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17-22 Feb,
Halifax,
Nova Scotia,
PSA $20k

[3] Shahier Razik (Can) bt [1] Borja Golan (Esp)
      5/11, 11/9, 8/11, 11/5, 11/6 (121m)

The first game started with safe and methodical squash fundamentals up and down the walls by both players. Golan peppered his half of the exchanges with numerous backhand wall boasts that were tight and low to the tin. Razik wasn’t getting an early enough start to meet them at the front right and lost a couple of points to the same pattern, arriving at 6-2 Golan. Punctuating almost every rally were “lets” and more “lets”. These were not contentious, nor part of any gamesmanship on either side, simply two players equal to each other’s abilities in speed, anticipation and decision. 9-5 for Golan came, in demonstration of the sportsmanship on display in general, when Shahier called his own backhand boast down. Final score 11-5 Golan.



By half way through the second game Razik was moving more easily and seemed to have matched his pace with Golan’s. Again “lets” were everywhere, but only because things were that tight, and seemed the only fair way to end many of the seesaw eighty hit rallies that were almost becoming routine. With Golan up 6-3 they traded points to 8-5 before Razik bridged the difference on a drop to the nick and a couple of tight boasts too low for Golan to raise. The trip from 8-8 to 11-9 in favour of Razik, and a 1-1 tie in games, took hundreds of hits, numerous lets and one stroke to Razik on a drive by Golan that came out fat from the front corner.

At a final average of twenty four minutes per game, each one, with the possible exception of the fifth, had periods of total stalemate, neither able to misdirect his opponents speed or capacity for recovery from a disadvantaged position. In the third it was at 4-2 for Razik that the scorekeeper could put down his pen for a full five minutes. This was followed by a lightning three points and the score slowly turned as Golan was gifted a couple of Razik errors while also putting away a rare drive past the Canadian’s reach. The game ended 11-8.



Sportsmanship and respect continued to characterize the match as Golan called his own miss early in the fourth to arrive at 1-1. When it seemed his honesty was being rewarded with a couple of points to build on at 3-1, errors in trying to drop at the frontcourt became his undoing. Razik took over the back half of the game, on the score sheet at least, securing a stroke that Golan did not condone, to go to 9-5. The game winner was an unprecedented, for the discipline of this match, drop across the face of the tin by Razik. Listing that with the other anomalous shots of the match one might only need five fingers. There was one lob off the backwall, one no-look drop and two pure passing shots for points. Straight and crosscourt drives as well as drops and a few lobs made up the thousands of other hits.

Game five started faster and sharper but the edges of Golan’s drop shot mechanics continued to fray as he frustrated himself a number of times by putting then into the tin. It was 7-1 on a Golan lob just out of court as the possibilities tilted more heavily to Razik’s favour. He was able to outlast a five point Golan rebound to take the match whle the setup for trophy presentation was already happening.

The organizers enjoyed enviable support from top to bottom of this event: sponsors, volunteers, fans and players. It was all needed and all appreciated. The third annual is right around the corner.

The Bluenose Squash Classic, a not for profit event and part of the Canadian Squash Circuit, has been initiated and organized by the Nova Scotia squash community in memory of Marcella Davar (May 8, 1954 – July 21, 2004).
  

"I think the key was the second game, when I was up 9-8 and I lost, but in the fifth I wasn't tired, that was no problem.

"It was a good match. I was happy with it, but going 5-0 down in the fifth and then 7-1, it's hard to come back."

Borja Golan

Game 4:

Borja yells in frustration on missing a Razik drive to the corner.

Shahier: "What?  It's the first one you didn't get!"

Game 5:

Shahier laughs after three straight lets at the front left corner:

"Why don't you hit some other shot for a change?"

Ref: "Play on please ..."

Shahier: "It's okay, we're friends, we're not fighting!"

"We've never played each other before. We've been on the same side of draws but one of us has always lost before we could meet up.

"We both play with rhythm and so I felt I had to break it near the end to get a few points. It was a game of movement and after a while I knew I couldn't beat him that way.

"I tried to get positive in the fourth, take the initiative, and it worked, so I kept going in the fifth, got a few early points, and came through."

"I thought I was going to have to shoot him to close down that fifth game though ..."

Shahier Razik

[1] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [4] Bradley Ball (ENG)
       11-7, 11-7, 11-1 (47 m)

Spain’s Borja Golan met up with England’s Bradley Ball on the main court after a light and sound infused introduction. Both had shown they could strike the ball heavily and precisely in the early stages of the tournament but the ease with which they would mix on court was to be determined.

The first five rallies (let, stroke, let, stroke, let) suggested it wouldn’t be completely smooth. For most of the first two games of the match in fact it didn’t seem as if there was a ball that one could play that the other couldn’t reach so strokes were looking likely to be the only engine for progress on the score sheet. The tone and responsibility of the players, however, demonstrated that their physical conflict was no more than that. There were a few disagreements on calls but each was as hard on themselves for lost chances and missed drops as any other target.



There were eighteen referee’s decisions in the first and the lead was passed back and forth for what was almost a twenty minute game. Golan applied the backhand boast frequently from mid-court, stretching Ball to the front right often, but few if any weren’t picked up. Ball’s willingness to go for backhand crosscourt nicks paid off on a couple of occasions but Golan had the measure of those, save a couple that came out rolling, for most of the play. A perfect and incredible dig by Ball at 5-6 down dropped into the nick for 6-6 but Golan recovered three similarly sensational near winners in the next rally to eventually win the point with dying length into the corner. That was the boost he needed to put together the next three points and eventually force a Ball error for the game winner.

The second game was more of the same inspired full court, point for point, battle as the first. Ball held a 7-6 lead but a tin and “no let” reversed the advantage. The pivotal rally featured three or four beautiful recoveries from both and ended with Golan pummelling the ball into the crosscourt nick from his forehand for a 9-7 lead. Ball held on to the last shred of the game with at least six or seven seemingly lost pick ups in the final rally until Golan had his second at 11-7.

Ball arrived at the third game with a new shirt but needed, as well, new legs, as his had been spent with no reward. He managed the first point but never had serve again to finally go down 11-1 and 3-0 in the match. A great effort by both.

[3] Shahier Razik (CAN) bt [2] Graham Ryding (CAN)
       20-18, 6-11, 11-9, 11-1 (75 m)

Canada’s Shahier Razik won over Graham Ryding in last year’s semi finals of the national championships but wasn’t having anything easy at the beginning of the rematch. They played through eighteen extra points before Razik put the necessary two between them for the first game win. Rallies were perpetual and mesmerizing in their fluidity and variety.

A few errors left the face of both racquets, even bringing a game ball rally back to even a couple of times, but these were anomalies in a patient but proactive contest with few decisions made of impatience. Ryding saved game ball to get to 10-10 after an eighty hit exchange, had the upper hand no less than four times but couldn’t close the door and went to the break after delivering a crosscourt two inches too low.



In the second game he asserted himself, holding a 6-0 lead, then also at 7-4. Two lets in a row on the end of 100+ hit rallies each slowed progress but Ryding continued to carry the game and evened the match score with a final of 11-6.

With so much time and strategy poured into each and every rally to this point it was somewhat of a surprise when the third got to 3-3 in as many minutes. At 4-6 down Ryding briefly, but noticeably, upped the power and speed of his stroke.

Both players were painting the walls with a tight and alternating game up and down their length but the change in speed facilitated three points in a row going to Ryding, 8-7 up. Almost unnoticeably Razik somehow stayed with him, absorbing the number and quality of Ryding’s attacks until, at 9-9, Razik took two Ryding errors into the tin for the 2-1 games lead.

Razik arrived at the fourth game not satisfied just to defend anymore and this, together with a quick lead and perhaps the toll of the early games’ marathon rallies, put Ryding immediately on notice. Whether he was completely expended or had decided at the break that 2-1 down was too far from a win to arrive, the score line was the same as the final game of Ball/Golan earlier: first point to the disadvantaged, the next eleven to the match winner.

It was another demonstration of quality squash and with a clear winner determined.

2006 Event

Bradley (in sarcasm to self after clanging a routine shot):
“Lovely shot…”
Borja : “Sorry”
Bradley (grinning):
“It’s not your fault.”

[4] Bradley Ball (ENG) bt [7] Mark Heather (ENG)
        11-8, 11-3, 11-7 (40m)

Bradley Ball met Mark Heather in the first match of the night, two hard hitting Englishmen with a preference for the backhand wall. Known to each other from matches played in the junior ranks at home they hadn’t met in a tournament in years. This didn’t appear to diminish their familiarity as they moved around and by each other with a very cooperative brand of squash. Lets were few and far between, always given willingly, and never sought when unearned.

With a mix of length and crosscourt power long portions of the match were an exchange of efforts to misdirect, primarily to alternating back corners. Heather never had a lead from which to build but gave points up grudgingly, only sometimes letting slip a quick gift in the immediate aftermath of a particularly long and strenuous exchange. The third game finally went to Ball after a number of drops from the backcourt by Heather met the tin and he was denied a let at 5-7 down.

With Ball two points shy of the match Heather was still pursuing an extension, charging down everything to get to 7-9 down. That was as close as he got but both exited the court to an appreciative and full gallery.

[1] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [6] Shawn Delierre (CAN)
     11-3, 11-13, 11-5, 10-12, 11-6 (97m)

It took five games, 97 minutes and a combined six fresh shirts but Borja Golan claimed his place in the semis over a resilient Shawn Delierre. This was attacking squash, physically punishing and ill-tempered. From the first rally to the last there was constant tension on and outside the court, a sharp contrast to the match that preceded it. After a roaring and appreciative introduction the two players wasted no time trying to stake their claim to as much positional advantage as the other would allow.



After Delierre took the first point of first game the lets came, four at 1-1, and didn’t let up. At 5-1, Golan in command, the first discussion with the referee slowed the frenetic pace. Delierre had found the tin a couple of times and appeared frustrated with the deepening hole he was getting into. At 7-1 down he tried and missed three attempts at the nick off the serve, then promptly hit the next two to 3-10. A lucky sidewall nick for Golan ended it though and frustration bubbled.

The second started no better for Delierre, a lucky rim hit by Golan that spun and immediately died in front of the tin to get to 1-1. From that point forward the two were separated by two points on the score sheet only once, otherwise staying within one, right up to the final point of Delierre’s winner in the tie breaker. Golan had actually held game ball, and the key to a 2-0 games lead, but a long and furious rally ended with him calling a carry on his own push stroke along the wall. With Delierre later up by one the two tangled at the “T” and, although many other calls were hotly disputed, Delierre did not request a let, so things evened again at 11. Two points later it came not to be significant as the games were tied at 1.

In the third Golan scored all his points with only three possessions of serve. Delierre made more errors than could be offset by his speed and determination. It took no small amount of time or lets but Golan was up 2-1. By the fourth game there was a cycle of discussion fully established, the ref’s many required decisions satisfying only one of two people. Golan, in few words, felt he was often blocked to the ball and Delierre believed the path to it, and lack of need for a let, obvious. Not every call was contested but by this point it was the norm.

The end seemed at hand with Golan holding match ball, 10-7, but Delierre promptly turned his emotions into points and saved three match balls then took the tie breaker. In the fifth the lets continued but many at the front were judged strokes and Golan collected more dividends as a result. At 9-6 he was awarded a referee’s decision stroke for deliberate interference as Delierre lay prone in protest. The final point gave the win to Golan.

[2] Graham Ryding (CAN) bt [Q] Ian Power (CAN)
     11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (31m)

Graham Ryding, with over ten years at the elite level, matched up against Ian Power in the third of the night. The first game was quiet but for the sound of racquet, ball and wall inside the court, and appreciative applause outside of it.

Power had trouble with the tin to go down 1-0 but came out for the second with an effort to take the ball earlier. Ryding used the drops to the front left to gather early points but Power evened at 4-4 with three straight out-of-reach winners. A “no let” response to Power’s request at 9-6 was followed by a winning drive to put the favourite up 2-0. He came back to the court with the same high tempo and, after losing the first point, reeled off the next nine.

Power was having trouble getting drops to come off his racquet cleanly but was finding time upon arrival at the ball very brief with which to make adjustments. Final score in the third was 11-3.

[3] Shahier Razik (CAN) bt [Q] Jorge Ferreira (MEX)
      11-5, 11-3, 11-2 (30m)

The last match of the day was between qualifying-crowd favourite Jorge Ferreira and third seeded Shahier Razik. This one was a contrast to any previous on the night as the player’s styles emphasized their touch on the ball over an interest in power.

Both are unhurried and very smooth around the court. Rallies seemed interminable and almost choreographed. Razik was the last to connect cleanly in most of them and as effortless as Ferreira made it look he was soon dripping with the effort.

Both players emanated a sense of calm as they routinely picked up stale and dying boasts and drops from standing starts a court’s length away.

2006 Event

2006 Event

Clarke & Martin Knight

Heather & Barnett

Delierre & Finitsis

Golan & Balbo

James & Razik

Ferreira & Richards

Ryding & Phillips

Davis & Barnett

Bedore & Power

Reid & James

Ferreira & Knight

15-Jan-07:
Ten Entrants from Top 50
head for Nova Scotia

The 2007 Bluenose Squash Classic has attracted an exceptional roster of entrants from amongst the best in the world.

Borja Golan, Spanish #1 and world #20, is at the head of a list of ten players from the top 50 in the world. Other countries sending their elite to compete at the Saint Mary’s University Tower courts in Halifax, Canada from February 17-22 include France, India, Hungary and Australia.

Graham Ryding, Shahier Razik, current Canadian national champion and world #26, are joined by Shawn Delierre, defending Bluenose champion from last year’s inaugural event, as the top Canadians in the draw.

Also expected are Renan Lavigne (FRA) #29, Jonathan Kemp (ENG) #30, Bradley Ball (ENG) #37, Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) #41, Daryl Selby (ENG) #42, Mark Heather (ENG) #48, Tom Richards, (ENG) #57 and Mark Krajcsak (HUN) #60 in the world.

This year’s tournament, as a PSA 2 Star event, boasts a US $20,000 prize pool and a 16 man main draw preceded by a full qualifying draw. Long time Nova Scotia #1 Matt Bishop is expected to compete in the qualifying round in hopes of being one of the four competitors to gain entrance to the four day main event.


   

Sponsorship to bring the Bluenose Squash Classic to a 2 Star level in only its second year has been provided by founding sponsor Zal Davar together with Welaptega Marine Limited, Domus Realty, National Leasing, Paul Christie, Barrington Wind Energy, Dr. D Gregory Baird, Truefoam Limited, Coady Filliter, A.H. Bishop & Associates Inc., Seven Wine Bar, Jim Mitchell Electric, Benchmark Investment Consulting and Dr. Chris Petropolis.

For further information
on the highest level Canadian squash tournament ever staged east of Montreal see our website   or email us

The second Bluenose Squash Classic, a not for profit event and part of the Canadian Squash Circuit, is being initiated and organized by the Nova Scotia squash community in memory of Marcella Davar (May 8, 1954 – July 21, 2004).

2006 Event

Official Site

The Tower