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MAMUT DUTCH OPEN 2005
31-May to 05 Jun, Almere, Netherlands
PSA $15k, WISPA $31k

05-June, FINALS:

[3] Nicol David (Mas) bt [4] Linda Elriani (Eng)
      4/9, 2/9, 9/3 , 9/4, 9/3

[1] Bradley Ball (Eng) bt [4] Davide Bianchetti  (Ita)
      9/11, 11/1, 11/5, 6/11, 11/6

Nicol comeback
takes Dutch title

Newly elevated world number three Nicol David recovered from a sluggish start against England's Linda Elriani to claim the Dutch Open title in Almere.

The Dutch-based Malaysian, who had beaten the hosts' world champion Vanessa Atkinson in the semi-finals, struggled to match Elriani in the opening games as the Englishwoman dominated the play. But from the start of the third David's accustomed zip and speed around court started to assert itself over the tiring Englishwoman.

On a warm court, Elriani's drops and lobs became less effective as David was able to chase everything down.

Elriani matched the Malaysian at the start of the fifth, leading 4/3, but couldn't sustain the effort as Nicol quickly wrapped up the game and the title.

The win marked David's third victory this season, adding to her KL and Kuwait Open crowns, and the sixth of her career.

Bradley confirms top Billing

He was top seed, and he lived up to the expectations, but it was a tough job.

Davide Bianchetti pushed Bradley Ball to the max in the final. Both players were tired after a heavy tournament week, and the match was chaotic, but great for the crowd. True rivals.

Ball lost the first game, which lasted almost 25 minutes, to win the second in only 7 minutes. The third game was an easy catch for Bianchetti and it seemed as though he was going to take the title.

But Ball is known for never giving up and he fought his way back into the match by winning the fourth game 11/6. The fifth seemed to last forever as both players were not giving in. Still it was Bianchetti who eventually had to bend.

Ball won the last game 11/6 and became the proud champion of the Mamut Dutch Open 2005 - his eleventh career title.

4/9, 2/9, 9/3 , 9/4, 9/3
 

Linda Elriani
 

Natalie Grinham

Qualifying (31/01):

Finals:
  Laura Lengthorn (Eng) bt Olga Puidgemont Sola (Esp)       9/2, 9/3, 10/9
  Lauren Briggs (Eng) bt Karen Kronemeyer (Ned)               9/3, 9/2, 9/6
  Tegwen Malik (Wal) bt Becky Botwright (Eng)                    9/0, 10/8, 10/8
  Latasha Khan (Usa) bt Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng)         10/9, 2/9, 9/4, 9/3

Round One:
  Laura Lengthorn (Eng) bt Jenna Gates (Eng)                    9/2, 9/5, 9/5
  Olga Puidgemont Sola (Esp) bt Raneem El Weleily (Egy)  10/9, 9/2, 10/9
  Karen Kronemeyer (Ned) bt Sharon Wee (Mas)                4/9, 9/6, 4/9, 9/4, 9/4
  Lauren Briggs (Eng) bt Aisling Blake (Irl)                          9/0, 9/7, 9/7
  Becky Botwright (Eng) bt Margriet Huisman (Ned)             9/3, 9/0, 9/6
  Tegwen Malik (Wal) bt  Charlie De Rycke (Bel)                 9/1, 10/8, 9/4
  Dominique Lloyd-Walter (Eng) bt Jana Smeralova (Cze)  9/5, 9/4, 9/0
  Latasha Khan (Usa) bt Melissa Meulenbelt (Ned)                9/1, 9/2, 9/3

Lengthorn and Malik ease into qualifying finals

Davide Bianchetti

11/7, 11/6, 8/11,  11/6

Stephane Galifi

  Qualifying:

  Finals:
    Majid Khan (Pak) bt Cameron White (Aus)                         11/7, 11/6, 11/10(3-1)
    Scott Handley (Eng) bt Lucas Buit (Ned)                            11/2, 11/8, 11/3
    Jan Koukal (Cze) bt  Farrukh Zaman (Pak)                       11/8, 8/11, 9/11, 11/6, 11/4
    Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt  Jean-Michel Arcucci (Fra)    walkover

  Round One:
    Majid Khan (Pak) bt Glenn Keenan (Aus)                11/5, 11/8, 11/6
    Cameron White (Aus) bt Dylan Bennett (Ned)         11/10(5-3), 8/11, 11/9, 11/6
    Scott Handley (Eng) bt Niels Hoevenaars (Ned)       11/3, 11/6, 11/5
    Lucas Buit (Ned) bt Wai Hang Wong (Hkg)               11/4, 11/10(?), 11/3
    Farrukh Zaman (Pak) bt Julien Balbo (Fra)             11/10(4-2), 11/10(2-0), 10/11(1-3), 11/9
    Jan Koukal (Cze) bt Bastiaan Meulenbelt (Ned)        11/7, 11/7, 11/8
    Ritwik Bhattacharya (Ind) bt Bradley Hindle (Aus)  4/11, 11/8, 11/6, 2/11, 11/7
    Jean-Michel Arcucci (Fra) bt Laurent Elriani (Fra)    7/11, 11/3, 11/2, 11/6

  Arcucci wins French clash ... Thony calls the shots ... Ritwik survives a scare ...

REPORTS

04-June, SEMI-FINALS:
Elriani deposes Grinham as
David outlasts Atkinson ...

There was a lot of pressure on the Australian world number three Natalie Grinham to perform well in her home town of Almere, and to reach the final the defending champion had to get past the competitive Linda Elriani.

Within a few minutes the diminutive Grinham was facing a 4-0 deficit. She managed to turn the game around and take the lead, but it took a lot of strength and concentration to do this. In the second game Grinham took a quick 7/2 lead, but from then on it was Elriani who dominated the play.

She slowed the pace down and waited for the right moments to attack the loose ball. After winning the second game 9/7, Elriani never allowed Grinham to take control of the match back and stormed through the next two games dropping four points in the third game and two points in the fourth.

David Shocks Atkinson

Elriani can now prepare for the final on Sunday against  Nicol David, who shocked the home crowd as she put out the Netherlands' top seed Vanessa Atkinson.

Atkinson seemed to have everything under control after convincingly winning the first game 9/2. She was never in trouble in that first game, but in the second game she lost control of the match. Within no time Nicol David took a 7/0 lead and although she let Atkinson come back to 6/8 it was clear that David would win the game.

The third was a nail biting affair. Both players were fully focused and played fantastic squash. The crowd was treated to a spectacular and tough game, with David proved to be the strongest to clinch the vital game 10/8. In the fourth game it was David who dominated, her anticipation and speed proved too much for Atkinson. The world champion played well, but David played just a little bit better.

Ball and Bianchetti in Men's Final

England's top seed Bradley Ball will contest the men's final adainst Italy's fourth seeded Davide Bianchetti.

Ball beat the eighth seed Ben Garner with ease. The pace of the match was high, but the rallies where shorter than expected, Ball using his strength to counter Garner's speed around the court.

In a match between two players known for their
fiery temperament, Bianchetti  stayed very calm during his tough four-game match with Stephane Galifi. The French men tried to enter into many discussions with the referee, but he handled the complaints easily. Bianchetti played the right game to beat the French magician with fantastic racket skills. He was patient and picked the right times to hit his winners.

03-June, QUARTERS:

Dutch down to one in Almere

Hopes of a home victory in the Mamut Dutch Open rest solely with world champion Vanessa Atkinson after Annelize Naude bowed out in today's quarter-finals.

Naude, the Netherlands number two, was facing world number six Linda Elriani. Naude offered good resistance in the first two games, but still found herself 2-0 down. In the third game Naude seemed to find the answer to beating her opponent, and after taking the third game quite easily the match looked like going the full distance. However Elriani is known for her mental strength and refused to capitulate. She won the fourth game 9/4 and became the first player to make it into the semi finals.

Elriani faces dutch-based Natalie Grinham in the semi-finals after the Australian swept past England's Jenny Duncalf in three games. The other women's semi-final sees Atkinson take on Nicol David, the new world number three, after both recorded 3/0 quarter-final victories.

In the men's event top seed Bradley Ball needed four games to overcome Shahier Razik, and faces an all-English semi-final against Ben Garner. Garner wo two tight games against Scott Handley before Handley's qualifying efforts took their toll and Garner ran out an easy winner in the third.

Italy's fourth seed Davide Bianchetti ended Welsh interest with a four-game defeat of Gavin Jones, and faces the France's Stephane Galifi who beat giant-killing Stacey Ross in straight games.

Round One:
Ross Rocks LJ in Almere

Dutch hopes of a home victory in the men's event were dashed when England's Stacey Ross, saved from having to qualify by the withdrawal through injury of Dutch champion Tommy Berden, stunned the home crows with a 3/0 win over second seed Laurens Jan Anjema, the defending champion, in the first round at the Almere club.

On a good day for the English men, top seed Bradley Ball, Ben Garner and Scott Handley joined Ross in the quarter-finals, qualifier Handley recording a fine win over the third seed Hisham Ashour.

Dutch World champion Vanessa Atkinson is still on course though, beating Lauren Briggs in straight games to set up a quarter-final with Pamela Nimmo, who crerated the only upset in the women's draw as she defeated Shelley Kitchen in a surprisingly comfortable 9/0, 9/6, 9/1 scoreline.

Qualifying Complete in Almere

Qualifying finals in Almere saw both Dutch hopefuls make an exit as seven of the eight finals went to seeding.

In the women's event England had representatives in all four matches and gained two qualifiers in Laura Lengthorn and Lauren Briggs. Briggs is rewarded with a match against world champion Vanessa Atkinson as the main draw gets under way on Thursday.

Tegwen Malik and Latasha Khan both defeated English oponents, and now play Linda Elriani and Natalie Grinham, respectively.

For the men, Scott Handley disappointed the home crowd with his defeat of Lucas Buit, Jan Koukal recovered from 2-1 down to beat Farrukh Zaman while Majid Khan won a close three games against Cameron White. India's Ritwik Bhattacharya enjoyed the easiest passage into the main draw as Jean-Michel Arcucci withdrew ill.

---

31-May, Day ONE:
Buit beats Dutch seedings ... 

The Mamut Dutch Open got under way today in Almere, home of the Double Dutch champions.

Three Dutch players featured in each of the qualifying draws, with Karen Kronemeyer and Lucas Buit progressing to Wednesday's qualifying finals.

Both scored upsets, as Kronemeyer beat Malaysia's Amsterdam-based Sharon Wee in five games, and Buit, the nine times Dutch champion, defeated Hong Kong's Wai Hang Wong in straight games.

The main Women's event features five of the world's top ten, with Dutch world champion Vanessa Atkinson seeded to meet Dutch-based Natalie Grinham in the final.

Tournament 'Ambassador' Tommy Berden is missing from the men's event through injury, so home hopes rest mainly on second seed Laurens Jan Anjema.

---

27-May:
Tommy out of Almere

The local favourite, Tommy Berden, has been forced to withdraw from the Mamut Dutch Open. An ankle injury, sustained during a training session, has caused the Dutch Champion, who was seeded sixth, to miss the event. This is particularly sad, because Berden was in good shape the last month and he was fully focused to perform well at the international event in his home town of Almere.

His goals were clearly set for the next period: first win the national title with his league team Rixax/Squash Almere during the Dutch League Play-Offs in Rotterdam and then follow it up by winning the Mamut Dutch Open Squash 2005 in his 'own' club. His role will now be limited to coaching his team during the Play-Offs and a promotional role as ambassador and animator of the Mamut Dutch Open. Stacey Ross will now move directly into the main draw.

Dutch Open goes Mamut

The Mamut Dutch Open Squash 2005 attracts competitors from all over the world and is an initiative from Squash Bond Nederland, Stichting Stadspromotie Almere and the Olympic Network Flevoland / Zwolle.

At the women’s side, the five highest ranked players on the world ranking, including world champion, Vanessa Atkinson, have confirmed their participation in this event.

The world champion will probably face the most opposition from the current world number 1, Rachael Grinham from Australia, Nicol David from Malaysia and Natalie Grinham from Australia who lives in the Netherlands. At the men’s side most attention will go out to four-time Dutch Champion, Tommy Berden, and the highest ranked Dutch player on the world ranking, Laurens Jan Anjema. In particular Tommy Berden will be extra motivated to get a good result in his home town Almere.

The Mamut Dutch Open has combined prize money in excess of $ 40k. The prize money and the valuable points for the world rankings ensure that the world’s best players will come to the Netherlands.

Mamut was the main sponsor of last years English Open and Oslo Open. Mamut is very excited to act as title sponsor of the Mamut Dutch Open. “The involvement of Mamut Software at this prestigious event plays a key role in the establishment and growth of our name and products in the Dutch market, according to Dave Kroder, Country Manager of Mamut. “Squash is a dynamic sport and the positive experiences with the sponsorship of the Mamut English Open and the Mamut Oslo Open last year, has ensured that we are very happy to bind our name this year with this event in the Netherlands."

Frank van Loon, director of Squash Bond Nederland, is very content with the promotion squash in the Netherlands. "With half a million regular squash players the Netherlands belongs to one of the leading squash countries in the world. Last year we had the World Team Championship for females and this year we have the European Team Championship for men and women and the Mamut Dutch Open."

Tournament manager Thony Schwab states that the Mamut Dutch Open is being organized at the right moment and in the right way. “The world title of Vanessa Atkinson has given the squash sport a good amount of media attention.

The squash sport in the Netherlands is developing well. Every week the best foreign squash professionals are playing for the Dutch league teams in the Eredivisie. The
Dutch federation has been able to bring the World Team Championships and the European Team Championships to our country. These initiatives ensure that the squash sport in the Netherlands is growing. In June the decision will be made
whether squash will get into the Olympics in 2012. The Mamut Dutch Open will show that we are ready for it.”