shots. The referees were making the worst mess
possible of any interference in the front left, and frustration was
clearly building in Joel – he was getting no luck at all. The most
amazing thing was that the smallest of things (whatever it was –
motivation, a lucky nick / good shot), that cause his focus to
remain and claw his way back into the game from 9/5 down to take the
game and match 11/9. Hinds won 3-2 11/4 3/11 8/11 11/3 11/9 (68 mins).
[2] Greg Lobban (Sco) v [7] Carlos Cornes (Esp)
Last
night when Greg was giving Nathan Lake a bit of a lesson in “tempo”
Carlos had to walk away. Unfortunately for him Greg started the
first the way he played the last against Nathan last night.
Volleying every ball possible. Carlos didn’t seem to have answer.
Greg won the first 11/3. Carlos was really struggling to make any
impact. Even when he seemed to be in control of a rally, Greg’s
relentless commitment to get the ball back just left Carlos staring
into the crowd, searching for answers.
Unfortunately there were none. Greg won the second 11/4. In the
third Carlos decided to just go for it hitting 3 winners at the
start of the game. Greg just kept up the high tempo and broke him
down. Carlos looking pretty despondent – he just couldn’t get the
ball off Greg’s racket. Greg won 3-0 11/3 11/4 11/6 (35 mins).
|
|
Quarter-Finals in Aberdeen
David Ireson reports
[1] Eddie Charlton (Eng) v Alejandro Garbi (Esp)
The referees had a good start to this match making some great
decisions early on – encouraging both players to play the ball.
There were minimal decisions after this which allowed some good
free flowing squash. Would be remiss not to mention Eddie’s
apparel – great set of tights!! Eddie’s forehand hold forced
Alejandro to need Rainbow City Taxi’s several times during the
game, which was ultimately the difference. Charlton won the
first 11/7. In the second game despite seeming to be in control
of the majority of rallies, Eddie made several unforced errors,
which gave Alejandro a few cheap points.
Although Alejandro managed to sneak the game 11/9, Eddie looked
to have put a lot of work into his legs in the process. In the
third game Eddie kept the game reasonably attritional – not
attacking too much, and lobbing from the front to keep the
rallies going. The seemed to pay some dividend as he forced
several errors from Alejandro as well as earning several
strokes. Game to Eddie 11/9. In the fourth game Alejandro looked
to be tiring, but seemed to play a ridiculous number of outright
winners off the very last string of the racket. Garbi took the
game 11/4.
The final game saw the Spaniard continue his run of “last
string” winners picking up some great shots, just managing to
get the ball on the front wall. In the end Eddie ran his socks
off to get back every ball, but Alejandro’s attacking play was
too accurate – winning the final game 11/6. Garbi won 3-2 7/11
11/9 9/11 11/4 11/6 (68 mins).
[5] Joel Hinds (Eng) v Mohammed Elgawarhy (Egy)
In the first game Joel seemed to be trying to keep the ball on
the Egypitian’s backhand, given that his forehand has caused so
much devastation over the last couple of days – this seemed to
work in the early part of the first game, going 4-0 up. However
he struggled to stick to this for the whole game, and every time
he put the ball on the Egyptian’s forehand he got punished.
Couple that with some excellent countering from Elgawarhy’s
racket and the Egyptian sneaked the first game 13/11.
The second game was better from Joel – he managed to nullify the
attacks from Elgawarhy by keeping the ball off his volley, and
playing at a fast enough tempo that stopped the Egypitian
attacking. This strategy set up some good opportunities for him
to use his own holds and flicks at the front, and in doing so
took the second game 11/4. The third game was a similar story to
the first game – too many balls to the forehand of Elgawarhy
were giving away some cheap points. Joel was working the ball
better into the front of the court earning some reward but in
the end a couple of errors from Joel was the difference.
Elgawarhy took the third 11/9.
Joel looked to increase the tempo in the fourth taking the ball
as early as possible and volleying a lot more, and this looked
to tire Elgawarhy, who made 6 unforced errors in the game. Joel
taking it 11/5. The fifth game saw Joel once again increase the
tempo, and look to break down the Egyptian – Elgawarhy now
looking tired. Sure enough Elgawarhy’ play got loose, and Joel
took full advantage racing to a 10/5 lead. An inexplicable
decision from the referees at match ball saw Joel almost
completely loose concentration, however he managed to convert on
his 3rd game ball closing out the game 11/7. Hinds won 3-2
[4] Piedro Schweertman (Ned) v [7] Carlos Cornes (Esp)
The first game was over really quickly. A string of winners
coming from the racket of Cornes, taking the game 11/4. The
second saw a much more solid approach from the “Iceman”, hitting
much straighter and not giving Cornes as much opportunity to
feed from. Schweertman won the secon 13/11. Cornes won 3-2 11/5
11/13 4/11 11/9 11/8 (68 mins).
Nathan Lake (Eng) v [2] Greg Lobban (Sco)
The first half of the first game saw Greg play at tempo forcing
Nathan onto the back foot with every shot taking a quick 10-5
lead. Nathan managed to claw back a couple of points before Greg
played an outrageous dying length between his legs to take the
first game 11/7. The second game saw more of the same. Greg
looking to take the ball as early as possible – a mammoth rally
at 4-0 and Greg looked to have completely burst Nathan.
A spirited comeback saw Nathan get back to 5 but in the end the
damage was done. Greg taking the second game 11/5. Yup… damage
done in second. Pace was far too high in the third and Nathan
just couldn’t go with it. A Spiers (3 wall nick boast roller for
those who aren’t from Aberdeen) to finish the game, Greg taking
the game 11/0. Lobban won 3-0 11/7 11/5 11/0 (33 min).
|
Round ONE in Aberdeen
David Ireson reports
[1] Eddie Charlton (Eng) v Tom
De Mulder (Bel)
The first game was all about Eddie’s length. He lifted the
ball with great accuracy over the volley of De Mulder. Tom was
constantly pinned in the back corners and really couldn’t
inflict much damaged. Eddie occasionally chipped in a “working
boast” but it was not really required. Eddie took the first game
11/2. In the second the height and length on Eddie’s drives
dropped off and it allowed De Mulder to get in front. Notably
there was a lot more interference in this game and the referees
were called on in this game due to a lot balls landing around
the service box area with not enough pace to get through to the
back of the court. A few crucial decisions at the end of the
second game swung it in De Mulders favour, taking it 13/11.
The third game saw Eddie’s length back to normal. He either
lifted the ball or hit the ball slightly more crisply to ensure
the ball was coming through to the back of the court. This
allowed him to get in front and start playing to the front of
the court. One huge rally in which Eddie had De Mulder on a
string preceded a flurry of errors from De Mulders racket. Eddie
closed out the game 11/5. In the fourth game Eddie seemed to
start the game really positively – driving the ball well, and
taking the ball short and doing some real damage. Not sure
whether he had a lapse in concentration, but all of a sudden he
found himself at game ball down. De Mulder took the fourth 11/8.
By the fifth game De Mulder seemed to be in some physical
discomfort and in places seemed to be cramping. Eddie took full
advantage of this taking the ball short wherever possible, and
hitting the ball hard to the back to make De Mulder’s movements
harder. Coupling this with some excellent holds on his forehand
Eddie took control of the fifth eventually taking it 11/7.
Charlton won 3-2 11/2 11/13 11/5 8/11 11/7 (68 mins).
[6] Lance Beddoes (Nzl) v Alejandro Garbi (Esp)
This first game in this match was in stark contrast to the last
match. a much higher tempo and fast paced game. Beddoes went
behind in the early part of the game – his shots not quite
finding the corners, however he steadied midway through the
first game, but Garbi held onto his lead closing out the game
11/9. In the second game Beddoes started the game better –
hitting his targets from the word go. The created some good
opportunities at the front for Lance Beddoes to use his holds
and flicks and this had Garbi in all sorts of trouble at the
start of the game. Garbi tightened up his play in the latter
half of the game, but the lead Beddoes had made was too great.
Beddoes won the second 11/6. In the third game Beddoes was just
too keen to take the ball into the front of the court, and in
doing so left the ball at the front in positions where Garbi
could use some holds and flicks. This careless front court play
allowed Garbi to stay in front and closed out the game 11/9.
In the fourth game Beddoes was much more disciplined about
taking the ball short, waiting for an opportunity rather than
forcing it. Some good countering at the front allowed him to use
his holds and flicks, putting a good amount of work into the
Spaniard. Beddoes took the fourth 11/5. In the last game both
players were struggling to clear the ball properly and the
referees were being increasingly called on to make decisions. At
7-9 down Beddoes picked up a ball which was clearly good (but
off the frame). Garbi appealed the decision and the 3 man
referee system decided the ball was not up. This seemed to spur
Beddoes on and he saved 3 match balls to get back to 10-10. A
clear “fish” at 11-10 up and a dodgy refereeing decision handed
the game and match to Garbi 12/10. Garbi won 3-2 11/9 6/11 11/9
5/11 12/10 (75 mins).
[5] Joel Hinds (Eng) v Sanjay Singh (Mas)
The first game was littered with errors and winners. Both
players making a series of mistakes, and also hitting several
outright winners. Compared to the first two matches of the day
this was a surprisingly short game. In the end Joel made
slightly fewer errors than the young Malaysian, taking the first
game 11/5. The second game started at a really high pace that
continued throughout the game. Both players volleying the ball
at every opportunity. It was great to see that despite the high
pace both players playing every ball. Singh won the game 11/9.
In the third it looked like the fast paced game was taking its
toll on Singh – now scrambling to get every ball back.
Joel was content to push the balls into all four corners to make
him do more and more work. This strategy worked, Joel taking the
fourth game 11/6. In the fourth game Singh was now visibly
tiring. This allowed Joel to start taking advantage of this –
playing the ball with great accuracy into the front right
forcing cross court after cross court which he stepped up and
volleyed. Joel won the game 11/9. Hinds won 3-1 11/5 9/11 11/6
11/9 (36 mins).
[3] Ben Coleman (Eng) v Mohammed Elgawarhy (Egy)
Maybe Ben was feeling a little bit of pressure as the defending
champion, and in the first game didn’t seem to be comfortable on
the court, going 6-1 down. Perhaps his opponent played a part is
in this – not afraid to use the front part of the court and
punished Ben for any loose ball. Ben eased his way into the game
but Elgawarhy’s lead was too great, taking the first game 11/6.
In the early part of the second game Ben hit much straighter,
limiting the ability of Elgawarhy to take the ball short, and as
a result he took an early 4/0 lead. He then opened up the court
with some loose cross court which Elgawarhy pounced on.
At 9/7 down Ben once again straightened up his play reeling off
4 better rallies taking the game 11/9. The third game was a nick
fest from Elgawarhy’s racket, hitting winner after winner,
taking the game 11/1. The last two games were pretty tight but
very messy with a lot of decisions required from the referees. A
short summary of the last two games would be that Ben got a “bit
unlucky” by some of the decisions. Elgawarhy won 3-2 11/7 8/11
11/1 9/11 11/7 (61 mins).
[4] Piedro Schweertman (Ned) v Douglas Kempsell (Sco)
The first game was a really high tempo, both players hitting the
ball “crisply” to the back of the court. One spectator descried
Schweertman as a “solid unit” with a pretty devastating forehand
volley. Dougie struggled to keep the ball away from his forehand
in the first but managed to do enough retrieval to just edge the
first 11/9. The second game was better from Dougie. He managed
for the most part to keep the ball away from Schweertman’s
forehand volley. This earned him the reward of a game ball and
he converted on the first attempt, taking the game 11/9.
The third completely got away from Dougie as he didn’t find any
length and width at all and was constantly on the back foot
losing the game 11/3. The fourth game was a pretty similar story
to the third game. Dougie didn’t look comfortable with his
length and width, and was consistently over hitting and under
hitting his drives and once again going behind pretty quickly.
Schweertman took the fourth 11/4. Dougie got increasingly
frustrated with his play in the final game and as a result
dragged the referees into the game. Schweertman “Iceman” kept
his cool and closed out the game 11/6. Schweertman won 3-2 9/11
9/11 11/3 11/4 11/6 (74 mins).
[7] Carlos Cornes (Esp) v Matias Tuomi (Fin)
Players traded early blows in the first game, and the only thing
to choose between then was one or two errors from Matias’ racket
towards the end of the first game. Carlos just sneaking 11/9. In
the second game Carlos hit some stunning winners and outrageous
top spin drops. This flurry of winner and deceptive racket
skills saw him move ahead slowly, taking the game 11/5. Carlos’s
pace was relentless in the third game volleying every ball
causing Matias to stretch with every shot, taking the final game
11/4. Ribadas won 3-0 11/9 11/5 11/4 (32 mins)
[8] Adil Maqbool (Pak) v Nathan Lake (Eng)
The boy Maqbool certainly has skills! Some wonderful touches on
the forehand caused Nathan to do a lot of dynamic movement in
the first game, however Nathan was managing to pick everything
up that Maqbool threw at him, and this retrieval caused a few
errors from the racket of Maqbool, Nathan taking it 11/6. The
second game started much like the first – Maqbool’s racket
skills causing Nathan to have to move all over the court,
however in this game the spring had slightly gone out of
Nathan’s legs, and he looked ever so slightly slower at the
front of the court.
Maqbool took the second game 11/7 thanks to a couple of glorious
cross court nicks. Into the third and Nathan seemed to be tiring
slightly, which meant his shots were becoming less and less
accurate, setting up either easy balls for Maqbool to put away,
or handing him strokes through loose play. Maqbool took the
third 11/8. It was now Maqbool that was looking tired at the
start of the fourth game. Nathan tried to keep the ball as tight
as possible to deny him the chance to use his racket skills –
and was visibly frustrated every time he played a loose cross
court. Some sublime touches from both players were the only way
that either of them were winning rallies. At the end of the
fourth it was Nathan’s skills with an unbelievable cross court
drop shot, followed up by a boast “taxi” that won him the game
14/12.
The fourth game saw some unreal touch and retrieval from both
players – almost every rally was end to end squash. In the end
Nathan’s slightly superior retrieval was the difference, winning
the fifth game 11/8. Lake won 3-2 11/6 7/11 8/11 14/12 11/8 (60
mins).
[2] Greg Lobban (Sco) v James Earles (Eng)
The final match of the (long!) evening saw Greg Lobban take on
James Earles. The first game saw long intense rallies with Greg
looking to take the ball early and increase the tempo at every
possible opportunity, this inevitably forced a loose shot from
the racket of Earles which Greg punished each time. Greg won the
first 11/5. The second game followed the same pattern, Greg
looking to get on the ball as early as possible, and James doing
everything he could to weather the storm.
Once again Greg punished every loose ball with some clinical
finished at the font to take the game 11/7. Same story in the
third. James ran out of ideas on what to do and his margin for
error became lower and lower – eventually making several errors
towards the back end of the game. Greg won the third 11/5.
Lobban won 3-0 11/5 11/7 11/5 (38 mins)
|
|
Qualifying Finals:
David Ireson reports
[4] Mohammed Elgawarhy (Egy) v [5] Jan van den Herrewegen (Bel)
In the early part of the first game Herrewegen seemed to be blown
away by the number of nick attempts from the racket of the young
Egyptian, going behing by 5 or 6 points. A few errors crept in due
to the amount of front court play, but the Egyptian managed to close
out the game. The second game was a more drawn out affair with
multiple lets, largely due to Elgawarhy causing himself problems by
going short so much when it wasn’t on then struggling to recover the
next shot.
A few careless balls into the front at critical moments handed
Herrewegen the second game. In the third game Herrewegen played some
really clever squash. Kept the ball very tight, and didn’t give
Elgawarhy anything to feed off. This paid dividend as it forced
several errors from the racket of the Egyptian. In the fourth game
it looked like Herrewegen was tiring. A few errors started to creep
into his game and Elgawarhy clearly noticed this and upped the
tempo, taking the ball in short at every opportunity, taking the
fourth 11/9. Herrewegen looked increasingly tired in the fifth and
as a result the Egyptian took a 10-2 lead.
Despite a spirited comeback to 10-7 the damage was already done.
Elgawarhy Elgawarhy (Egy) won 3-2 11/9 9/11 6/11 11/9 11/7 (59 mins).
[6] Arthur Moineau (Fra) v Tom De Mulder (Bel)
So the first game = block and let fest… not much else to say. The
second games was worse. More blocks and more lets. Nothing good to
report about. The third game looked to have started more cleanly,
but half way through the blocking and interference started again. At
the end of the match both players refused to shake hands, there was
some after discussion and it got a bit heated. Not really what the
spectator wants to see. De Mulder won 3-0 11/7 11/3 12/10 (44 mins).
[1] Matias Tuomi (Fin) v [7] Ben Grindrod (Nzl)
This match was a much more acceptable spectacle than the previous
match. Good clean play with both players making every effort to get
to the ball. The first two games were nip and tuck with not much to
decide between the players. In the third and fourth game Matias’
solid length and width and relentless retrieval seemed to be the
difference managing to just pull away at critical moments. Tuomi won
3-1 11/6 5/11 11/8 11/6 (51 mins)
[2] Nathan Lake (Eng) vs Bernat Jaume (Esp)
Nathan looked sharp throughout every game, Looking to take the ball
early on the volley and punish anything loose at the front by
getting onto the ball early and holding it wherever possible. Bernat
didn’t really seem to have an answer. He tried to get as many balls
back as he could and hung the rallies for as long as possible, but
the result was only ever going to go one way. As Bernat tired Nathan
looked stronger. Lake won 3-0 11/9 11/7 11/4 (43 mins)
|
|
Qualifying Round One:
The
opening match of the day saw Scotland’s Chris Shinnie take on
Mohammed Elgawarhy (Egy). The Egyptian took early control by hitting
a combination of solid lofted length with outrageous flurries of
winners. Chris was advised by coaching personnel to avoid fighting
fire with fire and instead focus on more conservative squash.
This seemed to pay dividend as Shinnie managed to claw his way back
into the second and in the third managed to earn himself two game
balls in the third before a couple errors allowed the game to run
away 15/13. Elgawarhy won 3-0 11/6 11/5 15/13 (20 mins).
The second match of the day featured local Mike Black (Sco) playing
the young and up and coming Jan van den Herrewegen (Bel). In the
first game Mike did not look comfortable and went 6-0 down. Once
Mike got a point on the board he looked more settled and managed to
ease his way into the game.
In the second Mike started more positively but still managed to go
6-0 down before getting a point on the board! The third was closer
at the start partially due to some excellent use of all of the
racket by MIke, but Jan had put enough work into Mike’s legs in the
first two games to make him tire twards the end of the third.
Herrewegen won 3-0 11/7 11/1 11/5 (19 mins).
The third match of the day saw ASRC’s Chris Leiper take on France’s
Arthur Moineau. The first game was saw Chris make a series of
uncharacteristic errors towards the end of the first game to throw
away a 4 point lead. The second was more positive from Chris with
less errors in the game, however some careless boasts allowed Arthur
to get in front and played some deft drops shots in the front left.
The third was more solid by both players and the rallies were
slightly longer. Some classy frame work from Arthur allowed him to
sneak a lead towards the end of the third game, eventually managing
to close it out on his third match ball. Moineau won 3-0 11/8 12/10
11/9 (28 mins).
In the fourth match of the day Kevin Moran (Sco) took on Tom De
Mulder (Bel). The first game was a let fest with the Belgian clearly
getting in the way of the Scot. In the second game the referee
decided to take a stronger stance on the deliberate interference,
but for inexplicable reasons the referee seemed hell bent on
penalising the Scot awarding a stroke against for a simple let, and
a let decision for a blatant stroke.
This harsh treatment seemed to distract Kevin as he lost the second
game 11-1. The third saw Kevin come back much more composed, and he
narrowly lost the third thanks to a couple of lucky nicks. Early in
the fourth game saw an inevitable heavy collision at the front of
the court, with Tom looking to be the worst off.
Despite this he managed to hold on until the end of the fourth. De
Mulder won 3-1 6/11 11/1 11/9 11/4 (50 mins).
The first match of the evening session was between Matias Tuomi
(Fin) and Phil Nightingale (Eng). The first game saw the referee
repeatedly call Tuomi “Tuominen”, but was pretty nip and tuck all
the way through. Matias eventually snuck ahead at the end.
The second game saw Phil come on with a clear game plan to play to
Matias’ forehand, however Matias was simply sublime in the deep back
hand nailing multiple straight drops straight in the nick, taking
the second game with relative ease 11/3. The third game saw more of
the same although this time Matias was finally being called “Tuomi”
by the referee. Tuomi won 3-0 11/9 11/3 11/4.
The next match up pitted ASRC’s Gavin Sutherland (Sco) (aka
“Stallion” and Grampian Squash’s Player of the Year) against Ben
Grindrod (Nzl). Gavin started the first positively hitting solid
length, but in the latter half of the game Ben’s engine was a bit
too strong for the “Stallion”.
The second game was pretty similar to the first with Gav competing
well in the early parts of the game, but just fading slightly in the
latter half. Gav started the third with some tight work down the
backhand side, and some very fair play from Ben gave Gav the early
lead. However a very similar pattern emerged in the third, Ben
running away with the third. Grindrod won 3-0 11/5 11/5 11/6.
The penultimate match of the evening was Lyell Fuller (Eng) vs
Bernat Jaume (Esp) in what was on paper the closest match of the
first qualifying round. There was never more than a point in it
until 7-7 when some untidy play by Bernat handed Lyell a few strokes
to take the game 11/7.
Lyell started hitting the ball much tighter in the second game which
again forced some loose shots from Bernat – giving away several
strokes in the early stages of the second game. Despite an early
lead the tenacious Bernat kept plugging away and managed to claw his
way back to 10-10 and then sneak the second game. After that Lyell
struggled with Bernat’s attritional style, and Bernat took the next
2 games. Jaume wins 3-1 7/11 12/10 11/6 11/7 (53 mins).
In the last match of the evening Jamie Henderson (Sco) was up
against Nathan Lake (Eng). Last year when Nathan played this even he
was returned from a period of injury. He return to Court 7 at ASRC
certainly showed his potential as he swiftly took the first game
11/7.
The second game was more competitive with Jamie’s length and width
improving, but he still struggled to get in front of Nathan,
eventually losing the second 11/9. In the third game a couple of
errors proved critical as Nathan managed to edge ahead at key
moments taking the third game and the match. Lake won 3-0 11/7 11/9
11/8 (37 mins).
|
|