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 Gillen
Markets Irish Open 2016
18-23 Apr, Fitzwilliam LTC, Dublin,
Ireland, $15k+$5k |
23-Apr, Finals:
Top seeds take the titles in
Dublin[1] Millie Tomlinson
(Eng) 3-0 [Q] Rachael Chadwick (Eng)
11/ 4, 11/4, 11/3 (28m)
[1] Lucas Serme (Fra) 3-1 [4] Declan James (Eng)
11/9, 8/11, 11/6, 11/6 (61m)
Finals Day at the 2016 GillenMarkets Irish Open.
 The
women’s final featured Millie Tomlinson and Rachael Chadwick.
A close match initially but in the 2nd half of the first game,
the more experienced Tomlinson pulled away, exerting her control
to win the first 11/4. You could see that Millie was very
determined to not let Rachael get any opportunities.
She kept her back and dominated the T to win the 2nd 11/4.
Millie kept a great length and was really tight. The third game
was more of the same and Millie closed it out 11/3. Millie said
“ I just wanted to keep her behind me and not give her any
opportunities” Rachael was understandably disappointed
afterwards, but she has had a super week all the way from last
Monday in the qualifiers to today's final.
 The
men’s final had two players with only two places between them in
PSA rankings. Lucas Serme, last year’s finalist was up
against the 23yrs Englishman Declan James. The crowd
anticipated a titanic match.
In the first Serme took an early lead before James found his
range to level it. It then went nip ‘n’ tuck to 9 all. In
between @ 7-5 there was a rally of 84 shots which ended with a
super nick by Serme. First game to Serme 11/9. In the 2nd James
started taking the ball earlier and was dropping beautifully. He
just stayed in front and took it 11/8. Serme knew he had to do
something.
“ After the 2nd I had to change things. I pushed to stay in
front more, gave him less space and mixed it up more” James
started to make more mistakes resulting in the 4th going to
Serme 11/6. The 4th was more of the same and Serme won it 11/6.
There was a really super rally to give Serme match ball.
So congratulations to Millie Tomlinson and Lucas Serme, IRISH
OPEN CHAMPIONS FOR 2016.
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Irish Open 2016
18-23 Apr, Dublin, Ireland, $15k |
Round One
20 Apr |
Quarters
21 Apr |
Semis
22 Apr |
Final
23 Apr |
[1] Lucas Serme (Fra)
11/5, 11/1, 11/4 28m
[Q]
Geoffrey Demont (Fra) |
[1] Lucas Serme
12/14, 11/7, 11/4, 12/10 64m
[6] Charles Sharpes |
[1] Lucas Serme 11/5, 8/11,9/11, 11/3,
12/10 94m
[3] Campbell Grayson |
[1] Lucas Serme
11/9, 8/11, 11/6, 11/6 (61m)
[4] Declan James |
[6] Charles Sharpes (Eng)
7/11, 11/9, 11/9, 8/11, 12/10 86m
Chris Binnie (Jam) |
[5] Shaun Le Roux (Rsa)
11/6, 11/8, 11/5 41m
[Q] Joshua Larkin (Irl) |
[5] Shaun Le Roux
11/4, 11/5, 14/12 44m
[3] Campbell Grayson |
[3] Campbell Grayson (Nzl)
7/11, 11/9, 7/11, 11/4, 11/7 87m
Richie Fallows (Eng) |
Jens Schoor (Ger)
11/6, 11/9, 12/10 30m
[4] Declan James (Eng) |
[4] Declan James
7/11, 10/12, 12/10, 11/9, 11/9 86m
[7] Joe Lee |
[4] Declan James
8/11, 11/4, 11/9, 11/3 54m
[2] Laurens Jan Anjema |
[Q] Matthew Hopkin (Aus)
11/4, 11/4, 9/11, 11/3 47m
[7] Joe Lee (Eng) |
[wc] Arthur Gaskin (Irl)
11/5, 11/5, 6/11, 3/11, 11/3 67m
[8] Mahesh Mangaonkar (Ind) |
[8] Mahesh Mangaonkar
11/8, 8/11, 11/9, 11/3 55m
[2] Laurens Jan Anjema |
[Q] Christophe André (Fra)
11/7, 11/5, 11/2 30m
[2] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned) |
Qualifying:
19-Apr, Qualifying Finals:
Joshua Larkin (Irl) 3-2
Brian Byrne (Irl)
8/11, 6/11, 11/7, 11/9, 11/7 (78m)
Matthew Hopkin (Aus) 3-0 Ashley Davies (Eng)
11/9, 11/4, 11/9 (31m)
Geoffrey Demont (Fra) 3-1
Sean Conroy (Irl)
7/11, 11/4, 11/9, 11/3 (41m)
Christophe André (Fra) 3-1 Dougie Kempsell (Sco) 12/10,
8/11, 11/6, 11/9 (46m)
18-Apr, Round One:
Joshua Larkin (Irl) 3-1 Martin Svec (Cze)
11/3, 7/11, 11/2, 11/8 (51m)
Brian Byrne (Irl) 3-0 Manuel Wanner (Sui)
11/8, 11/8, 11/8 (35m)
Ashley Davies (Eng) 3-0 Elliot SElby (Eng)
13/11, 11/4, 13/11 (30m)
Matthew Hopkin (Aus) 3-1 David Noone (Irl)
12/10, 11/5, 11/6, 11/4 (30m)
Geoffrey Demont (Fra) 3-2 Ondrej Uherka (Cze) 11/2, 2/11,
11/5, 6/11, 11/6 (60m)
Sean Conroy (Irl) 3-1 Rory Byrne (Irl)
11/7, 6/11, 11/6, 11/7 (39m)
Christophe André (Fra) 3-0 Conir O'Hare (Irl)
11/7, 11/8, 11/3 (23m)
Dougie Kempsell (Sco) 3-0 Oisin Dunne (Irl)
11/6, 11/6, 15/13 (26m)
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Irish Open 2016
18-23 Apr, Dublin, Ireland, $5k |
Round One
20 Apr |
Quarters
21 Apr |
Semis
22 Apr |
Final
23 Apr |
[1] Millie Tomlinson (Eng)
11/8, 11/1, 11/3 20m
LL Nia Davies (Wal) |
[1] Millie Tomlinson
11/7, 11/4, 11/2 22m
[7] Elin Harlow |
[1] Millie Tomlinson 11/3, 11/4, 11/5
22m
[3] Georgina Kennedy |
[1] Millie Tomlinson
11/ 4, 11/4, 11/3 (28m)
[Q] Rachael Chadwick |
[7] Elin Harlow (Wal)
11/4, 11/8, 11/9 22m
Moana Gray (Aus) |
[5] Enora Villard (Fra)
11/6, 11/5,11/5 22 m
Marija Shpakova (Sui) |
[5] Enora Villard
11/5, 11/4, 11/6 23m
[3] Georgina Kennedy |
[3] Georgina Kennedy (Eng)
7/11, 11/4, 8/11, 11/6, 16/14 56m
[Q] Xisela Aranda (Esp) |
[Q] Harshit Jawanda (Ind)
11/13, 11/7,11/6, 11/6 35m
[4] Alison Thomson (Eng) |
[4] Alison Thomson
11/5, 10/12, 11/6, 11/5 38m[8] Tessa Ter Sluis (Ned) |
[4] Alison Thomson 11/6,
11/2, 6/11, 11/9 46m
[Q] Rachael Chadwick |
[Q] Eva Fertekova (Cze)
11/8, 11/8, 11/4 17m
[8] Tessa Ter Sluis (Ned) |
Eleanor Epke (Nzl)
11/8. 11/6, 11/7 25m
[7] Anna Klimundova (Cze) |
[7] Anna Klimundova
11/7, 9/11, 12/10, 8/11, 11/4 53m
[Q] Rachael Chadwick |
[Q] Rachael Chadwick (Eng)
11/9, 11/7, 11/4 24m
[2] Alexandra Fuller (Rsa) |
Qualifying:
19-Apr, Qualifying Finals:
Harshit Jawanda (Ind) 3-0
Nadia Pfister (Sui) 11/5, 11/8, 11/7 (21m)
Eva Fertekova (Cze) 3-0 Nia Davies
(Wal)
11/5, 11/2, 11/2 (18m)
Xisela Aranda (Esp) v Marta Ramirez (Esp)
11/6, 11/4, 11/0 (33m)
Rachael Chadwick (Eng) 3-0 Marina De Juan (Esp) 11/8,
11/3, 11/4 (22m)
Lucky loser is Nia
Davies who now plays M.Tomlinson - (Cyrielle Peltier
withdrew)
18-Apr, Round One:
Harshit Jawanda (Ind) 3-1 Hannah Craig (Irl)
10/12, 11/7, 11/6, 11/8 (30m)
Eva Fertekova (Cze) 3-0 Sarah Mekhalfi (Fra)
13/11, 11/9, 11/5 (35m)
Marta Latorre Ramirez (Esp) 3-0 Sophie O'Rourke (Irl)
11/8, 11/5, 11/5 (26m)
Rachael Chadwick (Eng) 3-0 Ciara Moloney (Irl)
11/2, 11/5, 11/4 (16m)
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22-Apr, Semis:
Down to the finals in Dublin
Semi finals day at the 2016 GillenMarkets IRISH OPEN ...
The first match on was between Millie Tomlinson and young
Georgina Kennedy. The pace was furious from the start.
Kennedy was forcing it a bit and put 3 balls out of court in
that first game. Tomlinson never relented "We both have similar
games, she has a good volley so I knew I had to stay in front of
her" That is exactly what Millie did in all 3 games to close it
out 11/3, 11/4, 11/5.
In the first men's semi, we had the No.1 & No.3 seeds play each
other. Lucas Serme of France, who lost to Ali Farag (now
World ranked 11) in last year's final played New Zealand's
Campbell Grayson. It was a grueling 5 setter lasting 94min.
After going behind in the first, Lucas pulled it back to win the
first 11/5. Grayson was very patient in the 2nd & 3rd which
worked for him, taking them both. In the 4th, Grayson got a no
let decision at 2-1 up which really got to him because within
minutes he was 8-3 down. He was a tough decision against him by
the referee but he ref thought Grayson could and should have
played the ball so...
Two all and the decider.It was very tight and went to 8-7 and
Grayson got another no let which this time didn't upset him
because he then had a match ball but Serme remained cool and
saved it before winning the game 12/10. Super squash.
The qualifier Rachael Chadwick who had played some great
squash all week was up against No. 4 seed Alison Thomson
in the 2nd Semi. Alison was up early in the first, 6-3 then
Rachael started to find her range and pulled it back to win
11-6. She won the 2nd easily. Thomson worked very hard to win
the 3rd 11/6 but Chadwick upped it again, driving beautifully
and covering the court really well. Her height and range helps
her a lot. It was a tight game which Chadwick just pipped 11/9.
So a qualifier in the final, the first time that has happened at
the IRISH OPEN in a few years.
The last match of the day was the semi between Declan James
and Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema. LJ used all his
experience and snuck the first 11-8. James said " I had a really
tough match yesterday and was looking after my body" His game
plan was then really put into action in the 2nd. "I wanted to
move him around a lot, not make mistakes and wait for my
opportunities" It worked, James won the 2nd game 11-4. In the
3rd LJ worked really hard and it was nip and tuck all the way to
9 all before James won it 11/9.
In the 5th James had a beautiful drop at 1-0 to start him off.
Using his super forehand drive which won him several points he
got to 9/2 very quickly. He then had a super nick to give him
match ball which he duly converted to win the match and into the
final vs Lucas Serme. They have not played each other before, so
it will be interesting to see their respective game plans. Also
there is only 2 places between them in World rankings so it
should be very close.
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21-Apr, Quarters:
Top seeds through to semis
as Chadwick qualifies for last four ...
The first match saw Number 1 seed Millie Tomlinson play
Junior Elin Harlow of Wales. Elin started well and was up in the
first game by a few points before Millie settled into the pace
of the game and started to impose her power into the rallies.
The 1st game was 11/7. In the 2nd & 3rd games Millie had too
much for Elin, who was not getting a good length. Millie won it
in 3, 11/7, 11/4, 11/2.
The first men's match, saw Number 1 seed Lucas Serme have
a tough match vs Charles Sharpes of England. Serme, last year a
finalist in this event, lost the first game 14/12 after some
huge rallies. Sharpes was playing very well before Serme took it
up a notch, as he had to. He reeled off the 2nd & 3rd games to 7
& 4. Sharpes wasn't finished though and really fought in the 4th
game. It went to 10 all and then Sharpes had a game ball before
Serme finished it out 12/10.
England's Georgina Kennedy played Enora Villard from
France in their quarter final. After a very tough match in Round
1 yesterday. Georgina said she wanted to " Hit the ball low and
hard to keep volleys away from Enora, while also volleying
myself as much as I could" The score was reflective of that
strategy. Kennedy said afterwards " I was very happy to finish
it in three" Final score was 11/5, 11/4, 11/6.
No, 3 seed Campbell Grayson of New Zealand played Shaun
Le Roux from Sth Africa. After a very slow start, Le Roux lost
the first 2 games. He then started to get into the match in the
3rd, getting in front of Grayson. The New Zealander said " I had
a very tough match yesterday, so was happy the way I played, but
then he started to get in front of me in the 3rd" Le Roux was
6-3 up, then 8-5 in the 3rd. However he got a conduct stroke
against him to make it 9 all. Le Roux still fought hard and had
2 game balls but Grayson pushed, got in front again and finished
it to 14/12.
Alison Thomson played Dutch player Tessa Ter Sluis and
made a fast start winning the 1st game easily enough, 11/5. Ter
Sluis really picked it up in the 2nd, driving beautifully. Then
she lost concentration and went 7-5 down. Then got it back again
with a couple of lovely nicks to win it 12/10 - 1 all. Alison
said "I've played her before and wanted to get her twisting &
turning to stop her driving it low & hard" In the 3rd Ter Sluis
started making mistakes and Thomson upped the pace to win it
11/6. Thomson had too much in the end and won it 3-1.
Joe Lee, playing very well this week, made another good start in
his match with Declan James. He won the 1st 11/7 but the
2nd was a much closed affair with some super rallies and
unbelievable retrieving from both players. Lee took it 12/10.
James took the 3rd 12/10 & the 4th 11/9, playing a much better
length than in the 1st 2 games. The 5th was real 'cat & mouse'
with James playing very patiently, which worked for him, winning
it 11-9 to win the match.
In the last women's match, after winning the first game,
Rachael Chadwick, the qualifier from England, stuttered in
the 2nd and Anna Klimundova, the Czech player won it. The 3rd &
4th went towards one player and then the other, before they were
both shared. In the 5th Chadwick raced ahead using her powerful
drive but let Klimundova back in again before closing it finally
11/4.
Laurens Jan Anjema the Dutch player was up against Indian
Mahesh Mangaonkar, who put Irishman Arthur Gaskin out last
night. The first 2 games were shared 11/8. Anjema took a very
close 3rd 11/9 which had some super rallies with a magnificent
short game from both players. In the 5th Anjema raced away
utilising his tight game at the front, keeping the ball so low
to win it 11/3 and the match.
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20-Apr, Round One:
The first match of the day saw the two French teammates Lucas
Serme and Geoffrey Demont play each other. These 2 players have
played on French teams going back to juniors so know each other
game very well. Lucas over 40 places higher in World rankings,
had too much for Geoffrey and won without to much trouble, 3-0
in 28min. The young Welsh player Elin Harlow also won
convincingly over Moana Gray of Australia 3-0. This is Elin's
2nd tournament in Ireland this season. She won the IRISH Junior
Open Under 19 title last November.
We had a super match between Englishwoman Georgina Kennedy the
former European U19 champion and Xisela Aranda of Spain. Xisela
belied her ranking of 145 to push Georgina and had 2 match balls
herself before Georgina just got over the line 16-14 in the 5th,
in a match that lasted 4 min short of an hour.
Shaun Le Roux and Joshua Larkin had a tense match with plenty of
questioning of referee decisions. Shaun was always in control
but Joshua made him work hard and Joshua certainly worked really
hard himself, with the amount of sweat showing from his shirt.
Shaun won 3-0 but it was closer than the score suggests.
In the match of the day for the Irish crowd, Arthur Gaskin
ranked 85 was up against India's Mahesh Mangaonkar who is ranked
27 places higher than him. Arthur started slowly but Mahesh was
playing well and went 2-0 up in games. Arthur knew he had to
extend the rallies and get in the game "In the last point of the
2nd game I played the point more deliberately, looking to extend
the rally and not force it" At the start of the 3rd game Arthur
continued with this gameplan. It worked - he leveled the match 2
all, to the delight of his home crowd.
In the 5th both his calves tightened as he went to the front
wall and before he knew it, he was 6-0 down. He got 3 points but
Mahesh closed out that 5th game fairly quickly 11-3 to win the
match. The wrong result for the home crowd but a very enjoyable
match nonetheless.
In the last match of the evening, Rachael Chadwick from England,
had a super win over much higher ranked Alexandra Fuller (68)
from South Africa. Rachael used her power and height to great
effect to beat Fuller 3-0 in 24 min. Alexandra was never really
in the match as Rachael took full control of affairs.
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19-Apr, Qualifying Finals:
Busy first day!
Day two saw some super matches
with 2 IRISH players, Sean Conroy and Brian Byrne pushing their
much higher ranked opponents hard.
In the 1st match of
the day, Byrne was playing Joshua Larkin of Australia. Brian
raced into a 2-0 lead, playing super squash. Joshua said "The
fast pace of those first 2 games didn't work for me, so I
decided to lengthen the rallies and make it a longer match"
Byrne started to force it and made mistakes. Brian said "I just
switched off at some big points and lost concentration"
Consequently Larkin came back into the match and won the next 3
games to win 3-2. So close and yet so far for Byrne.
The
other IRISH player Sean Conroy played Frenchman Geoffrey Demont
nearly 100 places higher than him in World rankings. Again Sean
started well and won the first game 11/7. Demont had to increase
the pressure on Sean. " I had to put pressure on him in the 2nd
game, take volleys early and dominate the T" It worked as Demont
took the 2nd game 11/4. The 3rd game went to the wire and
crucially Demont just pipped it 11/9, which proved decisive. He
closed out the match 11/3 to win 3-1 in 41 min.
In the
other 2 men's matches Matthew Hopkin from Australia beat Ashley
Davies of England 3-0 and Frenchman Christophe Andre of France
beat Scotland's Douglas Kempsell 3-1 in a close match that went
on for 46 min. In the women's event the no.1 seed Nadia Pfister
from Switzerland lost to Harshit Jawanda of India 3-0. It was a
convincing victory for Harshit. Eva Fertekova had too much for
Welsh player Nia Davies beating her 3-0.
In the last 2
matches there was 3 Spanish players playing in them. In the
first Xisela Aranda beat her compatriot Marta Latorre Ramirez
and in the last match Rachael Chadwick had a convincing victory
over no. 2 seed Marina De Juan Gallach 3-0. Rachael's high reach
proved too difficult for Marina to cope with. Rachael dominated
the T and drove superbly. So on with the Main Draw commencing
tomorrow @ 12 noon.
Qualifying Round One
We had some super matches with the highlight from an Irish
point of view being Brian Byrne's victory over Manuel Wanner
from Switzerland. Brian is ranking 11 places below Manuel in
World rankings but made little of that as he won 3-0 in
convincing fashion.
The other Irish player through to
the next round is Sean Conroy who beat his Irish team mate Rory
Byrne 3-1. Galway's David Noone had a super match vs Matthew
Hopkin of Australia, world ranked 104. David won the 1st game
12-10, but as the game progressed the pro came through and
eventually won 3-1.
The other men's matches went with
seeding.
In the women's event 2 Irish juniors were
making their debut in a professional tournament and both
competed well. Hannah Craig took a game off Harshit Jawanda of
India but lost 3-1. 15 year old Sophie O'Rourke from Cork played
Spain's Marta Latorre Ramirez. It was 3-0 to Ramirez but again
the young Irish player was not overawed and this experience will
stand to her for the future. Again the other women's match went
as per the seeding.
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