03-Aug, Finals:

[1] David Palmer (Aus) bt [3] Kashif Shuja (Nzl)         11/7, 14/12, 11/8 (40m)
[7] Annie Au (Hkg) bt [1] Kasey Brown (Aus)             6/11, 7/11, 11/6, 11/6, 12/10 (80m)

Palmer heads
back to NSW

11/4, 11/6, 11/4 (29m)

Robbie Temple

11/7, 14/12, 11/8 (40m)

[3] Kashif Shuja

11/9, 9/11, 7/11, 11/5, 11/6 (61m)

[Q] Campbell Grayson

Qualifying:

30-Jul, Finals:

Zac Alexander (Aus) bt Dick Lau (Hkg)                        8/11, 11/8, 11/4, 11/9 (36m)
Martin Knight (Nzl) bt Steve Robinson (Aus)                 11/5, 6/11, 11/5, 11/4 (39m)
Justin Beard (Aus) bt Max Lee (Hkg)                   4/11, 11/8, 3/11, 11/7, 11/7 (41m)
Campbell Grayson (Nzl) bt Joshua Greenfield (Nzl)     11/7, 9/11, 11/5, 12/10 (42m)

29-Jul, Round One:

Dick Lau (HKG) bt Carl Hampson (RSA)                  11/6, 12/10, 10/12, 11/7 (44m)
Zac Alexander bt Nathan Kam                                           11/5, 11/3, 11/5 (22m)
Steve Robinson bt Brent Dunkley                                       11/5, 11/5, 11/1 (18m)
Martin Knight (NZL) bt Nathan Stevenson                            11/5, 11/3, 11/6 (27m)
Max Lee (HKG) bt Josh Cardwell                                         11/2, 11/9, 11/2 (22m)
Justin Beard bt Joseph Desira                                            11/6, 11/7, 11/8 (34m)
Joshua Greenfield (NZL) bt Luke Forster                             11/8, 11/9, 11/8 (24m)
Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Anson Kwong (HKG)                11/6, 11/3, 11/6

28-Jul, Pre-Qualifying:

Luke Forster (Qld) bt Courtney West (Qld)                13/11, 11/7, 11/13, 11/6
Nathan Kam (NSW) bt Tim Cowell (WA)                       9/11, 11/5, 11/3, 11/8
Nathan Stevenson (Qld) bt Peter Taylor (Qld)                       11/5, 11/3, 11/5
Brent Dunkley (SA) bt Neeraj Aggarwal (Vic)                    11/8, 12/10, 13/11
 

11/6, 11/9, 11/1 n(28m)

[8] Joelle King

6/11, 7/11, 11/6, 11/6, 12/10 (80m)

[7] Annie Au

11/9, 12/10, 11/5 (28m)

[2] Jaclyn Hawkes

Qualifying:

30-Jul, Finals:

Sarah Cardwell (Aus) bt Jackie Laurenson (Nzl)        11/8, 8/11, 11/9, 11/9 (38m)
Zoe Petrovansky (Aus) bt Maggie Marshall (Aus)             11/4, 11/5, 12/10 (23m)
Melody Francis (Aus) bt Bonny Wu (Aus)                          11/4, 11/5, 11/5 (19m)
Shin Nga Leung (Hkg) bt Kimberley Bessell (Aus)     11/3, 11/9, 9/11, 11/7 (29m)

29-Jul, Round One:

Sarah Cardwell bt Paige Inia-McGarvey                          11/4, 11/7, 11/2 (13m)
Kimberley Bessell bt Alma Kushartanti                  15/13, 3/11, 11/9, 11/4 (27m)

Andrew Dent reports

Top seed Kasey Brown will take on surprise packet Annie Au of Hong Kong in the women’s final of the Clare Valley Australian Open squash championships after both recorded straight games wins in the semi-finals in Clare, South Australia on Saturday.

Brown beat New Zealander Joelle King 11-6, 11-9, 11-1 to move into her third consecutive final, while in the first semi-final the 19-year-old Au kept the upsets coming with an 11-9, 12-10, 11-5 win over second seeded Kiwi Jaclyn Hawkes.

Both matches followed similar patterns, with the winners taking tight first games, coming back from precarious positions in the second then running away with the third.

The seventh seeded Au played aggressively to down the more defensive-minded Hawkes in the first semi-final.

It was Au’s second major scalp of the tournament, following her quarter-final victory over third seeded Donna Urquhart.

Au is considered one of the brightest juniors to come out of Hong Kong in recent years. She was a member of the team that won the World Junior Women’s Teams’ Championships in 2006 and has already won two titles since turning professional in 2007.

She attacked against Hawkes from the start and was rewarded with a tight opening game. Hawkes came back immediately and took an early lead in the second, then had four game balls at 10-6, but Au refused to concede and she fought back superbly to take the second in a tiebreak.

The second seed’s head dropped and Au comfortably won the third to reach her first major final.She conceded the second game was crucial.

“I think if I didn’t win the second game the match would have been a lot tighter,” Au said. “When I was losing in the second game I just relaxed – I just tried to attack her because she is ranked higher than me and I had nothing to lose. I just tried to do my best and not think too much about the game.”

Brown also had to come back in the second game after King shot out to lead 6-0 and then 7-1.

Where many other players may have conceded the game, Brown dug deep and refused to give in, clawing her way back to claim it 11-9.

“With this scoring if you’re 7-1 down most people write the game off, but after the first game which I won comfortably I decided to dig in and get better length and hang on,” Brown said. “Fortunately I was able to scrape out that second one, which helped me mentally in the third.”

Brown, 23, and Au have never met, but the taller Australian said she was wary of the number of times Au brought both Hawkes and Urquhart forward in their matches.

Brown won the Australian Open in 2006 and was runner up to New Zealand’s Shelley Kitchen in 2007.

If she wins on Sunday, she will become the first multiple winner since Sarah Fitz-Gerald won the last of her four titles in 2003.

Palmer stays on track ...

World number five David Palmer remained on track for his first ever Australian Open squash title when he beat Robbie Temple of England in straight games 11-4, 11-6, 11-4 in the semi-finals.

Palmer has won the British Open four times and the World Open twice but has never won his home title. The last time he played the event, in 2006, he finished runner-up to Stewart Boswell and he said earlier in the week he hadn’t come all the way from his base in Boston to finish second this year.

Palmer will play New Zealand’s Kashif Shuja in Sunday’s final following Shuja’s thrilling 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-6 over fellow Kiwi Campbell Grayson.



The two New Zealanders left the court to a standing ovation after a see-sawing match which ended when Grayson, who was on court for 78 minutes on Friday, ran out of steam in the fifth game.

Palmer goes into the final as one of the hottest favourites imaginable. He only arrived in Australia on Tuesday and has played better and better as the tournament’s gone on.

Temple tried hard but couldn’t find an answer to the tall Australian’s shot making. “I’m pretty disappointed – I felt like I was trying too hard,” the 21-year-old Englishman said afterwards.

Palmer said he was satisfied with his play, but said he needed to lift against Shuja, a clever player who tries to take the pace off the ball. It wasn’t too bad,” he said.

“I’m probably not moving as well as I would like to, but I was fairly in control of the match. It’s important to create that three or four point lead and obviously I did that pretty well today.

“He was trying to attack a lot and made some winners, but obviously he missed a lot more than he made.”



Shuja earlier ended Grayson’s run, which started in qualifying on Tuesday and included the dispatching of sixth seed Ryan Cuskelly on Thursday and second seed Chris Ryder yesterday.

Shuja, the third seed, said he always knew he would be in for a tough match.

“I train with Campbell every day and I’ve played some really tough matches against him in the past,” he said. “We know each other’s game so it makes it extra hard.” The 29-year-old said he was looking forward to playing Palmer.

“What a great opportunity – playing David Palmer in the final of the Australian Open,” he said.
  

Palmer heads
back to NSW

01-Aug, Quarter-Finals:
Temple & Grayson forge on in Australian Open

Annie Au will take on second seed Jaclyn Hawkes of New Zealand - an impressive 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 winner over Australia's Lisa Camilleri, the sixth seed.
   

31-Jul, Round One:
Brown begins campaign in style
Andrew Dent reports

Top seed Kasey Brown’s bid for a second Australian Open title got off to a good start when she beat Hong Kong’s Joey Chan 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 in the first round of the championships being played in the South Australian town of Clare on Thursday.



Brown, from Taree in New South Wales, won the Australian Open in 2006 and finished runner-up to New Zealander Shelley Kitchen in 2007.

She looked comfortable throughout her match against left-hander Chan, who at 68 in the world was a potentially tricky opponent.

She now goes on to a tougher assignment against fellow Australian Amelia Pittock, winner of her past two tournaments at the Melbourne and South Australian Opens. who beat Victorian qualifier Melody Francis 11-8, 11-6, 11-5.

"It was a bit scrappy so it was good to just get on there and get through the first round. Being left-handed she’s got a good forehand so I was a bit wary about it. I kept going to her backhand but I probably need to play a bit straighter.

"I'll have to lift my game against Amelia, she's in some good form at the moment so I’m a bit wary of that – I’ll just have to go out there tomorrow and give it my all."

Pittock became the first woman through to the quarter-finals with her win over Francis, whose next assignment is the World University Championships in Cairo. Pittock beat Francis to win the Melbourne Open two weeks ago but said she was a different player on Thursday.

Pittock has been training in New York and said that that work had paid off with her good recent results, but she conceded Brown was a step up in class from her recent opponents.

Second seeded Jaclyn Hawkes gave notice she would be a serious threat for the title when she beat Queensland qualifier Zoe Petrovansky 11-5, 11-0, 11-4.

Despite starting the match with a fault – for the first time in her career – Hawkes always looked in control against the 18-year-old from Brisbane.

“She played pretty well in the first game,” Hawkes said. “But then I think I started to get a better length than her and she started to make a few mistakes.

“I don’t know how many times she’s played on the glass court before (it was Petrovansky’s first time) but it’s quite a different experience. The first time you play on it it’s quite hard.”

Hawkes faces Lisa Camilleri in the quarter-finals following the Queenslander’s 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 win over Hong Kong qualifier Shin Nga Leung.

Leung’s compatriot, Christine Mak, had too much experience for Victorian junior Sarah Cardwell, winning in straight games 11-6, 11-3, 11-9. The fourth seeded Mak said she was wary before the game because Cardwell is coached by her mother, Vicki, a former world champion.

“She’s a good player and I know her mum told her how to play against me,” Mak said. The Hong Kong-based Mak controlled the match and moved her younger opponent all over the court. “I know she’s fast, but I think because I’m older and I’ve played the tour for a long time, I had too much experience for her.”

Mak now plays New Zealander Joelle King, who used a mix of blistering power and deft shot making to defeat Englishwoman Jenna Gates 11-3, 11-7, 11-2.

New South Wales’s Donna Urquhart celebrated making the world’s top 30 with a straight games win over South African Adel Weir. After winning a tight first game, Urquhart eased away to an 11-9, 11-4, 11-4 victory.

The 21-year-old Urquhart, who found out Thursday she had reached a career-high 29 in the world, plays Annie Au from Hong Kong, an 11-3, 11-3, 11-2 winner over New Zealand’s Kylie Lindsay.

Palmer shows his class

World number five David Palmer showed he meant business when he dispatched New Zealander Martin Knight in the opening round. Boston-based Palmer only arrived in Clare on Thursday afternoon and was tested by the New Zealander before winning 11-9, 11-5, 11-7.

The four time British Open and twice World Open champion has never won the Australian Open and said he was determined to get his name on the famous trophy this year.

He will play Pakistan’s Adil Maqbool in the quarter-finals after the eighth seed stylishly ended Zac Alexander’s tournament with an 11-9, 11-6, 12-10 win.

Fourth seed Aaron Frankcomb ended qualifier Justin Beard’s giant-killing run when he beat the young South Australian in straight games 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 to set up a quarter-final against England’s Robbie Temple, who earlier caused the first upset of the tournament when he ousted seventh seeded Queenslander Brad Hindle 7-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-5.

Beard had upset two higher ranked players in the qualifying tournament but admitted Frankcomb was a step up. “It was a lot tougher than I’m used to,” Beard said. “Every time I hit the ball up the middle of the court he put it away. “Technically I’ve got a lot to learn from that.”

Frankcomb said he was confident heading into the next round.
“I was pretty happy to get away with a 3/0 win,” he said. “I thought I was hitting the ball okay – there’s a few things I can work on for later on but all in all I’m quite happy.”

Hindle had looked in control when he took the first game 11-7 against Temple, but the Englishman found a good length and went on the attack with immediate effect.

“Brad started well, his length was a lot better than mine in the first game but after that it was much better,” he said. “There were patches where I lost it but I gradually got on top of him by attacking short, which is what I like to do.”

Second seeded Englishman Chris Ryder also looked impressive as he beat wildcard Matthew Karwalski 11-9, 11-9, 11-7. Ryder said he knew Karwalski would attack from the word go so he tried to be more patient than his young opponent.
 
New Zealand qualifier Campbell Grayson caused the second upset when he beat sixth seed Ryan Cuskelly in three hotly contested games 11-6, 11-9, 13-11. Grayson was more consistent than his higher ranked opponent and kept his composure in the second and third games as Cuskelly began to argue with the officials.

“I think it helped me because I was able to concentrate on what I was doing, and I realised he was getting rattled,” Grayson said.

Sydney’s Scott Arnold was the first player through to the quarter-finals when he edged Queensland’s Steve Finitsis in three tight games 11-9, 11-9, 11-9. Arnold and Finitsis demonstrated how tight the Open is this year during their match and Arnold acknowledged there are no easy matches this year.
“It’s first round but I’ve played Steve enough times to know I’m never going to get off quickly,” Arnold said.

“He’s always going to hit some amazing shots – you’ve just got to hope he’s having one of those days when he’s missing them more than he’s getting them.”

Arnold said he had been putting in some quality training at the AIS in Brisbane over the past few months and that had helped him close the crucial points out.

“You can’t put in all that work and not feel confident,” he said. “I’ve been working with the sports psychologist back In Brisbane and he’s helped me on the big points.”

Earlier New Zealand’s third seeded Kashif Shuja defeated an in-form Mike Corren 11-7, 3-11, 11-8, 14-12 in a high quality first round match.

“The glass court rewards squash rather than just fitness, which is why it was such a good match” he said. “I was glad to get through actually – it shows you that in the first round the matches are going to be tight. It shows you the depth of competition this year.”
   

"Melody played a lot better today than she did in Melbourne so I was really happy to get away with the first game.

"I didn’t want to give her any confidence. You give these young players confidence and you can suddenly find yourself at 2/2 and in a real battle.

"I just wanted to get on there and get the job done."

"I wouldn’t have come this far if I didn’t intend to win it.

"I’ve gone close a few times and had match points, but never seemed to finish it off.

"It wouldn’t be the end of the world if I didn’t win, but it would be good to get my name on the trophy this year."

30-Jul, Qualifying Finals:

"I felt pretty good – a lot better than Dick did I think. I didn’t feel too bad physically, keeping it together mentally was the hardest part. It was really tight though.

"I have a problem with guys I haven’t played before and the first game’s a little bit iffy for me. But once I got used to the lights and the ball I started to get my confidence back."

Palmer’s first round opponent will be New Zealander Martin Knight, who scored an impressive 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-4 win over Melbourne’s Steve Robinson. Knight always looked in control apart from a lapse in the second game.

“I was moving alright today which for me is the key,” he said.
“My form’s been pretty good lately, I’ve won my first two PSA tournaments and my ranking’s gone up.”

He has played Palmer once before, in Germany four months ago where he lost in straight games, but said he was looking forward to the challenge. “I’ll just go out and give it my best and we’ll see what happens,” he said.

The final qualifier was New Zealander Campbell Grayson, who beat fellow Kiwi Joshua Greenfield 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 12-10.
“It was very tough – Joshua’s a fellow Kiwi so it’s always tough,” he said. “Last time we played it was a marathon so I knew it would be close today.”

Grayson drew New South Welshman Ryan Cuskelly in the first round and said he thought he had a good chance of moving through the draw.

Cardwell fights way to main draw

Seventeen-year-old Sarah Cardwell made the main draw of the Australian Open squash championships when she surprised top qualifying seed Jackie Laurenson of New Zealand.

Cardwell, the daughter of former Australian great Vicki, slugged it out with Laurenson before winning 11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-9.
Her reward for qualifying is a first round clash with fourth seed Christine Mak of Hong Kong on the all glass court.

“It’s my most important win. To qualify for the main draw was pretty much my main goal for the tournament, so I’m pretty happy with it.

"I’ve had a hit on the glass court before, but this will be my first match ever on an all glass court. I don’t know whether it suits me or not, but it will be interesting to find out ..."

Cardwell was joined in the main draw by Hong Kong’s Shin Nga Leung, Queenslander Zoe Petrovansky and Melbourne’s Melody Francis.

Petrovansky ousted AIS training partner Melody Marshall in three games 11-4, 11-5, 12-10 and said she found it hard to play against someone she knows so well.

Francis will fly to Egypt in August to represent Australia in the World University Squash Championships and she said this tournament was good preparation for that event. She beat Adelaide’s Bonny Wu 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 and will play fellow Victorian Amelia Pittock in the first round.

"Bonny’s pretty tough – I was actually pretty apprehensive about playing her. I was happy to get away with winning in three.

"Hopefully I’ll be nice and fresh for tomorrow. You don’t often get the chance to play people at that level very often so you’ve got to take those opportunities when you get them."

Shin outlasted the power hitting of Australian junior champion Kimberley Bessell but said she was struggling to adapt to the new scoring being used in the women’s game, where the games go to 11 with points won whether serving or receiving.
She now takes on Queensland’s Lisa Camilleri in the first round.
 

Brown targets second title
Manning River Times
TAREE’S Kasey Brown is fit and determined to regain the Australian open ...

"It was completely unexpected. The first game he just dominated me and I was running all over the place, but I slowly got into it. I wasn’t getting any length on the ball and he took full advantage."

"I felt like if it had gone a bit longer, like to five games, I might have struggled a bit.

"I’m pretty happy with it – it’s the first time I’ve played the Australian Open and I’ve done pretty well so far.

"Joining the AIS has definitely made a difference – just the amount of training you put in. I was never able to do that much training before."

Brown targets second title
Manning River Times
TAREE’S Kasey Brown is fit and determined to regain the Australian open ...

29-Jul, Qualifying Round One:

15-Jul-08:
Clare buzzing ahead of
Australian Open
Preview from Andrew Dent

The wine growing town of Clare in South Australia is a hive of activity this week as it prepares to welcome some of the world’s best squash players for the Clare Valley Australian Open later this month.

This year’s Open, from July 28-August 3, is shaping as one of the best in years, with a large men’s field headed by four-time British Open champion David Palmer and the women’s draw featuring top 20 players Kasey Brown of Taree in New South Wales and New Zealander Jaclyn Hawkes.

Australian Open spokesman Grant Norman said a team of workers and volunteers was putting the final touches to the all-glass court in the town’s indoor stadium, while another team would be erecting the seating later this week.

“We’ll be ready for our first lead-in tournament (the South Australian Country Championships) starting Friday,” he said.

This year’s Open has attracted a far larger field than the 2007 event, which was the first time in history the Australian Open was held outside a capital city.

The women’s draw has a full 12-person qualifying field, while such is the interest in the men’s event that organisers have been forced to organise pre-qualifying in Adelaide for four places in the main qualifying tournament in Clare. Four players from each qualifying event will progress to the main draw.

Norman said the Australian Open would benefit the town of Clare economically, with motels already heavily booked for the duration of the tournament.

“The town has really got behind the Australian Open again this year,” Norman said.

“We’ve got a group of volunteers ready to go into the schools next week to organise player visits, which were really popular last year. We’ve also organised for the school classes to come down during the day to watch the matches.”

Norman said the South Australian Government had given organisers some funding for local promotional activity, while the Clare and Gilbert Valley Shire Council had also given the tournament the use of the Valleys Lifestyle Centre as a venue, as well as a substantial cash grant.

But he said the most lasting benefit was the upsurge of interest in squash in Clare, which experienced a surge after last year’s tournament and which now has 49 juniors in its program.

“We noticed more people playing after last year’s tournament and our junior program is now the equal of anything in Adelaide,” Norman said.

All about Clare Valley