9-11, 11-3, 11-5,
8-11, 11-7

[4] Chris Simpson

11-8, 8-11,
11-3, 11-2 (52m)

[3] Omar Abdel Aziz

7-11, 11-7, 11-2,
6-11, 11-4

Matthew Giuffre

01-02  Dec, Qualifying:

03-Dec, Round One:
Razik & Giuffre make Edmonton quarters
Louis Daignault reports

Number-one seed Shahier Razik of Toronto defeated compatriot Robin Clarke of Ottawa on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals at the $20,000 Edmonton Open men’s professional squash tournament being held at the Royal Glenora Club.

But Matthew Giuffre of Edmonton produced the biggest upset as he beat sixth seed Julien Balbo of France.  The 27-year-old wild card player from Edmonton defied his world ranking of 175 to overcome Balbo - ranked over 100 places higher - 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8.  Runner-up in the inaugural Edmonton Open in 2008, Giuffre is competing in only his second pro tour event of the year.

Unseeded Giuffre now faces second seed Aaron Frankcomb in the Australian's second successive clash with a Canadian.  The 24-year-old from Hobart defeated  David Phillips of Pointe-Claire, Que., 11-7, 11-9, 5-11, 6-11, 11-8.

Razik, ranked 31st in the world, took his match 5-11, 11-2, 11-9, 11-7. His next opponent is Mohammed Abbas of Egypt who eliminated Ryan Cuskelly of Australia 11-5, 6-11, 11-4, 11-3.

South African Stephen Coppinger became another surprise quarter-finalist when he upset fifth-seeded Italian Amr Swelim 11-5, 12-10, 12-10.  It was shock defeat for the Cairo-based world No39 who reached the finals of his two previous Tour events in November.

Coppinger, the world No48 fresh from his unexpected triumph in last month's Leinster Open in Ireland, now takes on Egypt's third seed Omar Abdel Aziz for a place in the last four.

02-Dec, Qualifying Finals:
Clarke & Phillips enter main draw
Louis Daignault reports

Robin Clarke of Ottawa won his final qualifying match on Wednesday to advance to the main draw at the $20,000 Edmonton Open men’s squash tournament.

Clarke defeated Jens Schoor of Germany 13-11, 11-6, 11-6 in 40 minutes.  He won’t know his next opponent until the draw is held to determine Thursday’s first round main draw match-ups for the qualifiers.

David Phillips of Pointe-Claire, Que., and Matthew Serediak of Saskatoon played their last qualifying matches later Wednesday.

“The courts here are brand new and are a bit slippery,” said Clarke, who jumped from 76th to 68th in the recent world rankings.  “Still my movement was quite good.  I’ve played Jens before so I knew his game pretty well.  The first game I was a little nervous but in the second I played more aggressively and took it to him.”

Clarke has produced some strong results this season on the Canadian circuit reaching finals this fall at stops in Ottawa and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

“This is the last tournament of the year and it’s a big test for me,” said Clarke.  “I’m happy to qualify and I want to produce another solid performance and keep my next opponent on the court for as long as possible.”

Shahier Razik of Toronto, ranked 31st in the world, is the top-seed with Aaron Frankcomb of Australia at number-two and Omar Abdel Aziz of Egypt seeded third.  Matthew Giuffre of Edmonton is also in the main draw.