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Oregon Open 2015
16-21 Feb, Portland, Usa, $15k |
21-Feb:
Cuskelly captures Oregon title
Anders Giltvedt reports
 As
reported last night, Ryan Cuskelly, Australia, and Egyptian Omar
Abdel Meguid had monstrous, upsetting matches exceeding the 100
minute mark in the semis. Naturally, one might struggle the next
day.
And this was the case on the Oregon Open 2015 championship match. In
the first game Cuskelly, who has been working extremely hard in
Greenwich, CT, exposed Meguid with soft touch in front corners,
resulting in the Aussie taking the first game relatively quickly
with an 11-5 win.
 In
the second game Ryan continued in his impetuous form and forged out
a 6-0 lead. Playing error free squash and moving the slightly
fatigued Meguid around the court a bit too much for his liking had
Cuskelly take a massive 9-2 lead. A couple of superb rallies later
saw Meguid creep back two points; however, Ryan's fantastic short
game tonight secured the second game with a beautiful, slightly
paused, traight drive that licked the wall and a died in the back
corner. Game two 11-4.
The start of the third game saw Omar change his tactics to increase
the pace to force Cuskelly errors. This only lengthened the rallies
as Cuskelly exemplified a human wall, with fast paced and slow-downs
returns repeatedly. Meguid leveled at one all after another physical
but creative rally and let out a scream in his attempt to gain some
momentum. To his credit, Cuskelly responded swiftly with a deft
drop-nick followed by a another fantastic front court nick at an
astonishing angle.
 The sold-out crowd was on their feet for both players when at 2-4
Meguid hits a great kill on the forehand with an awesome slice to
reduce the lead. The Aussie kept showcasing his wide array of shots
including some quick, but hesitation trickle boasts. The players
went back and forth and Meguid showed off his great length, width
and feather hands hitting to level at 6-6. Another classic Cuskelly
front right corner nick followed by a couple of long rallies
culminating with Cuskelly winners resulted in a 10-7 lead. At match
point Meguid went for a hard-charging nick which barely tinned, thus
capping the game 11-7 for a 3-0 Cuskelly
championship final win and a fantastic week of squash in Portland,
Oregon.
Chris Gordon, currently the highest ranked U.S. player on the tour,
made the right calls in a championship final exhibiting true
sportsmanship by both players.
After the final, MAC Head Squash Professional Ashley Read asked
Meguid whether the 107 minute semi-final against #1 seed affected
his plan for the final. Meguid very graciously commented "The
effort early on in the third game was defining the outcome
reflecting the atrocious semi-finals. I apologize for not playing up
to my standards tonight. However I'm planning on returning to Oregon
Open next year, a tournament and squash community which makes me
feel so welcome.”
 Upon
receiving his trophy, Cuskelly noted "In the past it's been a
tough battle for me at the Oregon Open. I feel the result of
strenuous work and focus over the past year has elevated my game
towards the world top 20. Winning the Oregon Open defeating higher
ranked and experienced players such as Adrian Grant and Meguid
builds confidence moving forward".
On a final note, the Oregon Open Tournament Committee says hats off
to Cuskelly, Meguid, and all the professionals for show-casing world
class squash, exemplifying sportsmanship and camaraderie at the
Oregon Open 2015 hosted by the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland,
Oregon, over the past week.
Anders Giltvedt
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On Twitter:
@oregonopen2015
"This is one for the Billiards Room !!"
the organising committee |
  Oregon
Open 2015
16-21 Feb, Portland, Usa, $15k |
Round One
18 Feb |
Quarters
19 Feb |
Semis
20 Feb |
Final
21 Feb |
[1] Saurav Ghosal (Ind)
11/13, 11/4, 11/2, 11/6 (53m)
Peter Creed (Wal) |
[1] Saurav Ghosal
3/11, 11/5,11/8, 11/6 (84m)
[6] Greg Lobban |
[1] Saurav Ghosal
9/11, 11/6, 9/11, 15/13, 11/4 (107m)
[3] Omar Abdel Meguid |
[3] Omar Abdel Meguid
11/5, 11/4, 11/7
[4] Ryan Cuskelly |
[6] Greg Lobban (Sco)
13/11, 7/11, 11/7, 11/2 (46m)
[Q] Nathan Lake (Eng) |
[8] Jaymie Haycocks (Eng)
11/3, 8/11, 6/11, 11/10, 11/1 (85m)
[Q] Andrew Schnell (Can) |
[8] Jaymie Haycocks
11/6, 11/9, 11/6 (41m)
[3] Omar Abdel Meguid |
[3] Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy)
11/6, 11/9, 11/6
[Q] Rodrigo Pezotta (Arg) |
[Q] Chris Hanson (Usa)
11/1, 11/9, 9/11, 11/2 (40m)
[4] Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) |
[4] Ryan Cuskelly
11/7, 11/6, 11/9 (41m)
[7] Chris Gordon |
[4] Ryan Cuskelly
15/13, 12/10, 11/13, 12/14, 11/6 (105m)
[2] Adrian Gran |
[wc] Faraz Khan (Usa)
11/6, 14/12, 9/11, 11/6 (54m)
[7] Chris Gordon (Usa) |
Tayyab Aslam (Pak)
6/11, 11/9, 14/12, 11/8 (38m)
[5] Shawn Delierre (Can) |
[5] Shawn Delierre
11/6, 10/12, 11/3, 14/12 (48m)
[2] Adrian Grant |
Abdulla Al Tamimi (Qat)
11/5, 11/8, 14/12 (34m)
[2] Adrian Grant (Eng) |
17-Feb, Qualifying Finals:
[7] Nathan Lake (Eng)
3-0 [1] Julian Illingworth (Usa)
13-11, 12-10, 11-6 (48m)
[8] Rodrigo Pezzota (Arg)
3-2 [3] Joe Chapman (Bvi) 11-9, 11-5, 4-11, 12-10 (90m)
Chris Hanson (Usa) 3-1
[5] Shahjahan Khan (Pak)
11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7 (65m)
[2] Andrew Schnell (Can) 3-2
[6] Amaad Fareed (Pak)
11-3, 11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-2
(74m)
16-Feb, Qualifying Round One:
[1] Julian Illingworth (Usa)
3-0
Adrian Ostbye (Nor)
11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (30m)
[7] Nathan Lake (Eng) 3-0 Reuben Phillips (Eng)
11-8, 11-6, 17-15 (40m)
[8] Rodrigo Pezzota (Arg) 3-1 Mark Broekman (Eng)
11-4, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5 (40m)
[3] Joe Chapman (Bvi) 3-0 Charlie Wagner (Usa)
11-3, 11-3, 11-8 (28m)
Chris Hanson (Usa) 3-0
[4] Matthew Serediak (Can)
11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (40m)
[5] Shahjahan Khan (Pak) 3-0 Adewale Amao (Ngr)
11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (40m)
[6] Amaad Fareed (Pak) 3-0 Matthew Bassist (Usa)
11-2, 11-5, 12-10 (25m)
[2] Andrew Schnell (Can) 3-0 Phillip Carbajal (Usa)
11-4, 11-3, 11-2 (25m)
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 20-Feb:
Two marathon upset semis in Portland
Anders Giltvedt reports
Two enthralling matches in well north of three hours - what an
evening of squash it was in Portland tonight!
Saurav Ghosal v Omar Abdel Meguid
 It
was a cagey start from both players with quite a few lets and tins.
The pace picked up towards the end and it was Saurav that just
pipped it in the end 11-9.
The second had a somewhat different dynamic as the rallies became
longer and both players started to find their length. It was Omar
who took a sizeable lead at the start holding a very strong T
position and taking his space when necessary. He maintained focus to
close out the game 11-5.
 Some
explosive rallies in the third, including a few ending with Meguid
on the floor, had the crowd jumping out of their seats. Omar was
matching Saurav's agility and precision at times, but the Indian
came out on top with another 11-9 scoreline.
More entertaining exchanges ensued in the fourth with some exquisite
finishing in the front court from both players. After a closely
contested tiebreak, with Saurav having four match balls, the big
Egyptian forced a decisive fifth game winning 15-13 after 30
grueling minutes.
 In
the final game, it was the higher ranked Ghosal who seemed to fall
off the pace, just slightly, as Meguid powered his way to an 11-4
victory in a 107 minute entertaining first semi-final. This was the
longest and, together Greg Lobban’s superb battle with Ghosal last
night, the most entertaining match of the tournament so far.
Between the semi finals, Geoff Hunt commented on the high quality
of the previous day's quarter finals. Hunt especially noted Greg
Lobban's thoughtful strategies and steady execution against a player
of Saurav Ghosal's caliber as well as the variety of well timed
shots that he executed.
Adrian Grant v Ryan Cuskelly
 Stepping
on court over an hour after the scheduled start time, both players
exhibited a steady start to the match. The two left handers felt out
each other's game style with quite rhythmic hitting. While there was
a notable increase in pace at 9-9, it took Cuskelly 37 punishing
minutes to edge the tie break 15-13.
The second game was more of the same with clean ball striking from
both. There was a metronomic flow to the game, broken up only by a
few traffic problems in the back left corner as well as 4 broken
strings between the two within a short 10 minutes. Once again
Cuskelly squeaked through in a very tough tie break 12-10.
Grant came out with a new focus in the third game taking a 7-3 lead
and seemed in control. However, four tins in a row from the
experienced Englishman let Cuskelly back into the game. In yet
another tie break, Grant finally finds a way to force a fourth,
taking it 13-11.
The fourth game continued in the same vein with the players trading
points up to, you guessed it, another tie breaker. Somehow the
accurate attacks and breathtaking retrievals kept coming from both.
Grant came out on top 14-12 and the match headed to a decider.
In the fifth game Cuskelly pulled out the last energy left from the
get to and raced to a 7-1 lead. He completed the upset with a
decisive 11-6.
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On Twitter:
@oregonopen2015 |
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19-Feb:
Top seeds through to semis in Portland
Nancy Keates reports
The night began badly for Jaymie Haycocks, who was nicked in
the nose on a follow-through swing from Omar Meguid’s racquet
before there was even a point scored.
 When
Jaymie came back on court, Omar jumped right in and took advantage
of his lengthy frame, returning everything sent his way. He nabbed
three drops shots in a row in the left corner; then he hit three
tins in a row.
Throughout all three games, Omar’s biggest opponent was himself: He
hit tin after tin after tinny tin tin. “It’s all in my head,”
Omar said afterwards, adding that he was feeling less than his usual
level of self-confidence.
The score went to five-all and then seven-all in Jaymie’s favor in
the second game but a combination of stroke calls against Jaymie and
some good back-court nicks by Omar ended that game 11-9. The last
game was less even, starting at 5-0 for Omar, narrowing as Omar
tinned and then finishing with a stroke call against Jaymie. “I
thought he’d push harder,” Omar said of Jaymie. “He is usually much
faster.”
An overflow crowd pushed in to see the second match between
Saurav Ghosal and Greg Lobban. It was both fast and slow
at the same time.
The players were quick on their feet but the rallies were long and
drawn out. As seems to be his style, Saurav held back in the first
game, which Greg won 11-3. In the second he picked up the pace,
slamming volleys. Greg held his own, and the two players leaped and
lunged around the court. Greg made a series of errors and the score
went to six-one for Saurav; Greg came back to make it a seven-four
score for Saurav but he couldn’t sustain his momentum and Saurav won
the next three games.
Saurav’s racquet was almost always in the right place at the right
time. This was the first time the two played each other. “It feels
like I was close but the scores don’t reflect that,” said Greg. At
the end of the match tournament head Anders Giltvedt presented both
players with pieces of chocolate cake, having discovered it was
Saurav’s greatest weakness.
The third match saw the exit of the last American standing, as
Ryan Cuskelly beat Chris Gordon 3-0. Cuskelly came out
firing in the first game, finishing rallies with some blistering
cross court nicks.
“He had an answer for everything,” Gordon said. Half way
through the second game, Gordon applied his deft touch to counter
Cuskelly’s offense but it wasn't enough to level the scoreline.
The third game was the most entertaining of the match, as Cuskelly
just barely edged Gordon at the end with a tight backhand kill at
10-9. “I’ve been trying to be more aggressive and keep on top of the
ball,” said Cuskelly. Asked if he thinks he could win the whole
tournament, he said “I didn’t come here expecting to lose.”
The pace slowed considerably in the fourth and final match as
somewhat older players Adrian Grant and Shawn Delierre
took the court.
It was a faceoff between Beauty & The Beast, with Adrian as the
Beauty, turning on the charm and executing skillful, gorgeous shots,
and Shawn as the Beast, lurching around, repeatedly crashing into
his opponent, his wild hair barely contained by headbands that
changed color every game. The first game was close at first until
Adrian hit a series of winners that seemed to take Shawn by
surprise.
In the second game, Adrian missed more shots and Shawn stepped up
his force-a-let routine, bulldozing into Adrian and creating
interferences so effective that ref Chris Gordon had no alternative
but to allow them. For the third game, Shawn bounded on to the court
in a sleeveless shirt, pumped with energy, but Adrian ignored that
and outplayed him.
The crowd seemed to be on Shawn’s side until the end of Game 4,
when, at 9-all, Shawn erupted over a let call, prompting Adrian to
lean over and give him a hug. Asked if he made a habit of hugging
his opponents on court, Adrian gave his signature grin and explained
that it just seemed like a natural impulse at the time.
“I was just trying to get through this massive mental battle. I had
to find a way to relax,” he said, adding that “all the players are
so fit and strong, it’s just upstairs who is the strongest.”
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On Twitter:
@oregonopen2015
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18-Feb:
First Round completed
Nancy Keates reports
 The
first match of the day was a faceoff between Jaymie Haycocks and
Andrew Schnell, who was fresh off a five-game, one-and-a-half
hour marathon played late the previous night.
Jaymie easily took the first game with beautiful drops and kill
shots. But then Andrew seemed to wake up; he picked up the pace,
motoring around the court and nabbing Jaymie on repeat drop shots to
win a close second game. The crowd started to thicken as the Andrew
used the same strategy; he almost pulled off another win but hit the
tin at the final point, giving the third game to Jaymie. The fourth
game went quickly, with Jaymie taking control again.
Last time these two faced off, Andrew won. “I knew I had to
up the intensity,” Jaymie said afterwards. “He plays too fast and
too well,” Jaymie said.
 Next
up, Greg Lobban had a rocky beginning against Nathan Lake,
barely winning the first game and losing the second, a particularly
contentious game that saw Greg arguing numerous ref calls. Maybe it
was the calming presence of his girlfriend, top world squash player
Australian Donna Urquhart, that helped Greg return for the fourth
game refocused and more clinical; he picked up the pace, forcing
errors on Nathan.
 It
was widely speculated that the third match of the day, between
third-seed Egyptian Omar Meguid and Argentinian Rodrigo
Pezzota, would be over fast. And it was: Lasting 26 minutes.
But Rodrigo put up more of a challenge than expected, especially in
the third game, when Omar hit a bunch of tins. Running around the
very large Egyptian, who dominated the T, Rodrigo couldn’t sustain
enough momentum to combat Omar’s lethal combination: a precision of
shots and a total domination of space.
Asked what it was like playing such a big guy, Rodrigo replied it
made him feel “very small”. Omar is looking ahead to his
match Thursday, when he plays Englishman Jaymie Haycock. “It’s
never an easy match against him. He has good racquet skills,” he
said.
Next up were the Speed Racers. Both small and lithe, Peter Creed
and Saurav Ghosal flew around the court. With Peter sporting a
bright purple shirt and numerous tattoos, and Saurav in hot pink, it
was a colorful show.
Peter knew he had a tough match going in against the top-seeded
Saurav but he didn’t show any jitters and he had a great start,
clinching the first game by playing top-level squash. As the games
went on, Sauvrav pushed the pace faster and Peter had to work
harder, resulting in more errors.
“I played in a way that will improve me going forward. If I keep
playing that way, that first-game intensity will only last longer
and longer,” Peter said after the game.
 In
a contrast of stature, two tall, dark and lanky Americans came on
the court next for Match 5. Chris Gordon faced off against
the tournament’s Wild Card, Faraz Khan, who is a
University of Rochester alum and a pal of Multnomah Athletic Club
protégé Adam Perkiomaki.
The crowd was large but oddly silent. Every game was a nail-biter.
Chris, who resembled something like a human spider, arms almost
reaching both side walls, maintained control of the T as Faraz
scrambled around him retrieving what seemed like irretrievable,
impossible shots. This was Chris’s fourth time playing the Oregon
Open and repeat Portland spectators noted how much stronger he has
become. Gordon and Faraz might meet again soon at the U.S.
Nationals.
Match 6: Ryan came out all guns blazing and took the first
game very comfortably 11-1. Chris rebounded in the second and
both players put on a great display of accurate hard hitting, as
trusty backup chronicler Adrian Ostbye reports. It was nip and tuck
through to the fourth; Cuskelly taking the second 11-9, Hanson
taking the third 11-9.
The 4th played out similarly to the first with an 11-2 scoreline.
Hanson was clearly feeling the effects of his previous matches this
week. The two training partners displayed very similar game styles,
but it was Cuskelly's experience that shined through in the end.
There was much on-court entertainment in Match 7 when the verbally
adroit Adrian Grant played the young Qatari Abulla Tamimi.
Abdulla awarded himself with a Tarzan-like cry whenever he hit a
particularly winning shot and chided himself loudly when he made
mistakes, saying at one point to Adrian “It’s Christmas today for
you.” Abdulla did hit a lot of tins – but he also had some killers,
keeping Adrian on his toes.
When ref Chris Hanson called a ball down and Adrian questioned it,
Chris said it “sounded” down. “But did it look down?” Adrian asked.
When Abdulla called himself a “woofer”, Adrian asked ref Chris if
that was okay language, Chris responded, “I’m American – I don’t
know what a woofer is. ”. Adrian won the first two games
comfortably. In the third game, Adrian hit a great shot and let out
a loud imitation of Abdulla’s Tarzan yell.
Adrian took up the opportunity to advertise for a job: "I'm
currently based in LA looking at squash opportunities" he
said...
 The
final match of the night was between fiery Canadia Shawn Delierre
(known to the Portland Junior squash players for his love of Legos)
and Tayyab Islam. Tayyab clinched the first game but Shawn
made the rallies go longer and longer as the games went on and woked
his way back into the fray, winning the next two in a calm and
uneventful match.
Asked about his impending meetup with Adrian Grant tomorrow, Shawn
said “We will see who breaks first.”
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On Twitter:
@oregonopen2015
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17-Feb:
Qualifying complete in Oregon
Players treated the ever-growing local crowd at the Multnomah
Athletic Club to long, close matches, in the final qualification
round of the Oregon Open today.
Rodrigo Pezzota 3-1 Joe Chapman
 Pezzota dominated a match beset by lets and extended by long
rallies. At one point ref Matthew Serediak defended his call of a
let over a stroke by saying “You’re playing him, not the ball.”
Nevertheless, Chapman’s tins and strokes at key moments finally
clinched it for the Argentinian.
Chris Hanson 3-1 Shahjahan Khan
 The young Khan put up a skillful fight but Chris was just playing
too well -- volleying beautifully and making few errors. Spectators
noted the exceptional level of play Chris has displayed in the past
two days.
Nathan Lake 3-0 Julian Illingworth
 Playing in a white collared shirt to a packed home crowd, Julian
didn’t win – but he also didn’t disappoint his numerous and
multifarious fans, who ranged from the smallest kids he coaches to
his wife, mother and some of the Multnomah Athletic Club’s old-time
squash octogenarians.
It was a close match, and both Julian and Nathan played with class.
Andrew Schnell 3-2 Amaad Fareed
 What an ending to the night! Andrew was up 2-0, controlling the pace
and finishing rallies skillfully in both games. Then Amaad came
back, moving quickly and nailing winners, winning a tiebreak in the
third game and swiftly taking the fourth game.
The crowd was eagerly anticipating a climactic fifth game, but
Andrew returned to the court refocused and charged his way through
to the end, helped by some unforced errors from Amaad.
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Tournament Chair Anders Giltvedt with Geoff Hunt
On Twitter:
@oregonopen2015 |
17-Feb-15
Qualifying under way in Oregon
Even as the sun shone outside, a large contingent of the local
Portland crowd descended into the basement courts of the Multnomah
Athletic Club on the first day of qualifying for the 2015 Oregon
Open, where everything pretty much went as expected.
Rodrigo Pezzota 3-1 Mark Broekman
Soft-handed Pezzota was relaxed and held the ball well but got tired
in the third game. Broekman could have come back in the fourth but
hit a lot of tins.
Joe Chapman 3-0 Charlie Wagner
Local
progeny Charlie Wagner, who grew up playing on the MAC courts, had
the support of the audience, which included his squash-playing
parents and childhood friends.
Charlie played well and stepped it up in the third game but couldn’t
beat Chapman’s consistent straight drives.
Julian Illingworth 3-0 Adrian Ostbye
Julian might have a newborn at home, just four weeks old -- but he
didn’t show any sleep deprivation today on the courts, as he
gracefully drop-shotted his way to victory, helped by some lucky
nicks.
Nathan Lake 3-0 Reuben Phillips
This was the best match of the day. All the action happened in the
last game, when Phillips was able to rattle Lake, who looked a
little like a human backboard, getting almost every shot. Lake
opened the glass door a few too many times to argue with the ref but
was able to hold his temper to get through to the end. “We’ve played
too many times. I’ve got the edge on him but it’s getting harder,”
Lake said after the match.
Amaad Fareed 3-0 Matthew Bassist
Local powerhouse hitter Matt Bassist – who is never too busy to hit
with a promising junior – held his own against the talented Mr.
Fareed but it was a quick match.
Andrew Schnell 3-0 Phillip Carbajal
Both players, fashionably dressed in all-black, showed persistent
precision but the super-fit Canadian pulled through in the end. The
score doesn’t reflect how long the rallies lasted.
Shahjahan Khan 3-0 Adwale Amao
With his father/coach close at hand, young Seattle based Khan
steadily outran Amao in this closely-matched competition.
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On Twitter:
@oregonopen2015
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