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Harford Claims Maiden PSA Title
Ray Byrne reports

This final was poised for a thriller and before it got under way it was a fifty fifty match. The last time that these two met each other it was so tight and it was a five set thriller with Harford being crowned the eventual winner.

But it seemed like there was wanted revenge for the young Italian after he took the first game 14-12 in what was a fantastic start to this final. With some pulsating rallies and precision play the Italian saw out the first game but it did indeed leave Harford with a point to prove after taking so long to get into the match. Harford lost the first five points and after doing that against an opponent like Luca he was always going to have an uphill battle.
 

But Harford shook off his shaky start and produced some fine squash from the moment he stepped onto the court for the second game. The young Englishman always looked like he was in control and played precision shots to outsmart his opponent. With some fabulous drops and perfect lobs Johnny ran Luca ragged and as a result he took the second game 11-7.

However in the third set the Italian fought back capitalising on some unforced errors to win the third and take it 2-1

Top seed crashes out of
Leinster Open
Ray Byrne reports

The Egyptian top seed Mohammed Ali Anwar Reda has been knocked out of this years Leinster Senior Open Championship at the semi-final stage by number four seed Jonathan Harford from England in straight sets, 3-0. Reda never really got going but that was mainly due to the fact that Harford wouldn’t let him. Harford started the brighter of the two and took an early 5-1 lead. He played a patient game, rallying Reda a lot and forcing the young Egyptian starlet to make mistakes.

Reda did claw his way back into the set and at 8-6 down looked to be very much so back in the match. However, a combination of fine shots by Harford and sloppy errors by Reda meant that Harford took the first set 11-7 in 16 mins. To the second set and Reda started it strong with some delightful winners but Harford produced some gems of his own producing a tight and competitive second set. However, midway through the set, we had a break in play so as that Reda could adjust his footwear and this seemed to have broken his rhythm.

Subsequently, he conceded two cheap points to give Harford the upper hand. As the set wore on, Reda became frustrated at refereeing decisions and a lack of concentration saw him lose the second set 11-8.

To the third set and things didn’t get much better for Reda. A combination of persistent hard work by Harford and unfavourable refereeing decisions towards Reda meant that Harford took the third set 11-6 and the match 3-0. The number Four seed will look forward to the final on Sunday with optimism after defeating the top seed.

Mastrostefano defeats a tired Ryan to progress to the final

The number two seed from Italy, Luca Mastrostefano took on Ireland’s very own Derek Ryan, who came through the qualifiers, in the other semi-final of the Leinster Open Championship.

The Italian took the first set comfortably 11-6 after Ryan had made a large number of errors to hand the second seed the first set and the upper hand. However the second set didn’t go according to plan for the Italian. Ryan was trailing the set 6-1 when the referee made a controversial call that left Ryan fuming. He did however use that anger to his advantage and gained a remarkable comeback to take the set on a tie break, 12-10.

That burst of energy was short lived though as Ryan ran out of steam. With Ryan having played more games that his opponent, the effects took their toll on the 36 year olds legs and he was blitzed in the third and fourth 11-4 , 11-3 to compound a 3-1 loss to the second seed, Luca Mastrostefano.

A bit of a scare for Mastrostefano in the second set but in the end it was a comfortable 3-1 victory. He now must fancy his chances in the final on Sunday with the number one seed, Egyptian Reda out in the other semi. However, he will have a tough test against an impressive Jonathan Harford.

Ryan's Run goes on
Ray Byrne reports

In the last match of the night a partisan Irish crowd were thrilled by some vintage Derek Ryan in what may be his swansong ??

Ryan as usual at this stage of his career started by playing his full array of shots which seemed to be some sort of warm up and got the jump on his opponent as some audacieous shotmaking came off to give him the first set .

However Crawford stormed back by upping the pace and forcing Ryan to the back corners nullifying his great short game to take the next two sets.

Ryan supported by his by now legendary Irish Groupies was not finished. He slowed the game to a standstill infuriating his opponent to win the next set 11-9 and set himself up for a classic 5th set.

Ryan quickly took a 5-1 lead keeping Crawford stuck to the back wall and having given everything with severe cramp having set just managed to hold onto a an 11-7 win in classic style, in an hour and 25 minutes!

In the first match of the evening top seed Mohd AA Reda went 7-1 up in the first set, however Barry came back to 5-7. Reda took control again to take the set 11-5. The Egyptian took a 6-2 lead and at handout at 3-6, he seemed to get a bit agitated, especially after seeing his cross-court lob go above the red line and out of court.

Reda was stretched a bit in this set but took the second game 11-8. Reda started out well in the third and hit an irretrievable cross-court volley nick (his second of the match) early in the third game. This game finished 11-7 and 3-0 to Reda.

This match between Luca Mastrostefano and Yann Perrin, again, started with a high pace. A lot of lets and quite an intense first game, with service going back and forth. Luca eventually took the game, 11-8. Luca quickly ran away with the second game 11-3. In the third set, there was an excellent point at 6-5 (Perrin loosing) with a very long rally that was a turning point for Perrin, who took the third, 11-6.

Final set started off very close, point for point and still lots of calls, keeping the referee Mr. O’Connor very busy throughout. Turning quite scrappy at this stage of the match, Perrin loosing the head. And it did no good to his squash. In the end the Italian won out 3-1.

Both John Rooney and Jonny Harford began very well in their match, making few mistakes. Harford maintained a length game with Rooney trying to mix it up a bit. After loosing a very long Rally, Rooney seemed to have felt the impact, by hitting three tins in a row. He went on to loose that set 11-3. The Irishman came fought back in the second and showed that he had better technical ability by displaying a range of quality shots. But coming to the end of the second he looked to be tiring and Harford took advantage by lengthening out the rallies.

Going into the third at 2 down, Rooney had nothing to loose and after a very long rally the referee gave a dubious decision at 4-5. In fairness to Harford he did show some quality squash to take a 7-4 lead. It was all very close; it could have gone either way. With Harford taking a 10-6 lead and John coming back to 10-10, with Rooney saving four match balls. In a dramatic climax, Harford took the third and final set. 13-11.
 

Derek Ryan

Locals Derek Ryan and John Rooney both caused upsets in the Leinster Open in Fitzwilliam.

Ryan, visibly tired after two grueling five setters in the qualifiers, pulled out all the stops to beat the Czech Republic’s number 3 seed Jan Koukal in 4 sets.

Ryan took a tight first set on the tie break 11/10 (2-0) but struggled in the second set as Koukal upped the pace. A serious of well worked rallies from Koukal and unforced errors from Ryan saw the Czech square the game at one set all. Ryan took control in the third set using all his experience to prevent Koukal gaining any momentum. Ryan slowed down the pace of the game and frustrated Koukal taking the set 11/6.

The final set was a tense affair seeing Ryan come from behind to take the set 11/8 after Koukal had opened up a 8-4 lead.

Ryan now faces fellow qualifier Stuart Crawford in the Quarter Finals who caused another upset beating Carlowman Arthur Gaskin 3/0. Gaskin seeded 8 had high hopes coming into the tournament never really got to grips with his opponent. A series of unforced errors didn’t help Gaskins cause in the first set as Crawford stormed into an early lead taking the set 11/2. Gaskin motivated as ever tried his best to force his way back into the game but it was not to be as Crawford shut him out and won the following two sets 11/6 11/6.

Wildcard entry John Rooney faced number 7 seed Martin Szaboky from Hungary. Rooney was never troubled as he saw off his opponent in 3 sets. The Galway man who was ranked in the top 60 on the PSA tour seemed to be back to his best as he dominated the early exchanges working Szaboky around the court. Rooney took the first set easily 11/2 but had to work harder to take the second and third sets which he won 11/7 11/9, Rooney now goes on to face England’s Jonathan Hartford in the Quarter-Finals.

Hartford came through after a tough 1st round game against Egypt’s Ahmed Gamel Swaify. Both players played extremely tight squash leading to long grueling rallies and very few errors. Swaify took the first set 11/8 but Hartford struck back in the second taking it 11/9 and never looked back from there as he closed out the game 11/6 11/7 to guarantee himself a place in the Quarters.

Number 1 seed from Egypt Mohammed Ali Anwar Reda had to hold off a brave challenge from fellow country-man Omar Abdul Meguid to book his place in Friday evenings Quarter Finals. Reda proved too fit in the end for his opponent as the 17 year old came out on the right side of a 11/7 5/11 11/7 8/11 11/4 score-line.

Italy’s number 2 seed Luca Mastrostefano won a five-set thriller with Egyptian Mohammed Elkeiy. Elkeiy was on top for long periods of the match and his finishing was impeccable, the Egyptian however seemed to get tired as the game wore on and Mastrostefano took full advantage winning the decider 11/9.

Yann Perrin of France came from behind to defeat number 5 seed Campbell Grayson of New Zealand in another 5 setter. Perrin found himself 2-0 down as Grayson took the first two sets 11/7 and 11/9 Perrin however came back strong and took a breathtaking third set 11-10 (5-3) as Grayson had seven match balls. Perrin visibly confident began to find a rhythm and won out in the fourth set 11/8. Grayson was then forced to retire with a complaint of an ankle injury with Perrin 6/1 up in the final set.

Perrin now takes on South African qualifier Jason Barry who made light work of England’s number 6 seed Jago Nardelli. The final game on court was a scrappy affair with a lot of let calls. Barry took an early 4-0 lead in the first set and while Tardelli dug deep to recover it was a little too much to ask of the Englishman.

Nardelli again fell behind at the start of the second set as Barry opened up a 4-0 lead. Tardelli drew level at 6-6 all but from there Barry took control and saw out the set 11/8 and taking the third set 11/3.

 Jonathon Harford

 Jonathon Harford

11-10 (3-1), 11-7, 4-11, 11-1

Luca Mastrostefano

Qualifying:

Finals:

Derek Ryan (Irl) bt Ricky Davies (Wal)                    6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 2-11, 11-9
Stuart Crawford (Sco) bt Aqeel Rehman (Aut)         9-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-4
Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy) bt Joan Lezaud (Fra)       11-6, 11-7, 11-5
Jason Barry (Rsa) bt Rik Smet (Bel)                        11-9, 11-11-3 3-11, 11-1

Round One:
Aqeel Rehman (Aut)  bye
Derek Ryan (Irl) bt Rene Mijs (Bel)                           11-8 7-11 11-3 11-13 11-8
Stuart Crawford (Sco) bt Rory Byrne (Ire)                11-7 11-6 11-9
Omar Abdel Meguid (Egy) bt John Abrahamse (Rsa)   12-10 11-9 7-11 11-8
Ricky Davies (wales) bt Nigel Peyton (ire)                  11-7 11-5  retd
Jason Barry (Rsa) bt Tom Phipps (eng)                     11-8 11-5 11-13 11-5
Rik Smet (belg) bt Philip Nightingale (eng)                11-6 6-11 11-9 11-5
Joan Lezaud (fra) bt Paul Lenehan (ire)                    11-5 11-7 11-5

18-Oct, Qualifying finals:
Ryan wins another thriller
Gerry Callanan reports

Irish stalwart Ryan clinched the match in the fifth set after an hour and 21 minutes to beat Welshman Ricky Davies on a controversial stroke. Throughout the match Ryan had struggled with Davies when he upped the pace however Davies was not able to maintain this pace and once the pace dropped Ryan made all his years of experience tell. Ryan now having won both of his matches will feel all of his 36 years when he places Jan Koukal in the first round of the main draw.

Stuart Crawford beat Agell Rehman in 53 minutes and now plays Arthur Gaskin (The Irishman based in england).

Omar Abdel Meguid  beat Joan Lezaud and now plays his fellow countryman and number one seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda.

Jason Barry beat Rik Smet and looked in the sort of form that might just trouble Jago Nardelli, the number 6 seed who he plays in the first round of the main draw.

Seven times Irish champion Derek Ryan rolled back the years to win a five game thriller in the first round of the qualifiers tonight in Dublin. Ryan clinched his match against Ree Mijs from Holland in the fifth after an hour and 24 minutes after some pulsating squash.

Ryan is now the only Irish man left in the qualifying draw, with his compatriots John Rooney and Arthur Gaskin already having secured there places in the main draw automatically.

Best-ever Leinster in Prospect
Gerry Callanan reports

The BYMAC PSA Leinster Senior Open takes place in Fitzwilliam LTC attracting players from all over the world some of whom are ranked in the top 100. It is without doubt the highest level this tournament has ever reached and there is a high level of Irish interest with the inclusion of Derek Ryan, John Rooney and Arthur Gaskin.

Seeded at 1 is the World number 84, Egyptian Mohammad Ali Anwar Reda. Cairo born Reda at just 17 years of age has reached a career high ranking of 84 this month and comes into the tournament in a rich vein of form.

Seeded at 2 is Italian number 2 and World number 91 Luca Mastrostefano. The 27 year old London born Mastrostefano won the Italian National Title in 2005 and was a quarter finalist at this years Italian Open losing to Italian team-mate Davide Bianchetti.

Seed at 3 is Czech number 1 and World number 92 Jan Koukal. Koukal has won 3 PSA events in his homeland this year and having reached a career high ranking of 39 will be looking to do well in Dublin.

Galway born John Rooney faces number 7 seed Marton Szaboky in the first round. Rooney an experienced Irish international is no longer ranked on the PSA but with a few years experience of the PSA circuit could well cause an upset in Fitzwilliam

Local Player Derek Ryan needs no introduction. The former World number 7 and 7 times Irish National Champion spent over a decade on the professional tour and his progress will be followed with keen interest as the 36 year old attempts to roll back the years and upset the seedings in the Leinster Senior Open.