The first match of the night featured the fourth-seeded Aussie, Cameron Pilley, and the top seed Graham Ryding of Canada. Both of the players came into tonight relatively fresh, with Pilley the only one of the two to drop a game thus far.

At the beginning of the match, Ryding looked strong and successfully kept the ball low and hard so as to avoid Pilley's dangerous volleys. Ryding took a clean first game relatively easily.

The next three games were, unfortunately for Ryding, a different story. Pilley slowly began to eliminate Ryding's length and width with his long arms and stretched Graham's game to a clearly uncomfortable level. Furthermore, Graham tinned what seemed like more than half of his usually impeccable drop shots.

Pilley should be fresh for tomorrow's final, even after one of his best wins thus far.

"How's it going? "Well just finished my match with Graham, I got up 3/1 so I am pretty stoked with that... "Nearly got zipped in the first game so it wasn't the best of starts. In the second I gradually found a decent length, and was able to step up the court a bit more and dominate. "All in all,  happy with the way I played and looking forward to playing a final tomorrow." Cameron Pilley

Stewart up, up, up
  

Stewart Boswell (AUS) bt [3] bt [8] Liam Kenny (IRL)     11-6, 11-9, 11-4 (45m)

The players came into the match with momentum, having both upset seeded players in the quarterfinals.

Boswell dictated the pace early in game one, Kenny's points only coming on Boswell tins. Kenny seemed to find his groove towards the end of the game but too late to threaten.

Kenny gambled to start the second; he guessed correctly on several of Boswell's offerings from the frontcourt. Boswell battled back to take the game after the initial flurry of Kenny winners.

Boswell was on cruise-control in a near flawless third game victory. At times the Australian seemed confused by Kenny's creative style, but his high pace of play was a more reliable game plan than the Irishman's risky attacking scheme.

The resurgent Boswell looks ready for his showdown with Pilley; the clash of the two tall Aussies should make for an interesting finale to a great tournament.
   

QUALIFYING:

Qualifying finals (21-Sep):
Mike Corren (AUS) bt Siddharth Suchde (IND)       7-11, 11-2, 11-5, 9-11, 11-6
Wade Johnstone (AUS) bt David Phillips (CAN)       11-10 (4-2), 10-11 (0-2), 11-7, 9-11, 11-9
Ben Gould (AUS) bt Niall Rooney (IRL)                  11-7, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6
Julian Illingworth (USA) bt Ian Power (CAN)          11-2, 11-7, 10-11 (1-3), 11-6

1st qualifying round (20-Sep):
Siddharth Suchde (IND) bt Shawn Delierre (CAN)     4-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6
Mike Corren (AUS) bt Ahmed Maged Hamza (EGY)   11-9, 11-5, 11-6
Wade Johnstone (AUS) bt Robin Clarke (CAN)         11-7, 11-9, 11-7
David Phillips (CAN) bt Bertrand Tissot (FRA)          11-10(3-1), 11-0, 11-1
Niall Rooney (IRL) bt Michal Reid (CAN)                 11-2, 11-5, 11-4
Ben Gould (AUS) bt Patrick Chifunda (ZAM)            10-11(1-3), 11-4, 11-7, 10-11(3-5), 11-8
Julian Illingworth (USA) bt William Walter (USA)      11-6, 11-2, 11-4
Ian Power (CAN) bt Ryan Donegan (USA)               11-5, 11-6, 11-8
  

Boswell wins war of wills

Anjema (LJ) and Boswell pushed each other hard in the first game; neither player surrendered loose balls nor committed errors, but LJ’s backhand made the difference.

Boswell took the second, keeping LJ in the back corners, saving himself from expending the same amount of energy as in game one.

Game three played out like the first, both players running hard diagonals. LJ won it anticlimactically on a controversial stroke call, but Boswell used his touch effectively to push it to five.

The last game was truly epic. Battling fatigue, the players somehow managed to maintain the pace of the previous games, but eventually Boswell won this war of the wills.


 

End of the line for Illingworth

Julian Illingworth, Yale University’s #1, has had a tremendous week here in Williamstown. However, beating two higher ranked players in just as many days proved to be both mentally and physically draining.

Clearly struggling with his movement, Julian resorted to pure attacking squash. Unfortunately for the young American, a fresh Cameron Pilley picked them all up and replied with his own array of flashy squash.

Pilley won in three short games. 
 

"Hi how's it going? "Well Williamstown has been pretty good since I arrived a few days ago. It ended up being a bit of a mission to get here after a couple of delayed flights, but nice scenery and all from the window of the bus. "The tournament is being run very well by Zafi Levy, all going very smoothly with matches being played on 2 courts. I won my 1st match tonight against Mike Corren 3-1. We've had a few battles over the years, but it was good to get the first one out of the way with not too many hiccups. Looking forward to the rest of the tourny!" Cameron Pilley

Ryding still top dog

Coming off a big win yesterday, Matthew Giuffre looked poised to send another seed home at the beginning of this all-Canadian battle.

The young Giuffre plays a game very similar to that of the seasoned Ryding, albeit not quite as consistently.

But Ryding again proved that he is top dog here in the Purple Valley and took control, finishing the match in a quick three games.

Second semi for Kenny

While known for his soft hands, Jenson found success early through hard volleys to length. Kenny erased the early deficit and took the first game by controlling Jenson with a drop-lob game plan.

Kenny kept the ball very wide in the second, eliciting loose balls that he confidently stroked into the nick.

The third game played out similarly; Kenny employed his superb touch to put Jenson away.

A semi-finalist here last year, Kenny earns a spot in the semis again despite an upgraded field.
  

LJ Loves Berkshire!
The players came out very evenly matched in the opening encounter of the main draw, playing fast, nearly error-free squash.

Fittingly, the game was tied 12-12 before Jan Anjema (LJ) won with a pair of beautiful drives. LJ began to dictate the pace, forcing Gould to chase the ball more which largely neutralized Gould’s kill shots that were so impressive in qualifying.

A Berkshire Open finalist last year, LJ looked very solid in his three-game victory.

 

Ryding too quick for Gordon
USA youngster Chris Gordon looked good as he played to a 5-5 tie in the first game before a series of lightning-quick Ryding drop-shots silenced him and drew gasps from the crowd.

In game two, Ryding, the experienced Canadian, seemed to struggle with his short balls, but the width of his drives made up for it as he cruised to a 2-0 lead.

Gordon played his best squash in the third game, but Ryding patiently weathered Gordon’s offense before countering with his own, more deadly attacks.


 

Jenson's French Comeback

Dan Jenson won a first game in which Jean-Michel Arcucci played the role of retriever.

A more aggressive game plan propelled Arcucci to win the second. In the third Jenson came out sloppy, giving Arcucci too big a lead to fight back.

However, he easily took the fourth game with outright winners. After looking fatigued at moments, Jenson seemed to get a second wind in the fifth, digging deep in the back and returning Arcucci’s best offerings.

Jenson’s touch in the front was ultimately the difference in this quick 5-gamer.
 

Guiffre's honest win

Matthew Giuffre looked very crisp and agile in taking the first game. Gavin Jones played conservatively in the second, using Giuffre’s miscues to build a lead.

A diving get in the front underscored Jones’ all-out effort in taking the game. In the third and fourth games, Giuffre used his deception to lengthen the court, putting enough balls just out of reach to take the match.

Credit goes to both players in producing some thoroughly thrilling rallies. Extra credit goes to Giuffre; he corrected the referee in the third game even though in doing so he put himself down game-ball.

Pilley wins Aussie Duel

The second session started with two Aussies, Mike Corren and Cameron Pilley, pitted against each other.

Coming off of an exhausting 5 game victory over Siddarth Suchde in the qualifying finals, Corren was obviously lacking the superb movement to the front that he had yesterday. Despite the handicap, Corren took the first game, playing at a steady pace.

However, Pilley picked up the pace quickly and took the next three with relative ease.

Boswell back

Stewart Boswell again proved tonight that he is well on his way back to top form after a debilitating back injury that put him out for a over a year. Right from the start, Boswell played at a furious pace, picking up just about everything Razik could offer.

Games one and two were close, but it was obvious that Shahier was struggling to match Boswell's anticipation and consistency. Stewart took the third quickly.

Kenny ends Wade's progress

Wade Johnstone, another qualifier coming off of a 5 game match, had difficulty keeping up with Liam Kenny's fantastic touch and length. Liam took the first game 11-5 and at 0-2 down in the second game, Wade winced in obvious discomfort.

Kenny continued to play at the same pace, and, despite some fantastic retrieving, Wade made some tired errors and eventually collapsed. Liam should be in good shape for tomorrow.

Illingworth delights

The match of the night featured American star Julian Illingworth and Aussie Raj Nanda. Julian, playing at his trademark pace, pushed Raj to the front early and often.

Nanda was clearly out of his element. At 10-8 in the first game, Julian played a fantastic counter drop to win the game.

The second game was a mirror image of the first, showcasing Julian's superb touch and pace. Raj finally found his way in the third and fourth games, playing great length and hardly making an error.

The Aussie took the third and fourth games easily, with Julian seemingly conceding the fourth to conserve energy for the fifth.

The fifth game was played at an incredible pace. Julian, quite obviously aching from an already long week, continued to shoot and Raj continued to retrieve.

The two exchanged several nail-bitingly long points at 8-8, and Julian finally pulled away to win on a fantastic forehand drop to the front right hand corner.
    

Johnstone denies Phillips
Zelda Stern reports from Williamstown

The first match of the night featured two big men. David Phillips and Wade Johnstone put on a show of hard hitting squash for the Williamstown crowd for a little over an hour.

The first game featured consistent length, as the two grew acquainted with the Williams courts. At 10-10, the two exchanged several crucial drop errors, until Wade pulled away to win 14-12. The second game featured some fantastic squash from David. Wade looked tired already at 6-8. However, the two continued to not be separated by more than two points.

Wade reached 10-10 on a lucky nick, but David pulled away to win 12-10. Wade found a second win during the break and came out firing in the third game. At 3-3, Wade began to pull away, moving David all around the court. At 8-6, Wade hit another lucky nick at the back, but took the game on a fantastic forehand drop, 11-7. T

he fourth game featured more great squash from David. On full display was Wade's incredible retrieving ability, though. After a few lapses in concentration from the Aussie, David climbed ahead to win the fourth.

It appeared that David was showing no signs of slowing down in the fifth game. Roaring to an 8-2 lead, David was poised for victory. However, Wade managed to score 7 points in a row and, after only one additional point for David, Wade won the deciding game
11-9.
  

Illingworth pulls through

The second match featured Yale University's #1, Julian Illingworth and Canadian Ian Power. Julian was imperial for the entire first game, attacking at every opportune moment, and took the game quickly 11-2. The second game was a different story, however.

Ian began to find his rhythm at 7-3 down, and climbed his way back to 10-6. However, Julian's superb touch at the front was too much, and he took the second game 11-7 on a great backhand drop.

The third game was, again, a different story. Ian, in full stride now, went 6-2 up thanks to some careless mistakes by Julian. At 8-8, the two exchanged several nauseating points, and Ian eventually put away an anxious Julian 11-8.

The fourth game proved to be a return to form for Illingworth. Making full use of his demanding touch at the front, Julian pulled away to 8-5, when Ian made a crucial error.

Julian didn't look back and won the final game 11-6. After the match, Julian attributed his win to a matinee viewing of "Top Gun" at the dorm.

 

The week-long competition will kick off on Wednesday, September 21 with the qualifying rounds concluding on Thursday, September 22. From the qualifying rounds, four players will emerge to round out the 16-player draw.

Twelve players will enter the main draw without qualifying, including one wild-card entry: Christopher Gordon, the highest-ranking US player, currently ranked 80th in the world.

The official opening round will then begin Friday September 23, leading to the final on Monday September 26, when a second Berkshire Open champion will be crowned.