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Fri 23rd May, Quarter-Finals
Lobban gatecrashes Jersey Classic
semi-finals
While three of the top four seeds won through to the semi-finals
of the PSA $15k Jersey Squash Classic in the Channel Islands,
Scotland’s Greg Lobban recorded his “best ever win in PSA”
with a gruelling 94-minute win over third-seeded Egyptian Omar
Abdel Meguid.
Quarter-Finals:
[1] Chris Simpson (Ggy) 3-1 [5] Jaymie Haycocks (Eng)
11/4, 15/13, 8/11,
11/2 (62m)
[4] Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-1 [7] Joel Hinds (Eng)
11/8, 5/11, 11/5,
11/5 (54m)
[8] Greg Lobban (Sco) 3-1
[3] Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy)
11/5, 11/7,
7/11, 14/12 (94m)
[2] Adrian Waller (Eng) 3-1 [6] Charles Sharpes (Eng)
11/7, 9/11,
11/5, 11/3 (52m)
WATCH THE REPLAYS
 Top
seed and defending champion Chris Simpson was the first
player through to the semi-finals after coming through an
hour-long four-game tussle with Jaymie Haycocks.
Simpson controlled the first game but Haycocks fought back
strongly, just losing out a brutal second but taking an equally
tough third at the death. Simpson got off to a flyer in the
fourth though and there way no way back for Haycocks.
 "I
felt like I was in control until 5-all in the second, but he
came back well," said Simpson.
"It felt like it took an hour
from 10-all but I knew that was crucial. I thought it might have
taken something out of him for the third but he played well
again in that so I had to really focus from the start of the
fourth."
Haycocks was "pleased with how I played in the second and
third, but the first and fourth just weren't good enough. The
funny thing is I still felt fresh at the start of the fourth but
managed to play worse!"
Simpson’s semi-final opponent will
be fourth seeded Scotsman Alan Clyne, who ran out the
winner in four games against Joel Hinds.
 Clyne
pulled clear at the end of a well-contested first game but Hinds
did the same in the second to draw level. Clyne was on top early
in the third to regain the lead, and from 5-all in the fourth
the end came quickly as the Scotsman finished it off 11-5.
“There was one really tough rally at 5-all in the fourth
which seemed to make a difference,” said Clyne, “but apart from
that it was nip and tuck all the way.
“Chris is the top seed, defending champion and he beat me last
time so there’s no pressure on me in the semi-final, I’ll just
go out and do my best.”
A second Scot made it to the
semi-finals as Greg Lobban recorded “my best ever win in
PSA”, coming through an intense, physical, thrilling 94-minute
encounter with third seed Omar Abdel Meguid 14-12 in the fourth.
 Lobban
made an excellent start, controlling the play in the early
stages as he took a two-game lead 11-5, 11-6, and he led 5-3 in
the third too. Meguid, as he did in his previous match, started
to find his game and and shots, making his opponent work harder
and harder as he pulled a game back 11-7.
The fourth was a marathon affair, with some tremendous play by
both players, and lots of drama as they fought to control the
middle of the court, with a multitude of decisions required of
the referee, Joel Hinds.
Meguid went 5-1 ahead relatively quickly, but Lobban fought
back, with the appeals, disputes and replays growing. Lobban
finally drew level at 9-all, the majority of his points coming
from errors from Meguid.
Eventually, on his fourth match ball Lobban drove the ball too
deep for Meguid to return and the win was complete.
 “That
was exceptionally tough,” said a delighted Lobban.
“I knew it was going to be tough physically, we’re both pretty
big guys, I was trying to take him away from the middle of the
court as much as I could, using the lob a lot, but there’s
always going to be contact.
“He’s not a top 30 player for no reason, and while I’ve had some
good wins in Europe and BSPA and been knocking on the door for a
while, that’s definitely my best ever win in PSA so I’m really
happy.”
There was no upset in the final match of the night, but
Adrian Waller and Charles Sharpes, training partners they
may be, played an equally intense, fast-paced and often
breathless match to decide the final place in the last four.
 Waller,
the second seed, eventually prevailed in four games but it was
only as the fourth drew to a close that he could relax at all as
last year’s runner-up Sharpes kept pressing from the word go.
“It’s like that even when we’re training,” admitted Waller.
“We both really want to win and it’s just even more intense when
there’s PSA points at stake. Charles is always likely to come
back at you so I just couldn’t let up at all.
“I played Greg in National League a few weeks ago, I won then
but it should be interesting tomorrow when there’s a bit more at
stake.”
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