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West of Ireland 2013
26-31 Mar, Galway, $10k |
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31-Mar,
Final:
Mazen takes Galway title
It was a fantastic final between Steve Finitsis and Mazen Hsham, in
front of a packed audience and played at a ferocious pace that
demonstrated what true athleticism was.
Both players played with power and finesse in equal measure sending
their opponent to every corner of the court. It was incredibly
evenly matched in both the first and second game with both players
reaching 9 points but it was the young Egyptian who managed to sneak
both games 11-9 to develop a 2-0 cushion.
Finitsis came back fighting in true style and in another tense and
close game managed to close out the third 11-9. The crowd were
hopeful of the match going the distance but it proved to be a little
too much for Finitsis as Sa Gabry kept up the intensity and pace and
had Finitsis covering every inch of the court. Unsurprisingly Sa
Gabry finished the match at the front of the court with another
attacking shot that handed him the championship title much to his
delight.
It has been a fantastic week of squash here in Galway and many
congratulations to the winner Mezan Hesham Sa Gabry. We have a new
name and a new country on the Paddy Whack Walsh West of Ireland
Trophy which is fantastic.
Commiserations to Steven Finitsis for not quite being able to get
over the final hurdle but it has to be said that both he and his
Egyptian counterpart have made many new fans during their visit to
the west of Ireland.
Andre Davies
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  West
of Ireland 2013
26-31 Mar, Galway, $10k |
Round One
28 Mar |
Quarters
29 Mar |
Semis
30 Mar |
Final
31 Mar |
[1] Henrik Mustonen (Fin)
11-6, 11-5, 11-8 in 34
Steve Finitsis (Aus) |
Steve Finitsis
11-6, 11-8, 11-9 in 39
Raphael Kandra |
Steve Finitsis
11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 4-11, 11-7 in 80
Eddie Charlton |
Steve Finitsis
11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 11-8 in 56
Mazen Hesham |
Raphael Kandra (Ger)
7-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 in 46
Zahed Mohamed (Egy) |
Jens Schoor (Ger)
11-7, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7 in 48
[Q] Lucas Serme (Fra) |
[Q] Lucas Serme
12-10, 11-6, 11-4 in 37
Eddie Charlton |
[3] Olivier Pett (Eng)
11-7, 12-10, 11-5 in 27
Eddie Charlton (Eng) |
[Q] Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy)
11-5, 6-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5 in 60
[4] Robbie Temple (Eng) |
[Q] Mohamed Abouelghar
11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8 in 36
Charles Sharpe |
[Q] Mohamed Abouelghar
6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 in 44
Mazen Hesham |
Charles Sharpes (Eng)
11-9, 11-8, 11-8 in 41
[Q] Nathan Lake (Eng) |
Chris Ryder (Eng)
11-8, 11-3, 11-8 in 39
[Q] Ben Coleman (Eng) |
Chris Ryder
1-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-2 in 43
Mazen Hesham |
Mazen Hesham (Egy)
12-10, 7-11, 13-11, 11-0 in 55
[2] Shaun le Roux (Rsa) |
27-Mar, Qualifying Finals:
Nathan Lake (Eng)
bt Tristan Eysele (Eng)
11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (37m)
Ben Coleman (Eng) bt
Yann Perrin (Fra)
11-5, 11-5, 11-5 (40m)
Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy)
bt
Greg Lobban (Sco) 10-12, 11-3, 11-6, 11-5 (27m)
Lucas Serme (Fra) bt Joan Lezaud (Fra)
11-7, 11-9, 11-5 (42m)
26-Mar, Qualifying Round One:
Tristan Eysele (Eng) bt Arthur Gaskin (Irl)
1-0 rtd
Nathan Lake (Eng) bt Steven London (Eng)
11-5, 11-2, 11-2 (32m)
Yann Perrin (Fra) bt Ronan Tully (Irl)
11-2, 11-2, 11-1 (21m)
Ben Coleman (Eng) bt Keith Moran (Irl)
11-4, 11-7, 11-8 (24m)
Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy) bye
Greg Lobban (Sco) bt Neal Brooker (Eng)
11-5, 11-3, 11-8 (28m)
Joan Lezaud (Fra) bt Nick Mulvey (Eng) 11-13, 11-7,
11-8, 9-11, 11-2 (42m)
Lucas Serme (Fra) bt Brian Byrne (Irl)
11-7, 11-3, 11-8 (30m)
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30-Mar,
Semis:
Amazing semis in Galway
Two very different but equally amazing semi finals took place in
Galway this evening.
The first, a showdown between two young but superbly talented
Egyptians was played at a blistering pace with the ball barely
touching the back wall!
The energy on court was a sight to behold and the shot making skills
of two players so young was breathtaking. Mohamed Abouelghar
played a great first game and looked full of confidence but Mezan
Hesham took the next three in a row to secure the first spot in
the final on Easter Sunday.
The second semi final saw Steven Finitsis and Eddie
Charlton do battle in an epic 5 set match.
Both played some outstanding squash but it was Steven Finitsis who
took the early initiative and opened a 2 set lead. Eddie showed how
determined he was by digging deep and grinding out the next two
games to level the match. But it was Finitsis who took the
opportunities when they presented themselves and won the 5th 11-7
after a draining 80 minutes of top squash.
The efforts of all the players this evening left the crowd stunned.
Some of the spectators were new to the sport and couldn't believe
the length of the rallies, the athleticism of the players and the
skill and touch required to play the game.
It was such a great advertisement of the sport and even triggered a
few conversations about how squash simply has to become an Olympic
sport.
In summary, tonight was a real treat!!!~
Andre Davies
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29-Mar,
Quarters:
Qualifier Abouelghar in the Semis
Egypt's Mohamed Abouelghar became the only qualifier to reach
the semi-finals of the Paddy Whack West of Ireland Open after
beating England's Charles Sharpes in the quarter-finals
at the Galway Lawn Tennis Club in Galway.
The 11-8, 11-7, 6-11, 11-8 victory was the Cairo-born 19-year-old's
second upset over a higher-ranked Englishman, following Abouelghar's
defeat of No4 seed Robbie Temple in the opening round.
A fellow countryman now awaits Abouelghar in the semis after
18-year-old Mazen Hesham defeated experienced
Englishman Chris Ryder, a 32-year-old former world No33, 1-11, 11-9,
11-5, 11-2.
But there will be English interest in the other semi following
Eddie Charlton's 12-10, 11-6, 11-4 win over qualifier Lucas
Serme, the Frenchman who triumphed in last week's Swiss Open.
Charlton, the world No75 from Nottingham, clinched the first game
after saving seven game-balls from 3-10 down!
The 24-year-old Englishman now faces Steven Finitsis, the
Amsterdam-based Australian who defeated Germany's Raphael Kandra,
ranked a single place higher, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9.
FROGS' TALK - Quarters
Je viens de m'incliner 3/0 sur Eddie Charlton en quart du
PSA de Galway.
Plus de jus, et lui a bien joué, il m'a fait souffrir en
dictant le rythme et avec une superbe défense lorsque
j'arrivais à passer devant.
J'ai l'impression de pas avoir réussi à mener suffisamment les échanges,
trop d’imprécisions et de manque de conviction quand j'en
avais l'occasion.
J'ai fatigué vite et le cerveau a commencé à perdre prise
vers la fin. Eddie a bien joué et aujourd'hui et il m'aurait
fallu être beaucoup plus frais que ça pour espérer gagner
aujourd'hui.
Super content de mon parcours malgré tout, j'ai réussi à
enchaîner 9 matchs en tout (une semaine complète de squash),
et après un bon résultat en Suisse je suis satisfait d'avoir
réussi à pousser jusqu'en quart ici.
Je vais surement bien me reposer quelques jours maintenant,
et me focaliser un peu plus sur les exams qui arrivent.
A bientôt,
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28-Mar, Round One:
Seeds put to the sword in Galway
A cracking evening of squash which saw
the fall of the top 4 seeds of the main draw!
A tough 5 setter saw Mohamed Abouelghar progress through to
the first quarter final place with a display of impressive attacking
squash. Fourth seed Robbie Temple fought hard and came out on top in
2 games but sadly developed a leg injury which prevented him from
mounting a real challenge in the business end of the fifth game.
Another Egyptian, Mazen Hesham, removed the second seed
from the draw with an impressive win over South African Shaun Le
Roux.
An all English affair saw Eddie Charlton come out on top with
a 3-0 win over the champion of 2 years ago and this year's 3rd seed
Olivier Pett.
Lucas Serme progressed to the quarters demonstrating very
impressive levels of fitness overcoming the German Jens Schoor 3-1.
Another German Raphael Kandra progressed to the quarters with
a solid victory over Egyptian player Zahed Mohamed 3-1.
Chris Ryder demonstrated great control during his 3-0 victory
over fellow Englishman Ben Coleman. Chris now looks forward to a
quarter final and a different style of squash as he faces one of the
flamboyant Egyptians. Should be a great contrast of styles!
Charles Sharpes progressed through impressively having beaten
the talented and accurate Nathan Lake in 3 games.
Steve Finitsis arrived only just in time to get ready for his
match due to the dreaded Galway Traffic but proceeded to play some
stunning attacking squash with nicks left, right and centre to take
out the top seed Henrik Mustonen 3-0.
A truly great night of squash. Bring on the quarters.
Andre Davies |
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2012 Event
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2011 Event
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2010 Event
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2009 Event |
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