|
|
 |
|
Final:
[2] Nicolas Meuller (Sui) bt [1] Tom Pashley (Eng)
11/8, 12/10, 11/2
Mueller claims Salzburg crown
Rehan van der Merwe
reports
Nicolas seemed slightly nervous at the start, as Tom set the pace
for the first few rallies. Müller settled quickly though and his
error free pressure soon paid dividends by pressuring Tom into some
errors midgame and allowing himself to close out the first game.
The second saw Tom starting more purposefully, upping the pace even
more. Nicolas absorbed everything Tom was throwing at him and turned
the attack back on Pashley to take his customary early lead. Nicolas
lost concentration midgame and made two cheap errors, with which Tom
took back the initiative.
He was doing everything right to set up three game balls at 10-7.
Müller still seemed as confident as ever and replied with some
superb rallies, creating his space and winning into these spaces,
thus denying Tom his set with a magnificent five point run,
delighting the crowd with his magic.
The third was all Müller as he quickly finished the rallies,
seemingly at will. He raced to end the match, disregarding any
efforts from Tom.
"He started so well, error free! I was
very relaxed and got into a good rhythm and got back at him.
"But that second game took so much out of me. He tends to start well
and if you let him get into his rhythm he can run away with it, as
he did in the third."
And so a great week of squash at
Salzburg Tennis Court Süd is concluded. Many thanks to Aqeel
Rehman for organising this event and thanks to Elekto
Ausweger and Bella Vita for the financial support.
 |
"I try to always have a good start and get an early lead in the
game. Tom got back into the games, but it worked him hard. We played
at a good, high pace.
"We've played each other a few times through juniors. We always had
good fair matches, the way the game should be played."
|
 Salzburg
Open 2009
26 Feb - 01 Mar, Austria, $3k |
Round One
27 Feb |
Quarters
28 Feb |
Semis
28 Feb |
Final
01 Mar |
[1]
Tom Pashley (Eng)
11/4 11/5 11/7
Stefan Brauneis (Aut) |
[1]
Tom Pashley
3/0
Marco Becker |
[1]
Tom Pashley 11/7, 11/6, 11/6
[Q] Stuart Crawford |
[1]
Tom Pashley 11/8, 12/10, 11/2
[2] Nicolas Mueller |
[8]
Jakob Dirnbirger (Aut)
11/5 11/6 8/11 13/11
Marco Becker (Rsa) |
[4]
Lewis Walters (Eng)
10/12 14/12 11/5 11/8
[Q] Stuart Crawford (Sco) |
[Q] Stuart Crawford
11/13, 11/1, 11/4, 11/9
[Q] Mark Fuller |
[7]
Domagoj Spoljar (Cro)
11/5 11/1 11/4
[Q] Mark Fuller (Eng) |
[Q] Lukas Jelinek (Cze)
11/8 11/6 12/14 5/11 11/6
[6] Phil Nightingale (Eng) |
[Q] Lukas Jelinek (
11/4, 11/8, 11/8
[3] Aqeel Rehman |
[3] Aqeel Rehman 11/9, 11/8,
12/10
[2] Nicolas Mueller |
Issa
Kamara (Sle)
11/3 11/5 11/3
[3] Aqeel Rehman (Aus) |
[Q] Bart Ravelli (Ned)
11/5 11/5 9/11 11/6
[5] Gary Wheadon (Rsa) |
[5] Gary Wheadon
3/2
[2] Nicolas Mueller |
Marek Manik (Svk)
11/3 11/7 13/11
[2] Nicolas Mueller (Sui) |
26-Feb, Qualifying Finals:
Bart Ravelli bt Theo Woodward
11/3 11/1 11/6
Mark Fuller bt Peter Kviensinsky
11/3 11/9 11/9
Lukas Jelinek bt Mick Biggs
11/6 11/6 11/6
Stuart Crawford bt Rene Mijs
11/7 11/13 11/9 9/11 11/6
26-Feb, First Round Qualification:
Mick Biggs bt Rehan van der Merwe
11/9 11/7 11/4
Stuart Crawford bt Marcus Greslehner
11/3 11/5 11/3
Theo Woodward bt Lukas Gnauer
11/6 11/7 7/11 10/12 14/12
Mick and Stuart had straightforward wins over the local entries,
setting up their second round qualification matches without too
much trouble.
Match of the morning certainly belonged to Woodward and Gnauer.
The Englander could not convert his 2-0 lead into a quick win,
and ended up 10-7 down in the fifth set. After some brutal
retrieving from both players and 4 matchballs against “The O”,
Woodward got his first match point with a spectacular crosscourt
nick and finished it off with a crunching crosscourt drive.
|
 |
|
Semis:
[1] Tom Pashley bt [Q] Stuart Crawford
11/7, 11/6, 11/6
[2] Nicolas Mueller bt [3] Aqeel Rehman 11/9, 11/8,
12/10
28-Feb, Semis:
Top two into the final ...
Rehan van der Merwe
reports
What promised to be a very tight match, turned out to be rather
one sided. Stewart Crawford, taking some strain after his 3 hard
matches, was unable to produce the same physical dominance that had
brought him this far as Tom Pashley took full control of the match.
Pashley did not allow the Scotsman
to draw him into a physical battle as he moved around him, past him
and into the finals, never showing any doubt in the one-sided
scoreline.
The crowd was delighted as Aqeel Rehman, Salzburger favourite and
tournament organiser took the court. He had, from the start, an
uphill battle against Nicolas Müller, fresh with confidence after
his win in Kuala Lumpur a week ago. Müller dominated and Aqeel, was
never allowed a foot into the match as he was constantly having to
catch up to Müller's barrage.
28-Feb, Quarters:
Crawford gatecrashes
Salzburg semis
Rehan van der Merwe
reports
Marco Becker's run came to an end today as Tom Pashley played
to his ranking and outplayed the South African in all departments.
Maybe some nerves or maybe some fatigue played a role, but Marco was
unable to produce the dominance he showed in the first round. Tom
was always a step ahead, and even when Becker improved his basics,
hitting good patient lengths, and soon edged out of reach of Marco.
It was another tough run for Stuart Crawford as he was pushed
hard by Mark "River Dance" Fuller. Mark pinched the first 13/11, but
thereafter Stewart always edged ahead. The rallies were always long
and hard, but even when Mark seemed to have a rally under control,
it could all change with the flick of the head or hand, and the
pressure would be reversed. Mark rallied him to the end, but Stewart
was rocksolid and denied Mark any reward for his
comeback efforts.
Nicolas Müller was set to test his smooth class against the
dogged physical drive of South African Gary Wheadon. Nicolas showed
his skills in the start, seemingly taking control, but Gary showed
off his own skills but was denied the set with good positional play
from Nicolas.
Then Gary hit the tin. Into the 3rd he still struggled to avoid the
tin,
but eventually got it under control, and his workrate started to pay
dividends to clinch it 12/10.
The turning, moving, grinding continued as Gary made it 2-2, Müller
never letting him have it easy. In the fifth Nicolas showed better
control. The match simply slipped away as Gary could not come up
with the right answers. Nicolas nonchalantly drifts through to the
final.
The crowd was delighted as Aqeel Rehman cruised to the
semifinal against Lukas Jelinek. Aqeel the Dynamo pushed the pace,
Jelinek tried to slow it down with his light hand. After a one-sided
first set Lukas varied the pace better and was able to able to
disturb Aqeel's rhythm somewhat, but Aqeel kept his focus and groped
back control of the second game as Lukas seemed to be suddenly
unsure towards the end.
In the third Lukas seemed out of sorts and frustrated as Aqeel made
the whole stringbed and frame count in some fantastic running, as
Aqeel systematically worked his opponent down, and bashed his way
towards a semi with Müller.
|
Rumour of the day:
It has been mentioned that Mark Fuller has actually BEATEN the
beep-test. We are awaiting official confirmation, but you are
welcome to confirm this to the WSF or YouTube if you have evidence.
|
27-Feb, Round One:
Qualifiers succeed in
Salzburg
Rehan van der Merwe
reports
The main event is underway in Salzburg and already it is living up
to the great expectations.
First match on the Bella Vita main court was an all-Salzburg affair.
Jakob Dirnberger, Vienna based, Salzburger born, had to fend off
Salzburger Bundesliga newcomer Marco Becker. From the start
Becker piled on the pressure and for the first two games seemed to
dominate, taking the ball earlier and to better length and then
rounding it off with some sublime counterdrops.
Dirnberger found some hope in the third as Becker was flatfooted and
seemed to tire, making quick progress towards setpoint, and then
making nil of Marco's end-of-set comeback. Game four was the fight
we expected, with nothing in it as Dirnberger almost levelled. It
was, however, the South African who made his wildcard count, hanging
on for a 13-11 win in the fourth.
More Austrian disappointment as Tom Pashley cruised past
Stefan Brauneis into the quarterfinals.
Stuart Crawford vs Lewis Walters: eish! They worked
each other every which way, and for the first two games there was
nothing in it, levelling at 1-1, both putting in a lot of mileage.
Lewis seemed to take some frustration (see quote-of-the-day) with
him into the third game as Crawford snatched a 2-1 lead.
Then followed some more of the earlier delight as they pushed each
other point for point to 8-8 ... And then it was over! Three quick
points for Crawford as Lewis seemed to loose concentration and
Crawford nailed the winners.
What seemed to be a very even match at first turned out to be fairly
one-sided match as Mark Fuller hopped past the smooth moving
Croatian Domagoj Spoljar 3-0, returning everything that Spoljar
could offer with interest.
Home interest was expectedly kept alive as Salzburger Aqeel
Rehman showed off his new Manchester-honed skills against Issa
Kamara. A lot of letting and stroking, but no threat to the third
seed!
Meanwhile, One-bag-wonder Phil Nightingale and Lukas
Jelinek did battle. Phil's gaping backhand boast worked his
opponent hard, but for the first two games it was all Lukas, but he
got a bit disheartened by some referee calls.
For the next two games, Lukas was in Phil's web, taking his space
and frustrating Lukas with his lanky technique. Lukas' beautiful
two-wall forehand boast was his strength and his weakness, making
some awesome points and at times making many mistakes. In the end,
the cursed ceiling did not help Phil, and Lukas edged to a 3-2 win.
Very entertaining match!
Nicolas Müller vs Marek Manik: Manik impressed, but
had no answer to the clinical skills of Fede... uhm I mean: Müller.
Last match on was Gary Wheadon, controlling Bart Ravelli for
two games. Bart gained more control of his shots in the third, but
never seemed to really threaten Gary, who made it through in four.
|
Referee quote of the day:
Lewis Walters: "let! ...?", Stuart Crawford: "no
let! ...!" ...
Confused Referee:
"uh uh WHAAAAAAT!??" :-D
Selfsure Referee:
"sorry Mate, I don't know, I didn't see! This piece of
red line was in the way!!
 |
|
|
26-Feb, Qualifying Finals:
Qualifying complete in Salzburg
Rehan van der Merwe
reports
After his marathon in the morning, Theo Woodward's tank was low from
the start and he could not make a big impression on his Dutch
opponent. Bart Ravelli was turning and dominating the English
player at will and cruised into the main draw.
 Lukas
Jelinek had a straightforward win over his roommate, not
allowing Mick Biggs to get into the match.
The score between Mark Fuller and Peter Kviensinky belied the
intensity of the match. Eventually Fuller outmanoeuvred the
Slovakian for a 65 minute 3-0 win.
Match of the evening belonged to Rene Mijs and Stuart Crawford.
What started out innocently enough became a real physical battle,
with both players giving the ref enough to think about. The Scottish
terrier was just able to control and attack better in the end, not
letting go, Rene running out of ideas with Crawford winning 11/6 in
the fifth.
 "I
lost a bit of confidence towards the end of the games. I thought I
was well ahead in the first few games, but Rene seemed to get a run
of points when I switched off and that knocked my confidence. The
first three games were quite physical. The last game I slowed it
down and lifted the ball at which he made a few more errors ...
"I don't really care who I get for tomorrow, as long as I play
better."
Tomorrow promises to be an exciting
day. The fans are looking forward to tough matches. In particular,
the matches Crawford vs Walters and Austrian no 2 Dirnberger vs
Wildcard Marco Becker could turn out to be interesting. Local-hero
and Austrian no 1 Aqeel Rehman will start his campaign against Issa
Kamara. |
 |
|
