Sun 24th, Final:

[1] Anthony Ricketts bt [3/4] Azlan Iskandar
        11/4, 11/8, 11/5 (30m)

Ricketts Claims First BSPA Title

Australia's Anthony Ricketts captured his first BSPA title, completing a weekend of impressive performances with a resounding 3/0 victory over Malaysia's Azlan Iskandar, the world number seven's fifth match of the tournament without dropping a game.

"Just too strong," said an impressed tournament director Dave Peck.

Ricketts' pace and power proved too much for the young Malaysian handle, just as it had been for Simon Parke in the semi-final. Errors from Iskandar in the first game gave Ricketts an ideal start, and more at the end of a competitive second sealed the Malaysian's fate.

A six-minute final game saw Ricketts complete an impressive set of performances, and the top prize was his.

"It's been a great event, well supported and enjoyed by players and spectators alike, and Anthony has been particularly impressive throughout," added Peck.

Sat 23rd, Semi-Finals:

[1] Anthony Ricketts bt [3/4] Simon Parke   11/8, 11/2, 11/5
[3/4] Azlan Iskandar bt Iain Higgins            11/8, 11/6, 11/9

Ricketts powers into final

Australia's top seed Anthony Ricketts will meet Malaysian Azlan Iskandar in the final of the Colets Open in Thames Ditton after contrasting semi-finals.

Iskandar faced up to Iain Higgins, who had provided the upset of the tournament with his lunchtime defeat of second seed Adrian Grant.

It was quickly apparent that Higgins had nothing left in the tank, and the players went on to delight the crowd with near-exhibition squash, Iskandar safe in the knowledge that should the need arise he could step up the pace and not be followed.

If the crowd enjoyed the first semi-final, they were awe-struck by the second, according to tournament director Dave Peck.

"The score doesn't reflect it, but it was a tremendous match, with Parke displaying fantastic retrieving in the face of an onslaught of awesome attacking squash from Ricketts. On this form I don't see how anyone in the world could live with him."

The final takes place at 2.00 on Sunday, with Ricketts and Iskandar both looking for their first BSPA titles ...
 

Sat 23rd, Quarter-Finals:
[1] Anthony Ricketts bt Stacy Ross          11/6, 11/1, 11/6
[3/4]Simon Parke bt Joey Barrington       11/2, 11/6, 11/3
[3/4] Azlan Iskandar bt Danny Meddings  11/5, 11/2, 11/7
Iain Higgins [2]Adrian Grant             10/12, 12/10, 11/6, 11/7

Easy for some ...

Three of the top four seeds cruised into this evening's semi-finals, but second seed Adrian Grant is out.

Anthony Ricketts, Simon Parke and Azlan Iskandar were all grateful for quick matches - this was Parke's fourth match of the tournament already - but Grant's remarkable recovery after last week's hospitalisation following a car crash came to an end as the rejuvenated Iain Higgins gatecrashed the semis.
 

 Fri 22nd, Round Two:
  
[1] Anthony Ricketts bt Ben Ford 11-6, 11-5, 11-9
Stacy Ross bt Scott Handley 11-8, 11-4, 11-5.
Joey Barrington bt Alex Gough 9-11, 11-0, 8-11, 6-0 retired.
[3/4]Simon Parke bt Paul Rawdon 11-7, 11-2, 1102
[3/4] Azlan Iskander bt Ben Garner 11-9, 11-8, 11-9
Danny Meddings bt Steve Coppinger 11-3, 11-10 (3-1) 11-3
Iain Higgins bt Stephen Meads 11-5, 11-8, 11.8
[2]Adrian Grant bt Peter Genever 11-7, 10-11 (1-3) 8-11,11-2, 11-8
  
ROSS GETS HIS EYE IN….ALMOST
Dave Peck reports from Colets ...

Stacey Ross took a fairly straightforward victory over Scott Handley in the second round of the Colets Open at Colets Health and Fitness Club in Thames Ditton.

Ross is still recovering from a virus that forced him to withdraw from the Irish Open two weeks ago and takes drops four times a day to combat the effect the virus has on his eyes.

“I can see the ball on court alright, but the eyes are still not normal,” said Ross after his victory. Ross has still not entered the top fifty in his comeback after giving up squash for nine years.

His reward is a meeting with world number seven Anthony Ricketts, who cruised through his two matches today without dropping a game.

GOUGH BACKS OUT
Joey Barrington got a surprisingly easy ride into the quarter finals when Alex Gough retired in the fourth game because of a back injury. It was a strange match up to that point with Gough winning a very hard-fought first game 11-9 and then simply giving away the second game 11-0.

Even more puzzling was his recovery in the third in which he overwhelmed Barrington to lead throughout the game and win 11-8. After losing six quick points in the fourth Gough retired because of his back thus explaining the erratic scoreline.

Barrington meets Simon Parke in the quarter-finals. After a hard-fought win over European Junior Champion Chris Simpson in the morning, Parke, celebrating his return to the England team for next week's European Team Championships, enjoyed the benefits of a large draw with a comfortable win against Paul Rawden this evening.

GRANT GETS BETTER
Second seed Adrian Grant played his second match of the day and was fit enough to take a five game victory over Peter Genever after being 2/1 down. Any doubts that he had about the after effects of his dreadful car accident a week ago, which left him hospitalised for three days and admitting to being 'very groggy' during last night's qualifying match, were dismissed as Grant showed confidence and maturity in overcoming the deficit to cruise through the last two games.

Grant will be tested in the quarters by Iain Higgins who beat Stephen Meads in straight games. Earlier in the day Higgins and Meads survived 90-minute marathons against Sam Miller and Daryl Selby respectively, but Higgins, having lost two stones and most of his hair (and seemingly gained in skill showing racket skills more normally associated with Jonathon Power), proved the fitter tonight.

AZLAN BACK ON FORM
When Azlan Iskandar was 2-0 and 9-2 up in his first round match against James Wright it looked like he would be rested for the evening matches. But the Malaysian went to sleep, lost that game and the next before eventually claiming the win.

Tonight against Ben Garner, winner of the Esporta Open two weeks ago, no such lapses were in evidence as he won 11/9, 11/8, 11/9 to reach the quarter-finals. There he will face Colets' own Danny Meddings, who moved quietly through the draw witth straight games wins over Shahid Khan and Steve Coppinger.

No doubt whose side the crowd will be on tomorrow ...
    

  Draw &Results

PARKY FROM COLETS ... SATURDAY: I won my quarter-final against Joey at lunchtime, but it wasn't easy - I had to work hard to make the scoreline look that good, and I was pleased with how I played. Joey was struggling a little with an ankle injury, but I don't think that made any difference to the match. It's hard to play two matches in a day, two days in a row, and after a really good first game against Anthony tonight I just got a bit tired. Anthony's always played at a high pace, but now he's added accuracy, and he played really well tonight. He's proved he's one of the top contenders, winning the ToC was a great boost for him, and he's up there to challenge anyone these days. Anyway, just had a couple of beers with Dave and the members at the club, they're a good crowd, really friendly and enthusiastic. So it's a rest day tomorrow, then off to Exeter for a Super League match on Monday, and on Tuesday it's Amsterdam for the European Teams. We've got Holland, Finland and Spain in our group, so hopefully I'll be lucky enough to make an appearance or two to add to my, I'm told, 56 caps. Simon Parke FRIDAY: It was a hard game at lunchtime against Chris Simpson, he was playing well, especially considering he had a knee problem which prevented him playing for the last week. If you want to win these tournaments you have to try to win 3/0 in the early rounds since you normally have five matches to play, but for this one it's six matches. So I was a bit cheesed off to lose the third, but all credit to Chris, he's got a lot of talent ... maybe needs to work on his fitness a little more. Tonight was easier ... no disrespect to Paul, but when you look at some of the last 16 matches tonight, Alex v Joey, Adrian v Peter etc, the draw worked out quite well for me. So it's Joey tomorrow. It will be hard, but I'm looking forward to it. He's improved a lot, but I've always managed to win against him so far, so hopefully ... I must say the Club's really nice. Everyone's very friendly and welcoming, and the courts are close to the bar, which always helps to create a good atmosphere. Simon Parke

Mega Draw for
Colets Open
  
The cancellation of the $40k Budapest Grand Prix has led to a spectacular entry list for the final BSPA event of the season ... world class names such as Anthony Ricketts in qualifying has to be a first.

Super Coach Simon Parke As you asked I thought I'd let you know how I went about recording my 33-0 victory over Nick Wall. First of all I turned up at the club at 4.30 ready for my match at 7.30. I then hung around until 8 o'clock to  find that Nick didn't turn up. The real secret of achieving a 33-0 victory and getting it put in the press is to have a particularly enthusiastic (and gullible) coach, namely Simon Parke. Not only did he want the result posted immediately on SquashSite but he also faxed Reuters in the hope that it would make national press! Jethro Binns

Fri 22nd, Round One: Young Guns Test Old Hands ... Friday afternoon's first round saw several of the UK circuit's more experienced players have to dig deep to fend off the challenges of up and coming youngsters. This meant there were some tire legs going into the evening's second round, which featured several matches which would do justice to many semi-finals or finals ...