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26-Oct, Final:
Clarke wins first PSA title
in his home town
Robin Clarke, second seed, won the
GoodLife Open without dropping a game in the tournament.
The first game today was a tight affair, with both players
exchanging points. Scott Arnold had the lead 10-9 when Clarke
volleyed the ball into the nick to tie it 10-10. Arnold tried to
match Clarke’s nick with one of his own, only to hit the tin. This
proved to be an expensive error as Clarke then framed the ball to
win the first game 12-10.
This gave Clarke the momentum & he increased the pace of the game in
the second, moving Arnold around effectively the court. Arnold
started to make more errors & Clarke ran away with 11-4 in the
second. It was more of the same in the third, Clarke taking it 11-7
to win his first PSA Pro title in front of a very excited home
crowd.
25-Oct, Semis:
Clarke advances to
Goodlife Final
OTTAWA – Robin Clarke of Ottawa advanced to his fourth career
professional final on Saturday with a convincing victory over Jason
DeLierre of Montreal in one of two semi-finals at the 2008 GoodLife
Open.
The competition at the Goodlife-Queensview Fitness Club is the third
event on the Canadian Squash Circuit for the 2008-09 season as well
as a stop on the men’s pro circuit.
Clarke won the match 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 and has yet to drop a game in
three matches so far at the tournament. He’ll face top-seed Scott
Arnold of Australia in the championship final on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Arnold defeated Mike Reid of Montreal 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7 in
Saturday’s other semi.
"Jason
had a long match last night and he looked tired early on," said
Clarke, 22, the tournament’s second seed. "He wasn’t getting to too
many of my boasts or drops and that set the tone for the match. I
was able to wear him down."
DeLierre entered the semis on the heels of a couple of impressive
wins.
"I didn’t underestimate him and approached the match like any
other," said Clarke. "But I knew I had a bigger game than he did and
if I played well he was going to struggle to keep up."
Clarke enters his fourth professional final but is still looking for
his first win. It will be his first career encounter against Arnold
ranked 68th in the world. Clarke is ranked 80th.
"I’m going to have the hometown support and give it my all," he
said. "I’m confident and I’m playing well."
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 "It’s
amazing to get my first win right in my hometown, I couldn’t have
asked for more. I couldn’t sleep last night because I wanted to win
so badly.
"I absolutely did not want to lose that first game, and I got a lot
of confidence from winning it. Overcoming the game ball deficit
really knocked a lot of wind out of him. The next two games he
seemed really rushed and fell behind early on.
"The only way to move up in the rankings is to beat the guys ahead
of you. I haven’t beaten many players ranked ahead me so it’s a real
confidence builder heading into the rest of the season."
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Goodlife Open 2008
Vancouver, Canada,
23-26 Oct, $6k |
Round One
24-Oct |
Quarters
24-Oct |
Semis
25-Oct |
Final
26-Oct |
[1] Scott Arnold
(Aus)
11/4, 11/5, 11/4 (21m)
Jay Fleishman (Can) |
[1] Scott Arnold
13/15, 11/6, 12/10, 11/3 (58m)
Dane Sharp |
[1] Scott Arnold
11/8, 11/4, 10/12, 11/7 (57m)
[6] Michal Reid |
[1] Scott Arnold
12/10, 11/4, 11/7 (38m)
[2] Robin Clarke |
[5] Dave Glass (Can)
13/11, 11/5, 4/11, 12/10 (57m)
Dane Sharp (Can) |
[4] Tyler Hamilton
(Can)
8/11, 11/7, 11/8, 11/9 (42m)
Bernard Reid (Can) |
[4] Tyler Hamilton
11/7,11/9, 9/11, 5/11, 11/8 (72m)
[6] Michal Reid |
[6] Michal Reid
(Can)
11/2, 11/2, 11/3 (28m)
Martin Prentice (Gua) |
Jason Delierre
(Can)
11/4, 11/9, 11/8 (39m)
[8] Fernando Lopez (Mex) |
Jason Delierre
7/11, 11/8,11/8,11/7 (68m)
Daniel Sibley |
Jason Delierre
11/4, 11/5, 11/7 (26m)
[2] Robin Clarke |
Daniel Sibley
(Can)
11/8, 11/6, 15/13 (61m)
[3] Andrew McDougall (Can) |
TG Raubenheimer (Rsa)
11/4, 11/7, 7/11, 12/10 (50m)
[7] Matthew Serediak (Can) |
TG Raubenheimer
11/6, 11/3, 11/5 (29m)
[2] Robin Clarke |
Farzan Rasheed (Pak)
11/9, 11/6, 11/7 (43m)
[2] Robin Clarke (Can) |
Clarke among three Canadians headed to GoodLife semis
OTTAWA – Charged by a hometown crown, Robin Clarke of Ottawa
continued his impressive run at the 2008 GoodLife Open squash
tournament on Friday with a straight games quarterfinal victory over
T.G. Raubenheimer of South Africa.
The competition at the Goodlife-Queensview Fitness Club is the third
event on the Canadian Squash Circuit for the 2008-09 season as well
as a stop on the men’s pro circuit (PSA).
The 22-year-old Clarke, now based in Toronto, took Friday’s match
handily 11-6, 11-3, 11-5. He opened the tournament with a giant
11-9, 11-6, 11-7 win over Farzan Rasheed of Pakistan who won the
previous stop on the circuit earlier this month in London, Ont.
‘’Today’s win was much more decisive,’’ said Clarke, the
tournament’s second seed. ‘’I knew my opponent fairly well and I
knew his strategy was the short game. It was tough to get into a
rhythm but I threw different stuff at him and I could feel he was
starting to struggle.’’
Clarke is getting a big boost by being the hometown favourite at the
tournament.
‘’I can’t believe how many people have showed up for my matches,’’
he said. ‘’People I haven’t seen in a couple of years were here and
I could hear them cheering me on throughout. When I was really tired
they really pushed me through. I love coming back here.’’
Two other Canadians are also headed to the final four. Mike Reid
of Montreal defeated Tyler Hamilton of Burnaby, B.C., 11-7, 11-9,
9-11, 5-11, 11-8 while Jason DeLierre of Montreal took Dan
Sibley of Toronto 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-7.
DeLierre and Clarke will clash in one of the semis on Saturday.
‘’Jason’s pulled off a couple of upsets and is playing well,’’ said
Clarke. ‘’I’ve never lost to him but from what he’s done this week I
won’t take him lightly for sure. It should be a very good match.’’
In the other quarterfinal, top-seed Scott Arnold of Australia
defeated Dane Sharp of Toronto 13-15. 11-6, 12-10, 11-3.
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