Tue 2nd May, Day ONE:
Qualifying complete in St Clement
The fifth edition of the Jersey Squash Classic got under way at
Jersey Squash & Racketball Club in St Clement with the
qualifying rounds in the Men’s and Women’s PSA $5k events.
 There
was just one match played in women’s qualifying, Olivia
Taylor beating Sophie Pallet in an all-Jersey junior match.
Olivia joins her mum Sarah Taylor, one of Jersey’s top
seniors Kate Cadigan, and Scottish number one Lisa
Aitken in the main draw.
There was no joy for tournament director Nick Taylor though, the
world O45 champion losing out in the first qualifying round to
Scotland’s Rory Stewart - the British U23 Open champion -
in four games.
 Jersey
regular Matt Sidaway was the first men’s qualifier, after
a “tough day at the office”. Two-nil and match ball down in the
first round against Tiago Goriely, Sidaway recovered to win that
match, then saved game balls in the first two games of his final
against Laurence Green, eventually winning in straight games.
“I’ve had the wildcard spot here before,” he said, “this is
the first time I’ve had to qualify. That was a tough day at the
office, but it’s worth it, and I’m enjoying my squash at the
moment.”
 Wales’s
Owain Taylor enjoyed two 3-0 wins to reach the main draw,
the second against Jersey junior Anthony Harkin.
“It’s my first time in Jersey,” he said, “it looks very good,
nice and relaxed. I’m happy with how the draw worked out for me
after a couple of dropouts, but you still have to do the job.
Looking forward to the main draw now.”
Stuart McGregor also had a tough, but successful day
against two fellow Englishmen, following up a morning win over
second seed Julian Tomlinson with an equally tough four-game win
over Harry Falconer.
 "Two
good wins today,” he said. “I beat Julian last time but today’s
match was tougher, and I'd lost to Harry most of the season so
it was a bit of a mental hurdle to overcome, but it worked out
well."
The final qualifying spot was claimed by Rory Stewart,
but his opponent Charlie Cowie was drawn as the ‘Lucky
Loser’ after the earlier withdrawal of Claudio Pinto.
The main draws get under way at 15.00 on Wednesday, utilising
two courts with the last matches due on at 20.15.
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