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Le Sport Open 2007
17 - 20 May, Rhos on Sea, North Wales, $3k |
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20-May, Finals:
[5] Ben Ford (Eng) bt [4] Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
7/11, 11/3, 11/3, 13/11 |
Ford leaves juniors trailing
The early headlines were about 'old-timer' Phil Whitlock
progressing at the age of 45, but it was Ben Ford who picked up
the torch for the older generation and carried carried it all the
way to the title with successive wins over Mohamed El Shorbagy,
Joe Lee and in the final Nicolas Mueller.
Ford started the final slowly, with the European Junior Champion
taking the first, but the 31-year-old from Kent soon got going as
he took the next two games.
The fourth was very close, with some wonderful rallies thrilling
the packed crowd, and although he seemed to be hanging on at times
it was Ford who squeezed home 13/11 to claim his first PSA title.
Photos to follow ...
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19-May,
Semi-Finals:
[4] Nicolas Mueller (Swi) bt [6] Tom Pashley (Eng)
6/11, 11/6, 11/6, 12/10
[5] Ben Ford (Eng) bt [3] Joe Lee (Eng)
9/11, 11/3, 11/4, 11/5 |
19-May, Quarters:
Lee ends Whitlock run
"Phil's legs didn't last!!" was written large on the fax that
delivered the quarter-final results from Rhos on Sea.
Phil Whitlock probably didn't expect to get as far as he did, but
four matches in 36 hours finally took its toll as he fell to
Joe Lee, and England junior who may follow in Phil's footsteps
into the world top ten.
 Joe
meets another 'oldie' in tonight's semi-finals, after Ben Ford
beat Egypt's teenage sensation Mohamed El Shorbagy in four games.
A young finalist is guaranteed from the top half of the draw as
England's Tom Pashley and Switzerland's European Junior
Champion Nicolas Mueller meet in the semis, Pashley having
ousted top seed Ryan Thompson in the quarters.
Mueller was too fast and too strong for Finland's Matias Tuomi,
while Pashley started well but was rather lucky to sneak the
second game against the top-seeded Namibian. In the third Thompson
pulled up, suffering with a thigh injury he picked up in the first
round.
 18-May,
Round One
Whitlock's run continues ...
Phil Whitlock continued to defy time as he came through a
five-game encounter with Argentina's Rodrigo Pezzota to set up a
quarter-final meeting with England junior Joe Lee ...
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Draw & Results
 "I
was glad to win it in three - as Phil was getting tired he became
more accurate, which isn't the way it usually works in the
juniors!"
Joe Lee |
17-May, Qualifying:
Locals fare well in Wales
Jen Whitlock
reports
 The
first round of the Qualification Event at the Le Sport Open in
Rhos on Sea, North Wales, saw three local players beating their
PSA opponents.
In the first match on court, Phil Whitlock, by far the
oldest player at 45, beat junior player Richard Birks. Whitlock
was too disciplined with his “straight” game and made few errors
to overcome the teenager 3/0.
He was happy with his win, but confessed it had been a long time
since he had had to play two matches in one day – so the evening
match against No. 1 Qualifier Thomas Phipps would be a test for
the former World No. 8.
It was not a good day for the Birk family, as twin Andrew then
lost 3/0 to local Alistair Mutch. The third local player to
get through the first round of qualification was Steve Siveter,
who was just too strong for opponent Shahid Kahn.
The longest match of the Qualification first round was Eddie
Charlton’s five-game victory over Hardeep Reel.
It is the first time a PSA event has taken place in North Wales
and even the first round of the qualification attracted a lot of
spectators.
As well as playing in the event, Phil Whitlock has been
responsible for organizing, and he was impressed with the amount
of support he gained from local sponsors, including the County
Council.
Whitlock's legs hold out ...
The final qualifying round was played out in the evening, and
Phil's legs managed to hold out and he beat Thomas Phipps 3/1.
At 45 years old, he must be one of the oldest qualifiers ever!
Eddie Charlton had quite a tussle with local player
Alistair Mutch, but Eddie was too strong in the third and fourth
games. Steven Siveter, the third local still in the draw
seems to be very strong and having beaten England Junior Alex
Ingham 3-1, he could cause some problems in the main event if his
form holds.
Lewis Walters had a "messy" (his word) win over Rory
Pennell to secure his place in the main draw.
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It was good to see so much local interest in a PSA event and both
rounds of the qualification have been incredibly well supported.
We are only a small club in a harbour village in North Wales, but
the support from sponsors has been fantastic.
 Conwy
County Borough Council are the main sponsors and must be one
of the very few Councils in the UK still putting squash courts in
new Local Authority High Schools, as well as providing Excellence
Fund Grants for Elite Sports people - several squash players have
benefited from grants of up to £1000.
I only mention the latter comment as I've seen so many "posts" on
the forum saying that nobody supports squash and facilities are
being converted into gyms!
 Alex
Ingham's match was watched by our daughter Emily, who travels out
to Hungary for the Euro U15/U17 England Team with Alex - as well
as Natalie Pritchard (Wales U17 Team). |
 Le
Sport Open 2007
17 - 20 May, Colwyn Bay, Wales, $3k |
Round One
18 May |
Quarters
19 May |
Semis
19 May |
Final
20 May |
[1] Ryan Thompson (Nam)
11/9, 4/11, 11/9, 11/5
[Q] Steve Siveter (Eng) |
Ryan Thompson
11/5, 12/10, 6/1 rtd
Tom Pashley |
Tom Pashley
6/11, 11/6, 11/6, 12/10
Nicolas Mueller |
Nicolas Mueller
7/11, 11/3, 11/3, 13/11
Ben Ford |
[7] Tom Pashley (Eng)
9/11, 11/3, 11/7, 11/3
Jethro Binns (Wal) |
[4] Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
8/11, 11/8, 10/12, 11/8, 12/10
Nick Wall (Eng) |
Nicolas Mueller
11/6, 11/4, 11/9
Matias Tuomi
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[8] Matias Tuomi (Fin)
11/5, 11/6, 3/11, 11/8
[Q] Lewis Walters (Eng) |
[Q] Phil Whitlock (Eng)
11/9, 11/5, 8/11, 9/11, 11/7
[6] Rodrigo Pezzota (Arg) |
Phil Whitlock
11/3, 11/7, 13/11
Joe Lee |
Joe Lee
9/11, 11/3, 11/4, 11/5
Ben Ford |
Thomas Javanaud (Eng)
11/3, 11/4, 11/2
[3] Joe Lee (Eng) |
[Q] Eddie Charlton (Eng)
11/9, 12/10, 11/4
[5] Ben Ford (Eng) |
Ben Ford
11/8, 7/11, 11/9, 11/9
Mohamed El Shorbagy |
Jaymie Haycocks (Eng)
11/8, 9/11, 12/10, 11/7
[2] Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy) |
Qualifying finals
Phil Whitlock bt Tom Phipps
11/3, 11/7, 8/11, 11/6
Steven Siveter bt Alex Ingham 13/11,
6/11, 11/2, 11/5
Eddie Charlton bt Alitair Mutch
11/9, 8/11, 11/6, 11/6
Lewis Walters bt Rory Pennel
11/8, 11/9, 13/11
Qualifying round one
Tom Phipps
bye
Phil Whitlock bt Richard Birks
11/5, 11/8, 11/1
Steven Siveter bt Shahid Khan 11/7,
11/6, 11/5
Alex Ingham bt Dylan Davies
11/4, 13/11, 11/3
Eddie Charlton bt Hardeep Reel 11/7, 2/11,
11/8, 9/11, 11/2
Alistair Mutch bt Andrew Birks
13/11, 12/10, 11/8
Rory Pennel bt Issa Kammara
11/9, 11/6, 12/10
Lewis Walters
bye
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