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14-Jun, Final:
[1] Mark Krajcsak (Hun) bt [4] Rob Sutherland (Wal)
11/9, 11/7, 12/14, 11/7
(55m)
Krajcsak captures Primavera title
Colin White reports
The day started out with sunshine and beautiful weather, but 10mins
before the start of the squash program, the rain came and it stayed,
in fact its still falling as I write this report. Any hope that it
would leave before the start of Final quickly disappeared, by the
fact there was no wind. Although this fact helped because the court
was protected and with no rain it meant the court was playable.
To the credit of the squash community in Kecskemet, they came out to
support the event and the top seed from Hungary, Mark Krajcsak. They
also turned up earlier to watch the junior and doubles matches that
were played before.
The final started with the backdrop of rain and umbrellas, with Rob
Sutherland in his first Tour Final being the quickest to settle. In
a fast opening he held leads of 8-5 and 9-7, but just when it seemed
that Rob would disappoint the home, Mark found a little extra to
nick the first 11-9.
The second saw Krajcsak up the pace and really start to work the
younger Welshman. He moved quickly to 8-2 and despite a brave fight
back from Rob, the Hungarian closed it out 11-7 and move 2-0 up in
under 20mins, much to the delight of that wet, home crowd.
This time, unlike yesterday, it was Rob’s turn to drag himself back
into the match. He upped his work rate, pace and took the fight to
Mark. They both took runs of points, but it evened out around 8-8,
then Rob jumped to game ball, only for Mark to hit back and move to
11-10 match ball. Again Rob dug deep and they swapped a few points
until the Welshman claimed his first, 14-12.
The fourth started with Rob showing that the last set wasn’t a fluke
and he jumped out to a 6-1 lead, the home crowd was getting nervous,
then suddenly the older and more experienced Krajcsak won 10 of the
next 11 points to claim the Primavera Open Title in his home
country.
Many thanks must go to the Organizers and the town of Kecskemet, who
have put on this first “Roadshow”, which they hope to take around
the country in coming years. Zoltan Lazar has done an incredible
jump, lets hope the weather rewards his efforts next time.
On a last note, many thanks to the players, they came played hard
but fair. They didn’t complain or make a fuss, even when faced with
difficult conditions are changes in the schedule. It was a pleasure
to have them and the made the job so much easier for the Promoter
and Tournament Director.
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13-Jun, Semi-Finals:
The seeds strike back!
Colin White reports
Well just to make Olivier and Rob feel at home for the semis, the
rain has finally started to fall. It has been raining in Kecskemet
all morning and at this point we can only hope that the weather can
clear up in time for the semi-finals tonight. At the moment, looking
out of my hotel room at the rain, I’ve the feeling I’m back in
Belfast.
The weather cleared and the semi-finals of the Primavera Open got
underway. The conditions were cold and windy, but it was a relief to
be able to get the first match on court.
First on was Mark Krajcsak, the top seed against his third
unseeded opponent in the giant killer Joan Lezaud from
France. The first game was close up until 6-6 then Mark raced away
with the next five points to take a 1-0 lead. The second saw the
Hungarian take control to go 9-3 up, a brief fight back by the
Frenchman was not enough to stop him self from going 2-0 down. The
third followed the first, tight start with Joan working very hard,
but again the higher ranked Krajcsak was able to close it out at the
business end of the set. The Hungarian Champion will be hoping to
keep up his good form for the final, with the aim of delighting the
home supporters and claiming the first Primavera Open squash title.
The second semi-final saw an all British affair, with the unseeded
Englishman Olivier Pett taking on Rob Sutherland. It
has to be said, by the time they took to the court the temperature
had dropped, but a good crowd, who really enjoyed the match, stayed
behind to watch. A slow start from Olivier saw Rob race into a 6-0
lead and he kept control to go 1-0 up. The second was closer, but
Rob always had his nose in front and went 2-0 up in 20mins. Those
people who thought that the finish was near and the warmth of the
inside, didn’t take into account young Olivier. He started to work
harder, stepping up the court to take the ball earlier and gradually
taking control of the middle. The harder work rate brought the
qualifier back into the match as he won the third and fourth games
11-8, but although the score was close, to be honest he was always
in front and to his now familiar shout of “come on”, the young Pett
took them to a deciding set, much to the delight of the crowd.
The fifth seemed to start at a higher pace than any game before and
took a long time for the score to creep to 4-4, then suddenly after
a hard rally, the five matches and 21 sets that Olivier had played
up to that point, hit him. From 4-4 Rob raced away to 10-4 inside
two minutes and a few moments later he was able to close out the
match and book his place in the final.
Afterwards Olivier paid tribute to Greg Pearman, who he felt had
helped him through some rough times and wanted to thank him for all
his help.
So the final tomorrow will be between the first and fourth seeds,
with everybody involved hoping for clear skies and some heat. In the
end the seeds struck back, but without a doubt it’s been the
qualifiers of Joan Lezaud and especially Olivier Pett, who have left
their mark on this new event.
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Krajcsak comes through
Photos by Ujvári Sándor |
Sorensen & Sutherland |
Hitchens & Lezaud |
 Primavera
Open
2008
Kecskemet, Hungary, 09-14 Jun, $6k |
Round One
11-Jun |
Quarters
12-Jun |
Semis
13-Jun |
Final
14-Jun |
[1] Mark Krajcsak
(Hun)
11/3, 11/3, 11/5 (22m)
[LL] Bart Ravelli (Ned) |
[1] Mark Krajcsak
11/3, 11/8, 11/4 (28m)
[Q] Neil Cordell |
[1] Mark Krajcsak
11/8, 11/8, 11/8 (39mn)
[Q] Joan Lezaud |
[1] Mark Krajcsak
11/9, 11/7, 12/14, 11/7 (55m)
[4] Rob Sutherland |
[6] Marton Szaboky
(Hun)
11/8, 11/7, 11/5 (35m)
[Q] Neil Cordell (Eng) |
[3] Yann Perrin (Fra)
11/8, 7/11, 9/11, 11/9, 11/7 (75m)
[Q] Joan Lezaud (Fra) |
[Q] Joan Lezaud
11/6, 11/5, 11/4 (27m)
[8] Neil Hitchens |
[8] Neil Hitchens
(Eng)
11/8, 11/2, 11/3 (24m)
Aron Balogh (Hun) |
[Q] Henrik Mustonen
(Fin)
11/8, 11/8, 16/14 (40m)
[5] Morten Sorensen (Den) |
[5] Morten Sorensen
12/10, 6/11, 11/9, 11/6 (55m)
[4] Rob Sutherland |
[4] Rob Sutherland
11/5, 11/8, 8/11, 8/11, 11/5 (55m)
[Q] Olivier Pett |
Joe Lee (Eng)
11/13, 11/3, 6/11, 11/7, 17/15 (85m)
[4] Rob Sutherland (Wal) |
[Q] Olivier Pett (Eng)
11/6, 11/8, 11/9 (35m)
Jakob Dirnberger (Aut) |
[Q] Olivier Pett
7/11, 11/4, 11/4, 11/9 (43m)
[2] Ben Ford |
Chris Truswell (Eng)
8/11, 11/3, 11/8, 11/6 (50m)
[2] Ben Ford (Eng) |
10-Jun, Qualifying Finals:
Henrik Mustonen (Fin) bt Michal Reid (Can) 11-8,
11-8, 11-4 (38m)
Neil Cordell (Eng) bt Ali Miski (Leb)
11-1, 11-3, 13-11 (25m)
Joan Lezaud (Fra) bt Bart Ravelli (Ned)
11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-4 (65mi)
Olivier Pett (Eng) bt Fabien Verseille (Fra) 11-5,
9-11, 12-10, 10-12, 12-10 (75m)
09-Jun, Qualifying Round One:
Michal Reid (Can)
bye
Henrik Mustonen (Fin) bt Mate Vass (Hun)
11/3, 11/6, 11/6 (20m)
Neil Cordell (Eng) bt Adam Fuller (Eng)
11/1, 11/3, 11/5 (28m)
Ali Miski (Leb) bt Alexei Severinov (Rus)
8/11, 11/8, 8/11, 11/9, 11/8 (40m)
Bart Ravelli (Ned) bt Peter Kviecinsky (Svk) 7/11, 11/9,
9/11, 11/1, 11/9 (61m)
Joan Lezaud (Fra) bt Zoltan Buday (Hun)
11/7, 11/7, 11/6 (20m)
Olivier Pett (Eng) bt Sandor Fulop (Hun)
9/11, 11/7, 8/11, 11/9, 11/5 (50m)
Fabien Verseille (Fra) bt Mick Biggs (Eng)
11/7, 11/4, 11/3 (25m)
** Jaymie Haycocks w/d injured
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12-Jun, Quarter-Finals:
Krajcsak
on course
in
Kecskemet ...
Colin White reports
The weather that had threatened yesterday looked like it might
return, fortunately it didn’t. In the end, even though it was a
little colder than before, the players didn’t complain and just got
on with it. To be fair the temperature was still over 20C, cold for
this time of year in Hungary, but I’m sure it was like a summer’s
day to the players from Britain.
The change of weather didn’t bring a change of fortune for the
seeds, with two qualifiers making it through to the semi-final.
Only the local hero, top seed and Hungary Champion, Mark Krajcsak
along with Number 4 seed from Wales, Rob Sutherland, made it
through. They will face Frenchman Joan Lezaud and Englishman
Olivier Pett, respectively, in the semi-finals after both
qualifiers continued their impressive runs.
The evening started with a doubles match from four of the PSA
members. The team of Henrik Mustonen/Chris Truswell beating Bart
Ravelli/Michal Reid 2-1. Although the biggest round of applause goes
to Neil Cordell who acted as referee/marker/entertainer, coming from
Pontefact, Malcolm would have been proud ...
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Quarter-Final Reports
It was up to the Number 4 and 5 to kick us off in the Quarters and
the match between the closest in the ranking became the closest on
the court. In the end it was Rob that came through and held his
nerve under pressure, but Morten will be wondering what might have
been after two crucial parts. He led 8-3 in the first and 9-7 in the
third, both games he would not be able to close out.
Next up was the sensation of the tournament, young Olivier Pett, who
nearly went out in the first round and second round of qualifying,
but ever since has gotten stronger and stronger. In his
quarter-final match against Ben Ford, he started slowly and made a
lot of mistakes. At this point it looked like Ben would take control
as Olivier’s concentration was under pressure, especially when
asking for a change of ball that was denied. But Ben never really
settled or looked comfortable on the glass court and with mistakes
coming all too often, it was Olivier who came through to win the
next three and book his place in the semi-finals.
Third on was the top seed and world ranked 52, Mark Krajcsak and the
entertainer from the doubles match Neil Cordell. Although Neil
played some nice squash, he failed to handle the speed and power of
Mark and Malcolm would not have been happy with his error rate. On
the bright side he came from qualifying to reach the quarter-finals,
so hopefully a good experience for this young man. So far Mark has
looked comfortable in his matches and in the semis he will play yet
another qualifier in Joan Lezaud.
Joan from France, has also come through from qualifying and played
two matches of five sets in the last two days, but here tonight, he
played with such a relaxed freedom. That freedom seemed to give him
the belief he could hit anything, that belief combined with his
speed and skill was too much for Number 8 seed, Neil Hitchens from
England. Neil, like his roommate Ben, never got going, never got a
good enough length and found himself under constant pressure from
Joan. To be fair, everything that Joan hit worked, including two
dead, volley nicks that just rolled along the floor.
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11-Jun, Round One:
Krajcsak keeps home hopes
alive in
Kecskemet ...
Colin White reports
The Glass court came into action on the First Round of matches, here
in Kecskemet, Hungary for the Primavera Open. The court, erected in
the Main Square, kept very elegant company. The court is sitting
between the Town Hall and a Church. Maybe some of the players will
be looking at the Church during their match and hoping for divine
intervention!
The first order of business was a slight change in the draw, because
of Jaymie Haycocks withdrawing yesterday, as a 5-8 seed, it meant
that Jakob Dirnberger from Austria moved to play Olivier Pett and
that smiling Dutchman, Bart Ravelli moved to the play the Number 1
seed, Mark Krajcsak.
 First
match was an all French affair, with the upsets continuing on from
the last two days. Qualifier Joan Lezaud battled hard against
his fellow countryman and roommate, Yann Perrin. In a hard 75
minute match that started in good humor, but quickly turned into a
lot off discussions between the two friends, as both battled for the
spot in the Quarters. In the end, it was Joan who claimed that spot,
with his win over the Number 3 seed.
In the next match the Number 4 seed nearly followed him, with Rob
Sutherland from Wales just surviving 17-15 in the fifth against
the English junior, Joe Lee. The match that lasted 85
minutes, the longest so far, was very entertaining, with well
constructed rallies. At one point in the fifth, Lee thought he had
won, when match ball up, he felt Rob’s ball clipped the tin.
Unfortunately for him the referee called the ball good and the
Number 4 seed battled back into the quarters.
Luckily, from the viewpoint of the organisers, after these two long
matches came a run of 3-0 victories, but the seeds didn’t have it
all their own way. Mixed into this situation was a “near” storm,
which at one point might have hit the court and seated area full on.
Maybe the three churches which sit close to the court helped in some
way.
The Number 5 seed, Morten Sorensen from Denmark, won the
battle of the Nordic countries, with a 3-0 win over the top Finnish
junior, Henrik Mustonen
Then Olivier Pett beat the seeded Austrian Jakob Dirnberger
3-0, fortunately for him he controlled the match and managed to
close it out, despite a tight third set.
 Up
next was the local favourite and Number 1 seed, Mark Krajcsak
from Hungary. Mark looked comfortable as he raced to a 3-0 win in
under 25mins. Luckily for him this is the same court that he played
four matches on last week, when beating Jon Kemp and then losing in
four against Lincou, Lavigne and Barrington, to finish 8th at the
Europeans.
After this the home crowd were to be disappointed as two of their
National Team players crashed out. Number 6 seed Marton Szaboky
never seem to get really started and the giant killer from the
qualifiers, 18 year old Neil Cordell knocked him out 3-0.
This was quickly followed by Aron Balogh, the wildcard entry, in his
first PSA event. Although he lost a tight first set to the seeded
Neil Hitchens, after this the Englishman took control to win the
last easily.
Up last, but not least was the two Englishmen, young Chris Truswell
and the Number 2 seed, Ben Ford. Even though the match was
starting just after 10pm, it was a keen battle with Chris taking the
first set, but after this the experience of Ben came into play,
especially when Chris was 8-4 up and 1-1 in sets, with Ben winning
the next seven points.
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10-Jun, Qualifying Finals:
Qualifying complete in
Kecskemet
Colin White reports
The Qualifying Finals got underway with the players knowing there
were five places up for grabs in the main draw. Unfortunately Jaymie
Haycocks was forced to withdraw, following an injury that had not
cleared up in time after the Welsh Open.
 In
the finals it was shown that squash is not an old man’s sport, with
first the 17 year old Henrik Mustonen beating the Number 1
seed Michal Reid from Canada. The young Finn used his speed and
retrieving ability to keep his higher ranked opponent under constant
pressure for the 38mins. His reward, a match up against Number 5
seed Morten Sorenson.
 This
was followed up by 18 year old Englishman, Neil Cordell, who
arrived as the 12th seed in the qualification. Neil continued his
good form and recorded another 3-0, against his fellow giant killer
from yesterday, Ali Miski from Lebanon in 25mins.
 The
next was a much tougher and longer affair. Bart Ravelli, having come
back from 2-0 down yesterday, faced another five-setter. Even though
he seemed to still have a smile on his face after the Dutch team's
win over Italy, unfortunately he was on the wrong side of 3-2 today,
losing 11-4 in the fifth in a hard hitting 65mins, to the third
seed, Joan Lezaud from France. Joan's next opponent, well
wouldn’t you know, his friend, roommate and fellow Frenchman, Yann
Perrin.
 The
night for youthful upsets continued, with the Number two seed,
Fabien Verseille, falling in a tight and entertaining five games, to
Englishman Olivier Pett. The match swung one way then the
other, with Fabien saving match points in the fourth and fifth,
before Olivier was finally able to close it out in the tie-break in
the Fifth.
Remember that smiling Dutchman Ravelli? Well it came back as he was
drawn first out of the hat as the Lucky Loser, his reward, a main
draw match against Olivier tomorrow.
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09-Jun, Qualifying round One:
Under way in Kecskemet
Colin White reports
The first round of qualifying saw some long matches and a few upsets
in the start of this new event in Hungary. The tournament is being
held in Kecskemet, around 90km from the Hungarian capital of
Budapest.
Qualifying is taking place in the Korall Squash Club, with matches
moving to the glasscourt, being erected in the town square, for the
main draw.
Organiser Zoltan Lazar has worked very hard to put this event
together and if successful will take his "Primavera Roadshow" across
the country. The court which was used until Saturday in Bratislava,
for the European Individuals, will be hoping to see less rain that
it did last week.
Rusty Koys, who organised a
very successful event in Bratislava, has worked very hard to get the
court down here in time.
Sandor Fulop
nearly gave the home supporters something to celebrate, but the
young English player Olivier Pett was able to overcome the
Hungarian's experience.
The Dutch player Bart Ravelli overcame a slow start to win
3-2 against Peter Kviecinsky. He'll be hoping the Dutch
football team don't have similar problems tonight.
No such problems for the top seeds in qualifying with Michal Reid
getting a bye and Fabien Verseille racing through his match
against Mick Biggs. Fabien insisted it had nothing to do with France
playing in the Euro 2008.
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