29-Nov:
Qualifying under way at HKFC
 The
30th anniversary edition of the Hong Kong Open kicked off today
with qualifying at Hong Kong Football Club.
Matches started at 13.00 with four courts in action, three of
which (courts 5, 6 and 7) are unusual in having glass panels on
three sides (the fourth, court 1, is traditional plaster).
 There
were no upsets in the men's draw, although Rex Hedrick
and Joe Lee both needed all five games before seeing off
James Huang and Elvinn Keo.
"I've played James a lot and have so much respect for him,"
said Rex. "You can never count him out and even when I was 2-0
up and then 9-2 in the fifth I knew it wasn't over."
Lee, who was twice a game behind, was honest in his assessment:
"I didn't underestimate him, but his style of play surprised
mer and when he took the first it gave him confidence and he had
nothing to lose - in the end I just had to bore him!"
 The
only upset of the day came in the women's draw as Egypt's
Menna Nasser overcame Olivia Blatchford in a fiercely
contested four games.
"We hadn't played since we were juniors about seven years
ago," said Menna, "but I knew it was going to be tough. I'm so
happy to get through and hope I can continue into the main
draw."
 As
usual there was a lot of local interest with plenty of Hong Kong
players in both draws. The only home men's winner was Yip Tsz
Fung, looking to continue his good form from the Worlds in
Bellevue.
"It's good to be back playing at home," said Yip, "hopefully
I can keep my focus and make the main draw for the first time
when I play Mahesh [Mangaonkar] who I beat in the Asian Champs
in May."
 On
the women's side Vanessa Chu, Ho Tsz Lok and
Tong Tsz Wing progressed, all four at the expense of fellow
Hong Kong players.
Qualifying finals start at 13.30 tomorrow at HKFC, with the main
draw starting at Hong Kong Squash Centre on Tuesday.
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