Irish Ranking Finals

Like I said earlier, there was an Irish Ranking Tournament going on so there were some good matches going on before the PSA finals.

Interestingly, Graeme Stewart, long-standing Irish international and former 69 in The PSA won that event against fellow Ulsterman Connor O'Hare. Connor was playing Derek Ryan in the semis yesterday, but Derek pulled out with an Achilles problem, while Graeme beat Rory Byrne 3:1.

Graeme beat Connor convincingly 3:0 - 11:7, 11:7, 11:2. I have to honestly say that I have never seen that many cross-courts played in one match, which was due to a Graeme being a left-hander and both players generally love playing cross courts anyway!

Yeah, 69 was my best ranking. When was that, god, 1995 maybe? Currently I am the British Open and Closed over 40s champions!

Back in the days I'd say my best win was when I beat Paul Carter playing at one for Ireland. It wasn't so much about beating Paul, but just generally beating the English!

Are the pros different from the times when I was playing PSA? Not really, they are just bigger!

[1] Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt [2] Rasmus Nielsen (Den)
      11/3, 5/11, 8/11, 11/6, 11/9 (55m)

The PSA finals of the Leinster Open (which by the way was made possible thanks to Leinster Squash and Irish Squash, whose both presidents, Roland Budd and Ed Dunne, were around for the prize giving).

Unfortunately it was being played at the same time as Man Utd. versus Man City, which didn't help attendance, though a good few spectators made it down. I was pretty sure that Dylan, if he'd play well and not get too mad, would win. And my prediction looked to be coming true when Dylan took the first game in a matter of minutes - 11:3.

Rasmus looked upset at how easily he gave away game one and came out more determined in game two. Unfortunately at this point the squash wasn't great. Both players were making mistakes and spectacular shot-making attempts mainly ended in the tin. Rasmus pulled away at 5:5 and won the game 11:5. Dylan was on the front foot in game three but squandered an 8:5 lead and lost it 11:9. Once again it was him making mistakes, rather than Rasmus winning the rallies (though he hit his fair share of winners, too).

Dylan pulled himself together in game four and the quality of the match increased no end. Dylan was distributing the ball beautifully and using his excellent holds and disguises, while Rasmus did the running. Especially Dylan's trickle boasts from the front and back were virtually unreadable and I have rarely seen them played so well - 11:6 to Dylan.

The fifth was great and luckily not marred by bad decisions upsetting the players. It was close until the end and it looked like Rasmus, who looked exhausted towards the end, might snatch it, but Dylan kept his cool and won 11:9. Credit to the players for dealing with difficult conditions, the court was very humid with very skiddy side-walls, which made for some unpredictable bounces.

I think the crowd got their money's worth (it was free entry though) and I think the quality of squash for a $5k tournament was really something - some of the retrieving and shot-making was breathtaking.

What's funny is that the finalists of the men's A events will have roughly received the same prize money as the PSA folks, but I guess these small tournaments are simply just played for points.

Derek Ryan, Dylan Bennett, Roland Budd, Edward Dunne

My last tournament win? Swiss Open in 2010, March or April. So a while back. This tournament here will get me 150 points, which might not help my ranking immediately but will pay off in months to come. haven't set myself goals for now, like I said I'd like to get back to 42 and enjoy squash.

Nowadays though those ranks are tough, man. I mean when I was 42 I felt like players in those regions would never lose to players beneath them. Nowadays it's so close - basically everyone outside the top 15 can beat each other. It's good though, it means the professional game is growing, but it does make it more tough.

Professional squash is going well in the Netherlands. Obviously LJ doing well helps, you read about him, and I try and do my bit as well. Try to do my best. We have about six to seven players in the top 150, so that's good too. And we have a decent national circuit too with some good one-day tournaments and good money. Also, our league is pretty good too. This year we might have less tournaments as Tommy is busy with the World Open, but hey, we do have the World Open!

The match today? Well, the first game was a real gift from him, he hit like seven tins! After that he started playing better, took the ball early and taking advantage of the slippy side walls. But half way through the fourth I played better, I started lifting the ball and that helped. And yeah, the fifth. Well, it's tough - I was 7:5 down but then I played some decent rallies and I think he got really tired. I played it safe then, made it hard for him, and managed to edge it out.

Next up is Dutch League on Wednesday and then after that it's the World Open. So I can rest and train a bit until then - qualifying is Friday and Saturday and the first round main draw is Sunday and Monday.

I am playing Monday and I hope to do well against Greg. I mean, he's going to put the pace up and he is a favourite to win the tournament, but I'll be playing on the glass court and might have some family watching, so I just really hope to put up a good performance and enjoy the match.

Do I like Guinness? Of course I do. So now it's Guinness time!

11/3, 5/11, 8/11, 11/6, 11/9 (55m)

[2] Rasmus Nielsen

Qualifications - Finales :

Nathan Lake (Eng) bt Alex Phillips (Eng)                          11-6 11-8 13-11
Declan James (Eng) bt Matias Tuomi (Fin)                         11-6 11-4 11-4
Johan Bouquet (Fra) bt Florent Pontiere (Fra)        8-11 14-12 12-10 15-13
Frank Hartkoren (Ned) bt Steven London (Eng)  11-7 11-4 7-11 8-11 11-6

Premier Tour
Alex Philipps bat Sean Connroy                                  11/7 11/4 11/4
Nathan Lake bat Romans Svec                                 13/11 11/2 11/7
Joan Bouquet bat Stuart Hadden ( local )                    11/2 11/6 11/5
Florent Pontière bat Rory Pennel                11-9 12-10 7-11 8-11 11-6
Mathias Tuomi bat Kevin Moran                         11/5 15/13 5/11 11/9          
Declan James bat Rory Byrne                            11/13 11/6 11/3 11/6
Frank Hartkoren bat Connor O'hare                             11/8 11/8 11/6
Steven London bat Nigel Payton                   8/11 11/8 8/11 11/6 11/5

So yeah, currently I am the Dutch number 2- as always, haha! And I managed to qualify for the Worlds in Rotterdam. We had a qualifying tournament with all the local Dutch guys for a spot in the main draw - and I won. Playing Greg now, who seems to be in some form! I'm 27 and he is 29 - so we've known each other for a while.

The game today against Eddie was tough - yeah. I mean we just played a few days ago in the Czech, where he beat me. The court there was more lively and this one is a bit more dead, which suits my game.

I had some tough matches on the way to the finals and I wasn't a 100%, struggling with a cold didn't help. Today I was keen to take revenge, I told myself earlier in the week that I don't want to lose against the same player twice in in one week - that seems to have worked! I was moving well, hitting my targets, feeling comfortable.

My backhand was good and my short game too - you need that to beat Eddie. After I won the third game I felt his energy level dropped. He just didn't quite want it as much as last week, where he was incredibly motivated to win. It's the second time I've only played him in my career, too. Also, I didn't lose my head today either. I mean I was close - you saw the referee. But at least it was on both sides.

But as for the discussions and banter - you know - for me it works. I am a bit like Michael Fiteni in that respect. I was 3:5 down and then there was that long break where we discussed that skidding court situation. And after that, and it was a decision against me, I was up 7:5.

As for my career right now - I am a 101! I've been at 42 and hey, if you want to get into that... Anyway, I am currently enjoying my squash, which hasn't been happening for a while. And I am feeling good and want to give it a last shot. Last week it was a bad final for me, but I am looking forward to tomorrow.

I've played Rasmus once, in the Worlds in Paderborn. I beat him 3:2 on a bouncy court, so I am confident I can beat him here on a slightly more dead court. Never played Ben though before, so lets see who wins. Either way - I wanna win!

Some fun matches today - both 3:1 but quite different. Once again I went with folks who had never watched Squash at this level, so it was fun seeing their reactions to both matches.

Dylan Bennett really impressed me today - in all these years of reading about him I never knew he had such an exquisite touch and deception. Probably one of the best outside the top 100. His holds on both forehand and backhand are really something. But Eddie Charlton is no slouch either and I thought he might figure a way to beat him today as well. But that didn't happen - it was more about Dylan. When he was on top he was winning in impressive style, when he was down then it was mainly down to him making mistakes.

There was a lot of talking with the ref from Dylan, sometimes a bit too much. My friends asked me if he'd get a yellow card soon! I quite enjoyed some of his remarks, even if they were slightly mean to the ref, who Dylan accused of not liking him.

There was also a funny situation in which Charlton wanted a rally replayed for a ball skidding off a bad spot on the court, referencing a recent PSA match where the same thing happened and a let was played. The ref said that it's not in the WSF rules, but stated that he wasn't sure if it were in the PSA rules. Players were a bit baffled.

And as for the match - once Dylan took the third it didn't look like there'd be a fifth. Anyway, a match slightly marred by too many breaks and lets, but the great shotmaking and retrieving made up for that.

Ben Coleman against Rasmus Nielsen was a great exhibition of athleticism. Nielsen is quite the dynamo on court and blew Coleman away in game two. To be fair the Englishman steadied in the second, but in the third and fourth he just made some bad mistakes at the wrong time.

My non-Squash friends kept telling me though that the young player has a great future ahead of him. So there you go, Ben!

Final tomorrow, 2pm, should be fun, and I hope there will be slightly less lets than today.

Yeah, Dylan won last time, so it will be good to get revenge over him! We've played a few times, it's been a while - the time before we played the in the European Individuals in Belgium. And as far as I know I won most of the time - it's just the last time he happened to won!

But to win I need to a bit better though. I've been struggling with my consistency, just like forcing it a bit too much. Today, after winning the first one so easy my head just went a bit off. A bit too much in and out. I felt like I was controlling him very well, but when I had the opportunity I wasn't finishing the rallies well. Bad decision making, so have to pick up on that.

Feeling fine physically, match was only 45 - 50 minutes. Felt a bit heavy at the beginning. Don't know why, really. just not feeling quite aggressive enough. Something I'll have to do tomorrow, as I am up against Dylan! Like playing my own game generally - fast pace, going for straight hard flat kill shots. I like to dominate the T, but then again so does Dylan. But normally I am a bit stronger physically, especially when the matches get longer he might start going for some shots too quickly. Lets hope that happens!

This isn't my first finals - a couple of years ago I won the Welsh Open. I think in 2009, and one other satellite in Holland, in Tilburg. I'd love win since it has been while! And after that I am hoping to get a few tournaments in again. my ranking is 107 at the moment and I've been in top 100 in June/July, so that's where I want to get back to again!

Qualifications

Well, it was an up and down performance. I was 1:0 up and went 2:1 down, and I was down in the fourth as well. It was tight but I squeezed it out and then the fifth was comfortable, luckily. But to be honest, during the match i felt outplayed at times. I knew I had to dig deep and make it tough for him, there is an age difference between us so I knew if I keep going I have a chance, but it was tough. But anyway, I am through and I am happy to be through to the semis - we were both unseeded - I beat the third seed - so this is a good result for me. Whoever I play tomorrow - Geoffrey or Rasmus - it'll be tough. I've played Geoffrey in juniors but Rasmus would be a first. I think if I play my best squash I am with a good chance of winning. Oh, and before I forget - a lot of credit goes to Eddie Charlton and Rory Pennel: their words of wisdom helped me through. I felt stuck at one point and he was dictating the game, so they told me what to do and luckily I was able to convert it.

Salut Fram, Johan et moi avons perdu ce soir. Pas satisfait de mon match, j'avais la stratégie pour le battre mais trop de fautes et pas assez patient. J'ai mal entamé chaque jeux et c'est souvent difficile de courir après le score. J'espère retrouver un meilleur niveau de jeu rapidement. Bravo à Greg pour sa victoire au Qatar, ça fait plaisir de le revoir gagner !           Well, it was okay, definitely happy to get through, bit up and down really - especially focus-wise.Was okay, happy to get through, a bit up and down. I had a big lead in the second - what was it? 6:0 I think, and I let him get back in from that. Mind you he was moving very well, picking up loads of balls and then I wasn't finishing the rallies I would have hoped to. So it's a good and happy 3:0 win for me. It's the first time I have played him, though I have seen him in leagues and tournaments. I've had a back injury recently so I had to pull out of two tournaments, the last one being Barcelona. But now I am feeling good again. Been training in Odense, my base, with the other Danish pros - like Kristian Frost. Playing Ben tomorrow and never played him before. I like that - it's always nice to play new players so I'll be looking forward to a good match.

Just won 3:1 against Johan Bouquet. I've played him a couple of times before, last time in Mallorca and I won 3:1 there as well. Today I started the match and I thought I was ready to go in the first game but really wasn't, so I lost and played quite badly. The second was crucial and I hung in there and squeezed that one out, and after that I felt quite comfortable and won 3:1. Third and fourth were nice since I managed to get in front of him, which helped my confidence. Felt like I was hitting my targets finally. It's been a tough week - I just played the Czech Open where I lost in the finals to Eddie Charlton, and if he wins now it'll be the two of us in the semis tomorrow. As for Dublin - well, it's a great club and place, yet my memories are not the best. Last time round I lost to Greg Marche, who was a qualifier and I was seeded, 3:1 in the first round.

Charlton was always in control against James, who was always competitive but simply isn't quite an accomplished a player as Charlton. It was the first time I have seen him play and he looks like an all round good player, using great width, height and brains to move to outplay his opponent.

Last match of the evening was Demont against Nielsen. I had a friend with me who had never watched professional Squash before. His main takeaway will be: these guys can run! It was a very entertaining match, loads of retrieving, running, and volleying, all played in good spirits, and featuring a few French angry looks at the referee.
  

Ireland's Nigel Peyton missed out narrowly In the first round qualifying of the Leinster Open. The Dubliner led 2/1 against his English opponent Steven London, but he was unable to capitalise on this lead and finally went down in 5 sets.

The final round of qualifying sees 4 English players join 2 French, 1 Finn and Dutchman Frank Hartkoren to make up the 8 players challenging for a place in the main draw.

Je sors de mon math contre Rory Pennel, je prends les 2 premiers assez difficilement, je n'étais pas bien physiquement (Jojo m'a refilé sa crève en République tchèque) et puis là dans le troisième il commence à mettre plus de rythme et à être plus précis, je n'y était plus; Je perds les deux suivants, et puis dans le 5ème j'ai tout donné en essayant de contrer beaucoup plus à l'avant, ça a bien fonctionné. Voila je m'en tire mais que ce fut dur... j'ai plus qu'à passer une bonne nuit et à boire 15 litres de flotte ^^. Demain je joue Jojo; bizarre de jouer un français, ça n'arrive jamais ça......... allez @demain, bis