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Boca del Rio Veracruz International 2011
21-26 June, Veracruz, Mexico, $22k+$20k |
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Men's Draw
Women's
Draw
Live Streaming
Gallery
(142 photos)
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26-Jun,
Finals:
[2] Samantha Teran
(Mex) bt [1] Natalie Grinham (Ned)
7/11, 8/11, 11/7, 11/7, 11/7 (69m)
Eric Galvez (Mex) bt
Cesar Salazar (Mex)
11/4, 12/10, 11/5 (40m)
Teran comeback claims Veracruz title
Arthur Curran reports
 The ladies final started off in front of a fairly vociferous and
partisan crowd, with top seed Natalie Grinham starting the
more comfortable, easing into a 5/1 lead then 7/2 and 8/3. Local
favourite Samantha Teran, the second seed, nearly caught up
at 7/8 but could not sustain the challenge and Natalie won out 11/7.
Second game started off very evenly with the score going up to 5/5,
Samantha eased in front to 8/5 but again could not sustain it and
Natalie went on a great run to take the game 11/8. Both ladies were
playing excellent squash, keeping the crowd enthralled at their
movement around the court and their ability to retrieve from
anywhere on the court.
 The third game started to swing in Samantha’s favour as she took the
score from 5/5 up to 9/5 then won the game 11/7 to start a wonderful
comeback. The fourth game started with Samantha taking a 4/1 lead
but Natalie pulled back to lead 5/4, from there the score went level
up to 7/7 but then Samantha again swept in front to win the game
11/7.
In the final game Natalie appeared to be visibly tiring whilst
Samantha appeared the fresher, looking lovely in all white, and she
went on to take the game 11/5 and the match 3 games to 2, to the
absolute delight of the crowd.
Galvez makes it a Mexican
Double
 The
men’s final turned out to be totally in opposition to the rankings,
with Cesar ranked #56 and Eric ranked #103, although I was informed
later that Eric was Mexico’s No 1 two years ago and ranked #30 in
the world but has had a couple of years off and is now coming back
into the fold, and with good reason after this week’s performance.
He took a comfortable 8/2 lead in the first, Cesar pulled back two
before Eric served out well to take the game 11/4. Again Eric fought
his way into a 6/0 lead before Cesar managed a point, Cesar managed
a couple before Eric got to 8/2, Cesar pulled a few more back until
Eric got to game ball at 10/7 but Cesar got back on level terms at
10/10, but still could not stop the exuberant Eric taking the game
eventually 12/10.
Cesar scored the first point of the third but it was not until Eric
led 8/1 that he scored again, taking four points without reply to go
5/8, but then Eric came back and took the game 11/5 and the match 3
– 3, in front of a large appreciative crowd here at Squashclub
Veracruz.
Presentations were made on court immediately after the final match,
and everybody, including myself, was absolutely delighted with the
week’s proceedings.
And from my own point of view, I could not have been treated better
by everybody involved with the tournament, especially Tournament
Director Miguel Montero, his assistants Arturo, Miriam and
Stephanie, and all the wonderful people at this fantastic club,
unfortunately I cannot remember all their names.
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 Boca
del Rio International 2011
21-26 June, Veracruz, Mexico, $22k |
Round One
23 Jun |
Quarters
24 Jun |
Semis
25 Jun |
Final
26 Jen |
[1] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col)
14/12, 12/10, 11/6 (38m)
[Q] Reiko Peter (Sui) |
[1] Miguel Angel Rodriguez
11/8, 11/8, 11/7 (40m)
Jorge Baltazar |
[1] Miguel Angel Rodriguez
13/11, 15/13, 1/11, 11/9 (90m)
Cesar Salazar |
Cesar Salazar
14.15
Eric Galvez |
Jorge Baltazar (Mex)
11/7 rtd
Alfredo Avla (Mex) |
Cesar Salazar (Mex)
11/5, 11/9/ 11/6 (35m)
Fabien Verseille (Fra) |
Cesar Salazar
14/12, 11/4, 11/2 (40m)
[3] Stéphane Galifi |
[Q] Joan Lezaud (Fra)
11/2, 11/7, 15/13 (45m)
[3] Stéphane Galifi (Ita) |
[4] Shawn Delierre (Can)
11/6, 11/7, 11/4 (22m)
Eric Tepos (Mex) |
[4] Shawn Delierre
12/10, 11/8, 7/11, 12/10 (104m)
Eric Galvez |
Eric Galvez
16/14, 11/2, 6/11, 11/8 (85m)
[2] Arturo Salazar |
[Q] Gerardo de Paul Garcia (Mex)
11/6,11/4, 11/5 (35m)
Eric Galvez (Mex) |
[Q] Jonathan Ramos (Mex)
11/9, 11/7, 7/11, 13/11 (72m)
Karim AGA Samy (Egy) |
Karim AGA Samy
11/4,11/5, 13/11 (35m)
[2] Arturo Salazar |
Marco Antonio Toriz-Caddo (Mex)
11/3, 11/4, 11/6 (28m)
[2] Arturo Salazar (Mex) |
22-Jun,
Qualifying Finals:
Joan Lezaud (FRA) bt Josue Gomez (MEX)
11/5, 11/3, 11/3 (25m)
Jonathan Ramos (MEX) bt Miguel Angel Gomez (MEX)
11/5, 11/6, 11/7 (26m)
Gerardo de Paul Garcia (MEX) bt Fernando Lopez (MEX) 11/13,
11/8, 11/4, 11/4 (35m)
Reiko Peter (SUI) beat Bryan Bonilla (GUA)
11/6, 11/1, 11/3 (25m)
21-Jun, Qualifying Round One:
Joan Lezaud (Fra) bye
Josue Gomez (Mex) bt Armando Olguin (Mex) 11/4, 9/11, 11/7, 11/8 (35m)
Miguel Angel Gomez (Mex) bt Jorge Zayas del Bosque (Mex)
w/o
Jonathan Ramos (Mex)
bt Salvador Martinez (Mex)
11/4, 11/9, 13/11 (30m)
Fernando Lopez (Mex) bt Ricardo Lopez (Mex)
7/11, 8/11, 11/2,11/6,11/4 (54m)
Gerardo de Paul Garcia (Mex) bt Juan Carlos
Gomez (Mex) 11/6, 11/9, 11/9
(28m)
Bryan Bonilla (Gua) bt Edgar Zayas (Mex)
w/o
Reiko Peter (Sui) bye
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 Boca
del Rio International 2011
21-26 June, Veracruz, Mexico, $20k |
Round One
23 Jun |
Quarters
24 Jun |
Semis
25 Jun |
Final
26 Jen |
[1] Natalie Grinham (Ned)
11/5, 11/6, 11/2 (22m)
[Q] Samantha Cornett (Can) |
[1] Natalie Grinham
12/14, 11/8, 11/6, 11/6 (58m)
[6] Olivia Blatchford |
[1] Natalie Grinham
10/12, 11/6, 11/6, 13/11 (60m)
[4] Aisling Blake |
[1] Natalie Grinham
13.30
[2] Samantha Teran |
[6] Olivia Blatchford (Usa)
11/4, 11/3, 11/7 (20m)
Karina Heredia (Mex) |
[4] Aisling Blake (Irl)
11/5, 11/13, 12/10, 8/11, 11/3 (60m)
Carmen Lee (Hkg) |
[4] Aisling Blake
11/8, 11/2, 11/1 (32m)
[8] Thaisa Serafini |
[8] Thaisa Serafini (Bra)
12/10, 11/3, 12/10 (38m)
[Q] Karla Urrutia (Mex) |
Ivonne Diaz (Mex)
11/7, 13/11, 12/10, 11/6 (40m)
[7] Milou Van Der Heijden (Ned) |
[7] Milou Van Der Heijden
11/9, 11/5, 11/8 (25m)
[3] Joey Chan |
[3] Joey Chan
11/5, 7/11, 11/7, 11/8 (45m)
[2] Samantha Teran |
Nayelly Hernandez (Mex)
11/6, 11/5, 11/7 (21m)
[3] Joey Chan (Hkg) |
[Q] Yathreb Adel (Egy)
11/8, 12/10, 11/7 (35m)
[5] Latasha Khan (Usa) |
[5] Latasha Khan
11/2, 11/4, 11/8 (31m)
[2] Samantha Teran |
[Q] Laura Pomportes (Fra)
11/4, 12/10, 11/4 (24m)
[2] Samantha Teran (Mex) |
22-Jun, Qualifying Finals:
Samantha Cornett (CAN) bt Genevieve Lessard (CAN)
11/4, 11/6, 11/7 (25m)
Karla Urrutia (MEX) bt Monserrat Castellano (MEX)
11/5, 11/8, 11/8 (25m)
Yathreb Adel (EGY) bt Elpiniki Clement (USA)
11/3, 11/4, 11/4 (16m)
Laura Pomportes (FRA) bt Graciela Lopez (MEX) 7/11, 6/11,
11/8, 11/7, 11/8 (35m)
21-Jun, Qualifying Round One:
Samantha Cornett (Can)
bt Kristen Lange (Usa) 7/11, 11/4, 11/3, 10/12, 11/6
(35m)
Genevieve Lessard (Can)
bt Bianca Vallarta (Mex)
11/8, 11/9, 11/2 (20m)
Montserrat Castellanos (Mex)
bt Katja Amir (Ger) 11/5, 9/11, 13/11, 11/6 (33m)
Karla Urrutia (Mex) bt Imelda Salazar (Mex)
11/9, 8/11, 11/5, 11/6 (38m)
Yathreb Adel (Egy) bt Pamela Anckermann (Gua)
11/8, 11/4, 11/3 (20m)
Niki Clement (Usa)
bt Ileana Novelo (Mex)
11/6, 11/5, 11/7 (18m)
Graciela Lopez
(Mex) bt
Alex Clark (Sco)
11/5, 11/5, 9/11, 5/11, 11/9 (38m)
Laura Pomportes (Fra)
bt Arely Zayas (Mex)
11/3, 6/11, 11/5, 11/3 (25m)
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Men's Draw
Women's
Draw
Live Streaming
Gallery & Slideshow
Semi-finals day sea trip Gallery
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 25-Jun,
Semis:
Top seeds into women's final, two upsets for the men
...
Today’s proceedings started off with the Mexican nation’s favourite
squash player, Samantha Teran, No 2 seed and ranked #21 in
the world, playing against No 3 seed Joey Chan from Hong
Kong, ranked just one place below at #22.
 Joey
of course was playing against the large crowd as well as Samantha
and it may be this that affected her early on as Samantha,
controlling the court and playing some wonderful squash as well as
looking great in a lovely blue dress, took the first game 11/5,
although the score did not reflect the amount of work and great
shots Joey put in.
The second started much more evenly, with Joey coming more into the
game, and with both players making some wonderful retrieves the
score stayed very even up to7/7, but then Joey found her length and
touch, taking five straight points to win the game 11/7.
In the third game Samantha started in fine form, moving into a
comfortable 6/1 lead, then getting to game ball at 10/3 and although
Joey fought bravely to save four game balls Samantha finally got the
point she wanted to take the game 11/7. Joey started to pick up
early points in the fourth, taking a 5/3 and then 8/6 lead, but
Samantha, cheered on by a very vociferous and partisan crowd at
every point won, served out to take the game 11/8 and the match 3
games to 1, to the delight of all Mexicans.
 So
to the second semi final and although there was no Mexican involved
the crowd stayed just as vociferous and appreciative. Up stepped No
1 seed and tournament favourite Natalie Grinham from the
Netherlands to face No 4 seed Aisling Blake from Ireland.
This match turned out to be just as good, if indeed not better in
parts, than the first match in. With both ladies playing excellent
squash, covering the whole of the court and retrieving some
unbelievable strokes, Aisling took an early but quite deserved lead
at 6/2 but Natalie drove her way back to lead 7/6, Aisling led 9/8,
Natalie got the first match ball at 10/9, but Aisling showed the
crowd her real “fighting Irish” spirit and grasped the game at
12/10, to the delight and some surprise of the crowd.
Natalie did pick up her game more in the second, as we all know she
can do so well, and although even early on at 4/4 she eased into a
6/4 then 8/5 lead and allowed Aisling only one more point before
taking the game 11/6. In the third game Natalie did take more
control and gained an 8/1 then 9/2 lead, Aisling fought back bravely
to 6/9 but was unable to stop Natalie taking the game 11/6.
The fourth was much closer, Natalie leading 3/2, Aisling led 5/3,
Natalie led 6/5 but from there it was level point for point up to
9/9. Aisling got to game ball first at 10/9, Natalie levelled,
Aisling got game ball again at 11/10 but could not quite finish off
and with the help of a tin from Aisling and two lovely drops took
the game 13/11 and the match 3 games to 1, after just on one hour of
great squash.
After having no upsets in the ladies matches we were in for two
upsets in the men’s matches. First up was the No2 seed Arturo
Salazar, the men’s top player in Mexico, against unseeded and
much lower ranked fellow Mexican Eric Galvez.
The first game turned into a great battle for supremacy as both
players fought hard to gain a lead but the score remained very close
until Eric had a lead of 8/7, Arturo then got game ball at 10/8,
Eric levelled at 10/10, Arturo gained another game ball at 11/10 but
Eric levelled again and got to his first game ball at 12/11, then
again at 13/12. Again Arturo saved and got another game ball at
14/11, which Eric saved once more and then went on to win the game
16/14, after what was an epic game.
 Eric
took control of the match completely in the second as he went on to
take that one 11/2. In the third Arturo started to play much better
and with signs of Eric beginning to tire he took a comprehensive
lead of 9/3 and despite Eric taking the next three points Arturo
took the game 11/6.
Was this the start of a great comeback? Unfortunately no, as Eric
once again seized the initiative to take an 8/5 lead, Arturo
levelled up at 8/8 but then just could not stop Eric from serving
out to take the game 11/8 and the match 3 games to1 after 85 minutes
of play.
The second semi final again went against the seedings as unseeded
Cesar Salazar, ranked #56, faced the No1 seed and tournament
favourite Miguel Angel Rodriguez from Colombia, currently
ranked #25.
Again this match started as a fight for supremacy, with Cesar taking
an unexpected lead 8/5, much to the delight of the Mexican crowd,
and then got to game ball eventually after some long hard fought
rallies at 10/7. However Miguel levelled at 10/10 then again at
11/11, but could not stop Cesar coming out on top to take the game
13/11.
The second game was even more of a fight, with lots of long rallies
and many let calls, but again Cesar managed to stay slightly ahead
in the scores and taking game ball again at 10/7. As in the first
Miguel struck back to level 10/10 and take the game into extra
points. Cesar again had game point at 11/10, Miguel levelled and
took game ball himself at 12/11, not to be outdone Cesar pulled it
back to lead 13/12, Miguel levelled but then Cesar eventually
managed to serve out to 15/13 after another very long game.
 In
the third game it seemed as though Cesar took his foot of the pedal
or was tiring very quickly as Miguel rattled up the points to take
the game 11/1.
Miguel started the fourth in the same vein taking a 5/1 lead, but
then Cesar found some inner strength from somewhere to level 5/5,
then lead 7/6, 9/7 and take match ball at 10/8, Miguel saved the
first but could do nothing about the next point going to Cesar and
taking the game 11/9 and the game 3 – 1 after a full 90 minutes of
play which was much appreciated by the huge crowds.
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Men's Draw
Women's
Draw
Live Streaming
Gallery & Slideshow
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24-Jun,
Quarters:
Arthur Curran in Veracruz
Women’s Quarter Finals
All top four seeds in the women’s tournament got through to the semi
finals to be played tomorrow, with players from Hong Kong, Ireland,
the Netherlands and of course the home nation’s favourite.
 First
up on the ladies court was No 3 seed Joey Chan from Hong Kong
against No 7 seed Milou van der Heijden from Holland. With
more than 40 places difference in the rankings in Joey’s favour it
was expected to go her way and so it did, but not without some great
battling from Milou.
Joey took the initiative from the start to lead 4/2 then 8/3, but
Milou fought back bravely to take the lead 9/8, however Joey then
served out to tae the game 11/9. Again Joey took an 8/3 leading the
second and although Milou grabbed a coup-le more points Joey again
served out to win 11/5. Milou really fought hard in the third game
to stay in the match, taking early leads of 2/0 and then 5/3 but
then Joey’s experience started to take effect as she got to match
ball at 10/6 then despite Milou saving two Joey took the game 11/8
and the match 3 – 0.
 Next
up on the ladies court brought No 4 seed Aisling Blake from
Ireland to face No 8 seed Thaisa Serafini from Brazil, with
another difference of over 40 places in the rankings, this time in
Aisling’s favour.
Aisling started well taking an early lead 4/1, but Thaisa pulled
back slowly to within one point at 5/6, then Aisling scored two,
Thaisa scored two, Aisling scored another two to take game ball at
10/7, Thaisa saved one but not the next as Aisling took the game
11/8. Aisling took control of the court from here onwards, using all
her experience and great shot making to slightly overpower Thaisa,
taking the next two games 11/2 and 11/1 to gain her place in
tomorrow’s semi final.
 Third
match up saw the nation’s favourite player No 2 seed Samantha
Teran, ranked at #21, against No 5 seed American Latasha Khan,
ranked #30. To the delight of the local crowd Samantha, playing some
fabulous shots and moving so well around the court, soared through
to take the first game 11/2.
Latasha took the first 2 points of the next game but once again
Samantha took control of the game, allowing Latasha only two more
points before taking the game 11/4. In the third Latasha started
much more determined and took an early 5/1 lead, but again Samantha
came right back to take the lead at 8/5 and to the delight of the
partisan crowd took the game 11/8 and the match 3 – 0.
 Last
up was the No 1 seed, former World number two Natalie Grinham
from the Netherlands, currently ranked at #18, against the 18 year
old American Olivia Blatchford, the No 6 seed and already
ranked at #37.
Young Olivia started off very strong and determined which I felt
caught Natalie by surprise, keeping Natalie pinned in the back of
the court with some really strong drives. She has certainly improved
her strength and determination since I last saw her play, and she an
early 6/3 lead, then 8/5, but Natalie pulled it back to 8/8 then got
to game ball first at 10/9. However Olivia was not giving up, taking
a game ball herself at 12/11, and although Natalie levelled at 12/12
Olivia stayed strong to take the game 14/12, much to the surprise of
most of the crowd.
Natalie then had to use all her experience and guile, moving so well
around the court as she always has done and retrieving some
unbelievable shots, staying just in the lead through the early part
of the second, Olivia held in and levelled up at 8/8, but then
Natalie scored a trio of points to take the game 11/8. Natalie
although appearing to tire did take control of the scoring from here
and despite Olivia still fighting bravely she went on to take the
third 11/6 and the fourth the same score, winning the match 3 games
to 1.
Natalie was made to work very hard throughout this match and
although she lost Olivia can take great heart from this performance,
into the World Women’s Junior Championships next month, and start
climbing further up the rankings now she has gone full time on the
circuit.
Men’s Quarter Finals
Early shocks in the first games of the quarter’s with both the No3
and No4 seeds being eliminated, but then the No 1 and No 2 seeds won
through, and this guaranteed a Mexican player in the final.
First match up turned into a real titanic struggle with Mexican
Eric Galvez taking on No 4 seed Shawn Delierre from
Canada. With Eric ranked a full 50 places behind Shawn it could be
expected to be a little one sided, but no way was Eric going to lose
this match. He took an early lead 4/0 then 5/2, but then Shawn moved
into the lead at 7/5, however the game was filled with lots of long
rallies and numerous let calls, taking a lot of time.
Eventually it levelled out at 9/9, Shawn got to game ball first at
10/9 but Eric battled through to take the game 12/10. Again the game
was filled with lots of lets and the lead changed hands a couple of
times before Eric pulled out to 9/5, Shawn managed to get back to
8/9 but then Eric once again finished the stronger to take the game
11/8.
Almost one hour had passed since the start of this match and only
two games had been played. The third was a little shorter with Shawn
taking the early initiative with a 4/0 lead and managing to keep the
four points lead to take the game 11/7. Eric came out fierce in the
fourth taking a 3/1 lead then a huge 7/3 lead, but Shawn pulled back
strongly to get to game ball at 10/8, however Eric proved how strong
he can be by levelling up then taking the game 12/10 and the match 3
games to 1. An epic battle that lasted just over 100 minutes.
Second up lasted a much shorter time with No 3 seed Stephane
Galifi of Italy facing the much younger Cesar Salazar of
Mexico, with only 5 places between them in the rankings. The first
game was really close all the way and went to extra time, with Cesar
holding out to win 14/12. With Stephane appearing to tire quite
quickly Cesar took his opportunity and took the next two games quite
comfortably 11/4 and 11/2. That was one of the twins through to the
semis.
Now the other twin, Arturo Salazar, seeded No 2, faced a
young Egyptian Karim A.G.A. Samy, ranked some 80 places below
Arturo. The difference in the rankings was quite obvious from the
start with Arturo racing through the first two games 11/4 and 11/5,
then took a commanding 7/1 lead in the third. However Karim, like
any Egyptian player would, came back strongly to get to game ball
first at 10/7, but Arturo fought back to level at 10/10. Karim had
another game ball at 11/10 but Arturo stopped the match going to a
fourth game by serving out to win 13/11.
Last up rather later than scheduled was the No 1 seed and clear
favourite for the tournament Miguel Angel Rodriguez from
Colombia, against yet another Mexican Jorge Baltazar, ranked
some 50 places below him. Although Jorge fought really hard and
stayed in close touch scorewise the more experienced Miguel Angel
pulled out on top in each game winning them 11/8, 11/8 and 11/7.
And that was the end of today’s proceedings, and we will be back
tomorrow night for the semi finals.
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Men's Draw
Women's
Draw
Live Streaming
Photo Gallery (90)
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23-Jun,
Round One:
Arthur Curran in Veracruz
Men's Round One
The eagerly awaited first match on the men’s court was an all
Mexican affair between 28 year old Jorge Baltazar, ranked
#74, and 20 year old Alfredo Avila, ranked #100, but
unfortunately did not last very long.
 Scoring
was fairly even at the start but the more experienced Jorge served
out to take the game 11/7. Unfortunately Alfredo had to retire due
to a very bad stomach complaint, handing the match to Jorge.
Another Mexican was involved in the second match, this time Cesar
Salazar, one of the twins, ranked #56, faced 25 year old
Frenchman Fabien Verseille ranked #95.
 This
time the Mexican fans were treated to a really gruelling match
between two very good players, with Cesar eventually taking the
initiative to win the first game 11/5. Cesar led 5/0 in the second,
Fabien pulled a few points back but Cesar stilled 8/5, however
Fabien took four straight points to lead 9/5, but Cesar again seized
his chance and took the game 11/9.
Fabien took the early lead in the third 4/2 and then 5/3, but once
again Cesar went on a good run allowing Fabien only one more point
before taking the game 11/6 and the match 3 – 0. Two Mexicans
through to the quarter finals.
 Once
more we had an all Mexican affair when 27 year old Eric Galvez,
ranked #103, met 22 year old qualifier Gerardo de Paul Garcia,
ranked #174. The much more experienced Eric was on top of the game
virtually all the way through and despite Gerardo showing a little
resistance at the end of the third, saving two match balls, Eric
went on to win 11/6, 11/4 and 11/5.
Last up in the early session turned out to be a marathon, with 22
year old Egyptian Karim A.G.A. Samy, ranked #120, meeting
qualifier 21 year old Mexican Jonathan Ramos, ranked # 161.
Jonathan got off to a great start racing into a 9/2 lead but then
with some fantastic action squash, just like most Egyptian players,
Karim whizzed through the points to take the first game 11/9. In the
second Karim eased out to an 8/3 lead with some very long and hard
fought rallies, and despite Jonathan desperately fighting to stay in
the game, Karim took the game 11/7.
 The
third game turned into a titanic struggle between two players
determined not to give anything away, Jonathan taking an early 4/2
lead, Karim pulling back to 5/5 and 6/6, Jonathan getting to 9/7 and
finally taking a well deserved 11/7 win to stay in the match.
It looked very much s though Jonathan was well back into the match
when taking a huge 9/3 lead in the fourth, Karim levelled to 9/9,
Jonathan got game ball at 10/9 and 11/10, but Karim put up a huge
finish to take the game 13/11 and the match 3 – 1, after a marathon
72 minutes of play. Definitely the match of the day so far.
We opened the evening session on the men’s court with Canadian
Shawn Delierre, No 4 seed and ranked #53, against Mexican Erik
Tepos, ranked #91, a match which proved much closer than the
rankings suggested. In three long drawn out games both players
played some great squash but in the end the greater experience of
Shawn came through to win 11/6, 11/7 and 11/9 after just over one
hour.
Next up was No 3 seed Stephane Galifi from Italy, ranked #51,
against a qualifier from France Joan Lezaud, ranked #124.
From the start Stephane’s greater experience was obvious and he took
the first game comfortably 11/2. Joan played quite a lot better in
the second, being level at 5/5, but then Shawn eased ahead to 10/6
and despite Joan saving one game point he went on to win the second
11/7. The third was even more equal with Joan staying in touch until
Shawn got match ball at 10/8, Joan levelled at 10/10, then it was
match ball again to Shawn at 11/10, after which Joan got to game
ball at 12/11 and 13/12, before Shawn used all his experience to
serve out the game at 15/13 and win the match 3 – 0.
Next up we got to see the higher ranked Salazar twin, Arturo,
#42 and the No 2 seed, against the local wildcard entrant Marco
Antonio Toriz, ranked #430 with very little experience, and this
was fairly obvious from the start, with Arturo showing why he is
much higher ranked by winning through fairly comfortably in straight
games 11/3, 11/4, 11/6.
And finally the last match up saw Colombian Miguel Angel
Rodriguez, the tournament No 1 seed and ranked #25, playing
qualifier Reiko Peter from Switzerland, ranked #156, a huge
difference in rankings. Reiko was intent on showing how good he is
despite his ranking, and stayed level in the early stages and in
fact led at 7/6, when Miguel took charge and got to game ball first
at 10/7. Reiko then levelled and got game ball himself at 12/11, but
Miguel managed to serve out to take the game 14/12.
In the second Miguel took an early 5/2 lead then raised that to 9/4,
but Reiko again was not giving up, getting to game ball first again
at 10/9 before once again Miguel served out to win 12/10. In the
third Reiko seemed to be tiring after allhis efforts and although
still fighting bravely Miguel took the game 11/6 and the match 3 –
0.
Women's Round One
 First
match up on the ladies court saw 18 year old American Olivia
Blatchford, No 6 seed and ranked #37, against 30 year old
Mexican Karina Heredia, ranked #92 and a wild card entrant.
The youthful experience of Olivia showed up right from the start,
moving her opponent around the court seemingly at will, and took the
first two games 11/4 and 11/3 and fairly quick time. Karina started
to play a few better shots in the third, gaining more points, whilst
Olivia seemed to ease off a little, but then Olivia found her range
again and went on to win the game 11/7 and the match 3 – 0.
 Next
up on the ladies court we had the youngest competitor, 15 year old
qualifier Yathreb Adel from Egypt, playing against the senior
player Latasha Khan from the USA. With both players starting
off at a really good pace and moving well about the court, scoring
was fairly level early on but Latasha moved into an early 6/3 lead,
and although Yathreb pulled back to level at 7/7 Latasha soon took
back her 3 point lead and took the game 11/8.
Latasha took an early 4/0 lead in the second, but then Yathreb came
back into the game at 4/5 then 5/6, Latasha pulled out to 8/5,
Yathreb levelled at 8/8 then got to game ball first at 10/9, but the
experience of Latasha came good as she served out to take the game
12/10. The third was again close early on up to 5/5, but again
Latasha’s experience helped her to match ball at 10/5 and despite
Yathreb saving two she finished off taking the game 11/7 and the
match 3 – 0.
 Again
we got to see the top Mexican Junior player, qualifier Karla
Uruttia, 18 years old, this time playing the much more
experienced Thaisa Serafini from Brazil, No 8 seed and ranked
#69. Thaisa was much the stronger in the first game getting to game
ball at 10/5, but young Karla was not to be outdone, pulling back to
level at 10/10.
Unfortunately she could not keep up the pressure and Thaisa finished
off the game 12/10. Thaisa was very much on top in the second with
Karla finding it difficult to get many good shots in, and Thaisa
took the game 11/3.
Karla came back strongly again in the third, after some great squash
from both players she got to game ball first at 10/8, but once
again, as in the first game, Thaisa used all her experience to take
the game 12/10 and the match 3 – 0. A good win for Thaisa but a very
promising young player in Karla, who hopes to turn professional in
two years after she finishes high school.
 Final
match of the afternoon session on the ladies court was between 20
year old Milou van der Heijden from Holland, No 7 seed and
ranked #65, and yet another Mexican player, 24 year old Ivonne
Diaz, ranked just below at #68.
Milou started off much the stronger and taking a firm grip on the
game she took the first game 11/6, despite Ivonne saving 3 game
balls. The second was very close up to 4/4, then Ivonne got to a
small lead at 7/4, but Milou after some really nice squash got to
game ball at 10/7. Ivonne was not going down without a fight and
pulled back to level then get game ball herself at 11/10, but again
Milou kept strong to take the game 13/11.
Milou took an early 5/3 lead in the third but Ivonne came back to
lead 6/5, then again with some great squash Milou got to match ball
at 10/7. However Ivonne was not giving up and taking 5 straight
points she took the game 12/10 to stay in the game.
Unfortunately Ivonne must have used up too much energy because in
the fourth, despite taking an early 3/0 lead, Milou finished much
the stronger to take the game11/6 and wrap up the match 3 games to
1.
 First
on in the evening session was the Mexican girl Nayelly Hernandez,
ranked #70, playing against the No 3 seed Joey Chan from Hong
Kong, ranked #22. Joey, although slightly the younger player but
much more experienced, started very well taking a 4/1 then an 8/4
lead, then despite Nayelly taking the next two points Joey served
out to take the game 11/6. Nayelly tried very hard to stay in the
match with some lovely touches, and covering the court very well,
but Joey’s experience showed through all the time and she finished
off the next two games 11/5 and 11/7.
Next up we had No 4 seed Aisling Blake from Ireland, ranked
#26, playing against another young girl from Hong Kong, 19 year old
Carmen Lee, ranked #67. The first game started quite slowly
as usual, each player sizing the other up and getting used to the
court, and Aisling moved into a 4/1lead but Carmen pulled level at
4/4. Aisling then showed her experience to rattle upthe points and
take the first game 11/5.
In the second Carmen was showing how good she can be by taking a 6/3
lead, Aisling then levelled at 6/6, Carmen led 8/6, Aisling
recovered to lead 9/8, Carmen got the first game ball at 10/9 and
again at 11/10 after Aisling had levelled, but after Aisling had
levelled again at 11/11 Carmen took two great points to take the
game13/11. The third turned into a real struggle has both girls
fought for supremacy with the lead changing hands several times but
eventually from 10/10 Aisling served out to take the game 12/10.
This was turning into a really memorable match now as Carmen whipped
into a 7/0 lead with Aisling seeming to be fading, but she pulled
back four points then another two to get to 6/8, her experience
helping her to close to 8/9 but then Carmen took two very good
points to win the game 11/8 and level the match at two games each.
Aisling really made her experience count in the final game, going
into a great 9/1 lead, then after Carmen pulled back two Aisling
served out to take a well deserved win at 11/3, and a match score of
3 – 2 after one hour of play, a great match for squash enthusiasts.
 Third
match up was every Mexican’s favourite Samantha Teran, No 2
seed and ranked #21, against a qualifier from France, Laura
Pomportes, ranked #74. To the obvious delight of the quite
vociferous crowd Samantha scored in steps of two or three points to
Laura’s odd one at a time and won the first game 11/4.
However Laura fought back really well in the second playing some
lovely shots, keeping the score fairly level all the way through
until Samantha’s experience came out to win the game 12/10. Laura
must have put too much effort into that second game as from 5/4 to
Samantha in the third, Samantha raced away to an 11/4 win and a 3 –
0 match score, to the obvious delight of the home crowd.
 After
a short break for the official opening ceremony, of which more
later, we had our first glimpse of the tournament favourite and
former Commonwealth Champion Natalie Grinham from Holland,
now climbing back up the rankings to #18 after her break to have
baby Kieran, who she left back at home with husband Tommy for the
first time, playing against young Canadian Samantha Cornett
who at only 20 is moving slowly up the rankings, as present at #61.
As well as Samantha played, and she did play very well, she did not
have many answers to the experience of Natalie who was moving around
the court and playing some quite exquisite shots, really back to her
best form, and took the match in three straight games 11/5, 11/6and
11/2. Hopefully Samantha will learn something from this experience
and go on to become a champion herself, as surely Natalie still is.
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Men's Draw
Women's
Draw
Live Streaming
Gallery & Slideshow
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22-Jun, Qualifying Finals:
Arthur Curran in Veracruz
Men’s Qualifying Finals
 First
up on the men’s court was local player Miguel Angel Gomez
against fellow Mexican Jonathan Ramos, 21 year old
professional player. Young Jonathan was much the stronger player in
the first game, taking it quite comfortably 11/5. In the second
Miguel came much more into the game, after being 6/1 down he pulled
back to nearly equalise at 5/6, but again the young professional
pulled away to win 11/6. In the third Miguel was only winning one
point to each two that Jonathan was winning, and Jonathan took the
game 11/7 and the match 3 – 0.
Next up was two closely matched Mexican players, 22 year old
Gerardo de Paul Garcia, #174, and 25 year old Fernando Lopez
#177. First game was very close with the lead changing hands several
times, but after many long hard fought rallies Fernando came out on
top 13/11. Again in the second it was very level up to 7/7 but then
Gerardo eased in front to take the game 11/8.
Gerardo was much the stronger in the third, allowing Fernando only
the odd point here and there, finishing off the game at 11/4. The
fourth was very much the same ending in the same score and Gerardo
took the honours 3 games to 1.
 A
19 year old from Guatamala, only recently turned professional,
Bryan Bonilla, came out next to play the experienced 22 year old
Reiko Peter from Switzerland, ranked #156, and second
favourite to win through qualifying. Bryan started well, taking a
4/2 lead, but then the experience of Reiko began to show through as
he eased his way to take the first game 11/6, and continued in the
same vein to take the second 11/1 and the third 11/3.
 In
the last match on the men’s court Frenchman Joan Lezaud,
favourite to win through qualifying, faced another local Mexican
Josue Gomez, and his experience showed through from start to
finish, gaining a fairly comfortable 11/5, 11/3, 11/3 victory.
Women’s Qualifying Finals
First match up on the ladies court was one of special interest to
the Mexicans, featuring two of the top junior players in the
country, Karla Uruttia and Monserrat Castellano, both
18 year olds.
 They
have met several times in the finals of National Junior Tournaments,
results being fairly level, but have never met at this level in a
WISPA tournament and it was a big prize to play for, their first
chance to play in the main draw of a senior tournament. Both girls
started at a great pace, keeping each other at the back of the court
most of the time, Karla led 2/0, Monserrat pulled back to 3/2, but
then Karla picked up several points to lead 8/3 and allowed
Monserrat to pick up only two more points before clinching the game
11/8.
Monserrat led early in the third 4/1, but Karla then came back
slowly at first to level at 4/4, then Monserrat led 6/5. However
Karla then got to match ball at 10/7 with some lovely shots, and
Monserrat sliding all over the court to save the first, Karla took
the next point to win 11/8 and the match 3 games to nil. A great
match from two really good youngsters.
 Next
on was yet another very young but very good Egyptian player, 15 year
old Yathreb Adel from Cairo (where do they find all these
youngsters in Egypt?), already up to # 91 in the world rankings,
playing against a rather older Niki Clement from Canada,
ranked #103. Yathreb played some quite exquisite squash and, like
all these Egyptians, moved all over the court at an astonishing
speed, seeming to completely demoralise Niki, eventually winning
through comfortably 11/3, 11/4, 11/4 in just 16 minutes.
 Laura
Pomportes, 22 year old from France and ranked # 74, second
favourite to go through the qualifiers, should have had a fairly
comfortable match against the much less experienced Mexican
Graciela Lopez, 20 years old just 3 days ago and ranked #127,
but that just did not happen. The first two games were very closely
and strongly contested, but the less experienced Graciela eventually
came out on top taking the games 11/7 and 11/6.
However Laura then started to show her experience and with Graciela
seeming to tire, although still contesting everything, Laura managed
to finish off a great comeback taking the last three games 11/8,
11/7 and 11/8 and take the match 3 games to 2.
Final match on the women’s court was strangely an all-Canadian
affair, with 20 year old Samantha Cornett from Ontario,
ranked #61, facing 25 year old Genevieve Lessard from
Toronto, ranked #106.
Young Samantha showed why she is slowly moving up the rankings,
playing some lovely squash and moving really well around the court,
and won fairly comfortably 11/4, 11/6 and 11/7.
She told me later that she was really pleased because she had never
got through the qualifiers before, and was still rather upbeat later
when she found she was drawn against the No 1 seed and former World
Champion Natalie Grinham.
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21-Jun, Qualifying Round One:
Welcome to Veracruz
Arthur Curran reports
 Here
we are arrived at last at the Squash Club, Veracruz, in Boca del
Rio, a suburb of Veracruz, which is the main seaport for Mexico, on
the shores of the Gulf of Mexico.
Today we start out on the road to qualifying for the main
tournament, with many Mexican local players trying to get into the
main circuit, alongside quite a few players who have travelled a
great distance to play here at Boca del Rio.
With both PSA and Wispa tournaments going on, today promises to be a
very busy day, and the writer will spend most of it trying to get to
know all the players as he knows very few of them.
Anyway, on with the show. Qualifying has already started in both the
men’s and the women’s matches, so we will go and get some results
and photographs.
Women's Qualifying
In the opening match of the ladies qualifying, Canadian Genevieve
Lessard eventually overcame Mexican Blanca Vallarta, leading
throughout the first two games against very strong opposition
But then Blanca tired very quickly and Genevieve quickly wrapped up
the third game 11/2 and the match 3 – 1.
Second ladies match turned into a really good battle. Graciella
Lopez of Mexico appeared a little too strong for young Scot Alex
Clark taking the first two games 11/5, 11/5. Alex however fought
back very strongly to take the next two games 11/9 and 11/5. Alex
took an early 5/0 lead in the final game but Graciella, despite
taking an injury break after being hit on the leg by the ball after
a shot from Alex, fought back really well and eventually took the
game 11/9 and the match 3 – 2.
 The
third match in the ladies tournament brought together an up and
coming young member of the Mexican Junior squad for the upcoming Pan
American Games, 17 year old Montserrat Castellano, against a
41 year old from Germany Katja Amir. Young Montserrat took the first
game in good style 11/5, but the second was much closer, Montserrat
leading 7/5, then Katja led 8/7, Montserrat led 9/8, but then Katja
took the game 11/9. In the third Montserrat led 4/0, Katja levelled,
Montserrat led 8/4, Katja pulled back to 7/8, Montserrat took game
ball at 10/7, Katja got to game ball at 11/10, but young Montserrat
showed her strength to take the game 13/11. Montserrat took a good
8/2 lead in the fourth, and although Katja pulled a few shots back,
saving two match balls, Montserrat finished the game off at 11/6 and
the match 3 games to 1.
The final match of the early session on the women’s court saw
Elpiniki Clement from the USA take a fairly comfortable victory
over Mexican local player Ileana Novelo 11/6, 11/5, 11/7 in 18
minutes.
 The
first match of the evening session on the ladies court brought us
another one of those young, very promising Egyptian players, this
time 15 year old Yathreb Abel, already up to 91 in the world
rankings, who was up against the older Pamela Anckerman from
Guatemala.
On top of the game from the outset young Yathreb took an 8/3 lead,
Pamela tried very hard to keep in touch but Yathreb got game ball at
10/6. Although Pamela saved two game balls Yathreb got the next
point to take the first game 11/8. In the second Yathreb showed no
mercy for her older opponent, racing into a 9/0 lead, Pamela got two
back, Yathreb got game ball at 10/2, and although Pamela saved two
points Yathreb got the next point to win the second 11/4. Pamela had
very little to offer against her young opponent as Yathreb took the
third game 11/3 and the match 3 – 0 in just 20 minutes.
The second match was one all the Mexicans were very interested in,
the experienced Imelda Salazar, who recently took first place
in the selection for the Mexican Team for the forthcoming Pan
American Games, and the very promising 18 year old Karla Urrutia,
who last year won the Silver medal at the Junior Pan American games,
and her countries top under 19 player, a local player who only got
into the qualifiers at the last minute because of withdrawals.
Scoring was very close at the start with Imelda easing into a 5/3
lead, but Karla took the lead at 7/5, Imelda levelled at 7/7, Karla
led 9/7, Imelda levelled again at 9/9, but then Karla served out to
take the game 11/9. Again in the second game, scores were level up
to 6/6, Karla eased in front 8/6 but then Imelda did show her
experience and served out to take the game 11/8. Imelda took an
early 5/3 lead in the third, but then Karla raced through the points
to win the game 11/5.
 The
fourth was again very close, going to 5/5, but from there on in
Karla only allowed Imelda one more point before taking the game 11/6
and the match 3 games to 1. She was absolutely delighted as were
many of the local fans here today.
"I am very very happy with that win," said Karla. "I certainly was
not expecting it as Imelda is far more experienced than me but I am
very excited to have got that win. I am not yet a member of WISPA,
only getting in as a local player, it must be my best win to date."
Another young local member drafted into the qualifiers Areli
Zayas did not have such good fortune against French player
Laura Pomportes, a much more experienced player and one of the
favourites to go through to the main draw. Laura really raced
through the points leaving young Areli well behind in the first
game, winning it 11/3. In the second Areli put up much more of a
fight, and despite Laura leading 6/4, Areli stormed through the
points and took the game 11/6. However Laura then showed all her
experience to leave the youngster in her wake as she took the next
two games 11/5 and 11/3 to win the match 3 – 1.
 Final
match on the ladies court was only the second match with no Mexican
involvement as Samantha Cornett from Canada, recently dropped
down in the rankings to #122, faced American Kristen Lange,
recently risen to # 134, so it looked as though it could be quite a
close match, which exactly what it proved to be.
Kristen started the stronger taking the first game 11/7, but
Samantha fought back well to take the next two fairly comfortably
11/4 and 11/3. The fourth was bravely fought out by two very good
players, and despite Samantha taking match ball at 10/8, Kristen
showed that she was not finished yet to claw back in the match and
win the fourth 12/10. Final game was close up to 4/4, but then
Samantha edged ahead slightly to take the game 11/6 and the match 3
– 2.
Men's Qualifying
The first match on the men’s court brought together two Mexican
players, a young 19 year old from Xalapa here near Veracruz, and 34
year old Armando Olguin from Mexico City. Young Josue
Gomez took the first game playing very strongly 11/4. The second
was very close until Josue led 9/7, but then Armando showed his
strength to take the game 11/9.
Josue then raced into a 10/4 lead and despite Armando saving 3 game
points took the third game 11/7. He then again took an early lead of
5/0, then 8/4, 9/5, Armando pulled back to 8/9 but Josue made his
youth count to take the game 11/8 and the match 3-1.
First match in the evening session on the men’s court was another
two Mexican players, Ricardo Lopez and Fernando Lopez (not
related I am told), and it turned out a really good battle. Ricardo,
the local player, took a very well deserved 2 games to nil lead with
11/7 and 11/8 wins, which took half an hour. However Fernando the
much more experienced player came back and took the next 3 games
11/2, 11/6 and 11/4 and won the match 3 games to 2.
Again two Mexican players faced each other, 21 year old Jonathan
Ramos, although younger the more experienced, against 29 year
old Salvador Martinez, and the youth and extra experience of
Jonathan showed all the way through, winning the first two games
11/4 and 11/9. Although Salvador did show strongly in the third,
getting to game ball first at 10/5, Jonathan fought back really well
and took the game 13/11 for a 3 -0 win.
Another two Mexican players in the next match, Gerardo de Paul
Garcia proving too strong for local player Juan Carlos Gomez.
Gerardo took the first game 11/6, but then strong resistance came
from the local player and Gerardo only took the last two games 11/9
and 11/9.
That was all on the men’s court as Bryan Bonilla from
Guatamala was awarded a walkover against no-show Mexican Edgar Zayas.
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Men's Draw
Women's Draw
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PSA & WISPA head for Veracruz
 Veracruz,
Mexico's most important port, is located in the nation's Gulf coast
region, 140 km (87 mi) southeast of state capital Xalapa (on Highway
140), and 390 km (242 mi) from Mexico City (on Highway 150). The
climate is tropical and the average temperature is 25º C (77º F).
This destination is famous for the music, dancing and festive
atmosphere at its Carnival, the state’s most important event of the
year. Here you’ll find beaches with calm waters that are ideal for
doing all kinds of aquatic sports, particularly scuba diving along
the coral reefs at the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano,
which is inhabited by a wide variety of fish, coral and other marine
species.
Also of interest are the important historic buildings: El Faro (The
Lighthouse), el Edificio de Correo (The Post Office), el Baluartede
Santiago (The Santiago Bastion), and the San Juan de Ulua Fort,
which was built on the sea and is now an interesting museum that
chronicles the history of the port, from the pre-Hispanic era to
present day. You can also visit the incredible Acaurio, which is
Latin America’s largest saltwater aquarium.
Along the boardwalk, you’ll find a wide array of shops selling all
kinds of souvenirs. At night, near the boardwalk, you can dance to
the music of harps and marimbas in the city’s squares, or you can
drink a cup of delicious café con leche at one of the traditional
cafes.
In Veracruz’s surrounding areas you can visit the
Cempoalaarchaeological zone; the town of La Antigua, where you can
see the first Christian construction in Latin America and the first
house of conquistador Hernan Cortes; Pico de Orizaba National Park,
which has the highest volcano in the nation; and the picturesque
town of Tlacotalpan, declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.
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Veracruz on Wikipedia
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