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PREVIEW: Edinburgh here we come
 The Artemis
Edinburgh Open is
the biggest event on the BSPA circuit, and over the years has
proved a fruitful hunting ground for aspiring youngsters and
hardened veterans alike. A quick glance at the Hall of Fame in
the Edinburgh
Sporting Club Venue
leaves you in no doubt of the quality of the competition.
 No
doubt the prize money is a big factor in attracting quality
fields, as is the convenient location and the friendly nature of
the club and its members – not to mention the traditional Haggis,
Neeps and Tatties on
the menu, the event being traditionally held on or around Burns
Night.
All of this is made possible by the main sponsor, Artemis,
and the unstinting efforts of the club staff, notably tournament
director Simon
Boughton (give
me a nice draw in the ‘C’ event please, Simon!).
Anyway, on to the squash …
 Top
seed in the men’s event is defending champion Daryl
Selby, always assuming he gets back in time from New
York (he
withdrew last night), where he’s set to take on James
Willstrop in tonight’sTournament
of Champions semi-finals,
with Joel
Hinds, Andy
Whipp and Kashif
Shuja filling
the remaining spots in the top four. On paper that might look a
cakewalk for the reigning British National champion, but the
traditional courts are always are great leveller, and Selby was
taken beyond three games in every round before winning the title
last year.
In fact, Hinds was two-nil up against Selby and only lost the
third 12-10 in their 89-minute semi-final last year, Whipp is
desperate to get his name on that Hall of Fame to add to his
record ten BSPA titles, and Shuja will be out to impress in his
first BSPA outing – and don’t forget we have Simon
Parke, Shaun
Le Roux, Eddie
Charlton and Jaymie
Haycocks as
an impressive set of 5/8 seeds.
 The
women’s is a full-blown WSA event, with England’sLauren
Briggs and
Dutch leftie Orla
Noom seeded
to meet in the final. Last year they both lost out to the
now-retired Dom Lloyd-Walter, in the semis and final
respectively. The draw once again has a strong French flavour –
perhaps they like the Haggis? – with four entrants in a field
which has a strong European presence.
It all gets under way on Thursday night with men’s qualifying,
then it’s two days of typical BSPA action with non-stop matches
until it settles down with the semis on Saturday night. By then
of course the graded events have started, so it seems just as
busy all over the weekend.
We’ll be there of course, so stay tuned for all the Artemis
action … |
