"I was trying to play the ball but he was between my legs!
Thu 22nd May - Round ONE
Seeds through to quarters in St Clements
The opening day of main draw
play in the PSA $15k Bedell Jersey Squash Classic saw all eight
seeds progress to the quarter-finals, but it was more of a
struggle for some than others.
Round ONE
[1] Chris Simpson
(Ggy) 3-0 [Q] Lewis Walters (Eng)
11/8, 11/8, 11/9 (38m) [5] Jaymie Haycocks (Eng) 3-0 Matt Sidaway (Eng)
19/17, 11/7, 11/9 (42m)
[7] Joel Hinds (Eng) 3-2 [Q] Richie Fallows (Eng)
11/6, 11/8, 7/11, 10/12, 11/8 (84m) [4] Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-0 Declan James (Eng)
11/4, 11/9, 11/5 (43m)
Opening
proceedings on the showcourt was top seed and defending champion
Chris Simpson, who found himself tested in all three
games against qualifier Lewis Walters, but the Channel Islander
found the necessary winners at the end of each game to progress
in three.
“I struggled on the court a little tonight, but fortunately
my short game came good at the end of the games,” said Simpson.
Simpson’s
quarter-final opponent will be fifth seed Jaymie Haycocks
who was himself tested in the early stages against wildcard Matt
Sidaway, but after taking an extended first game 19/17 was more
comfortable in the next two.
“I think that first took a lot out of him,” said Haycocks.
“He was happy playing a similar game to me at the start so I
knew I had to step up in the next two games to give him less
time on the ball.”
Fourth
seeded Scotsman Alan Clyne used his renowned speed around
court to see off Declan James in three games, and he’ll met
another Englishman in the quarters.
Joel Hinds, the seventh seed, failed to capitalise on a 2-0
and 8-7 lead against European Junior Champion Richie Fallows,
who fought back well before subsiding 11-8 in the fifth after 84
tough minutes.
“I had to do a lot of work there,” admitted Clyne, “Declan
made it a very high pace so I just had to try to stick with it.
I’ve played here in the BSPA finals and really enjoyed it, so
it’s great to have a PSA tournament here.”
Hinds
was relieved to be through:
“I would have loved to have closed out that third, but then he
stopped making errors and played well in the third, and I made a
bad start to the fifth but I thought I played pretty well at the
end to win it.”
A second Scotsman won through to the quarters as Greb Lobban,
seeded eight, beat Welshman Peter Creed in three. Lobban looked
well in control at the start but had to work hard to close out
his advantage in the third as Creed fought back from 6-10 to
finally lose out 11-13..
“I
played really well at the start,” said Lobban.
“I knew he liked a fast game so I was controlling the pace of
the ball well. I tried not to take my foot off the pedal at 10-6
in the third but he made it very difficult for me to finish it
off.”
Lobban now meets third-seeded Egyptian Omar Abdel Meguid,
who prevailed in a fast and furious five-setter against Kuwait’s
Ammar Altamimi in a match that featured ferocious hitting mixed
with delicate drops and plenty of drama.
“It
was such a warm welcome, but such a tough first match!” admitted
Maguid.
“I didn’t start well but I think I was playing well by the end -
it was an enjoyable match, I hope the crowd enjoyed it too!”
Last
year’s finalist Charles Sharpes, seeded six, eased past
qualifier Sebastiaan Weenink in straight games and now faces
fellow-Englishman Adrian Waller, who was also comfortable
in his win over qualifier Alex Ingham.
“It
was a good match, but it’s always tough when you’ve already had
two difficult matches to qualify,” said Waller.
“It’s great to have a tournament like this close to home, it’s a
different type of pressure when you’re trying to win a title at
the end rather than get a couple of wins and some ranking points
in a bigger event, all credit to Nick and Jersey for putting the
event on.”
