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21-Feb, Final:
Walker Wins
Montreal Title
England's top seed Alister
Walker denied local fans a home victory in the Midtown Sanctuaire
Open when he beat second-seeded Canadian Shahier Razik in the final
at Midtown Le Sporting Club Sanctuaire in Montreal, Canada.
Toronto-based Razik was vying for a second straight Tour win after
winning his first tournament in over a year in last week's National
Capital Open in Maryland. And the world No33 put up a strong fight -
especially following his 103-minute marathon victory over North
American rival Julian Illingworth, the fourth seed from the USA, in
the previous round.
But Walker, the Botswana-born world No18, had to battle for 76
minutes before overcoming Razik 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5.
The triumph marks Walker's third career PSA Tour title - but the
26-year-old from Leeds in Yorkshire's first for almost four years.
|
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 Midtown
Sanctuaire Open 2009
16-21 Feb, Montreal Canada, $21k |
Round One
18 Feb |
Quarters
19 Feb |
Semis
20 Feb |
Final
21 Feb |
[1]
Alister Walker (Eng)
11-4, 11-6, 11-9 (43m)
Michal Reid (Can) |
[1] Alister Walker
11-7, 13-11, 11-5 (56m)
[5] Jan Koukal |
[1] Alister Walker
12-10, 11-7, 3-11, 11-6
[3] Jonathan Kemp |
[1] Alister Walker
11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5 (76m)
[2] Shahier Razik |
[5]
Jan Koukal (Cze)
8-11 , 11-8 , 11-7 , 11-7 (49m)
[Q] Andrew McDougall (Can) |
[3]
Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
12-10, 11-6, 11-3 (31m)
Scott Arnold (Aus) |
[3] Jonathan Kemp
11-4, 11-7, 11-4 (34m)
[7] Julien Balbo |
[7]
Julien Balbo (Fra)
9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 4-11, 11-3 (85m)
[Q] Rafael Alarcon (Bra) |
[Q] David Vidal (Esp)
11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (45m)
[8] Shawn Delierre (Can) |
[8] Shawn Delierre
11-5, 12-14, 11-9,11-6 (77m)
[4] Julian Illingworth |
[4] Julian Illingworth
3-11, 11-5, 11-8, 4-11, 11-6 (103m)
[2] Shahier Razik |
Wade
Johnstone (Aus)
11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (30m)
[4] Julian Illingworth (Usa) |
[Q] David Phillips (Can)
8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-6 (75m)
[6] Mark Krajcsak (Hun) |
[6] Mark Krajcsak
11-9, 11-4, 11-5 (50m)[2] Shahier Razik |
Steve Coppinger (Rsa)
11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (54m)
[2] Shahier Razik (Can) |
17-Feb, Qualifying Finals:
Andrew Mcdougall bt Josh Greenfield
11-5 11-8 13-11 (37m)
David Vidal bt Chris Gordon
16-14 11-5 8-11 11-8 (74m)
David Phillips bt Adil Maqbool
11-4 11-4 9-11 11-3 (37m)
Rafael Alarcon bt Arthur Gaskin
11-5 5-11 12-10 11-6 (62m)
16-Feb, Qualifying Round One:
Josh Greenfield bt Colin Ramasra
12-10 11-6 11-3 (29 mins)
David Vidal bt Matt Serediak
11-4 11-4 12-10 (32 mins)
Andrew Mcdougall bt Robin Clarke
14-12 11-6 11-6 (54 mins)
Arthur Gaskin bt Maxime Blouin
9-11 11-2 11-1 11-2 (32 mins)
Chris Gordon bt Jason Delierre
13-11 , 11-4 , 11-8 (40 mins)
David Phillips bt Tyler Hamilton
11-6 11-3 11-9 (26 mins)
Rafael Alarcon bt Bernard Reid
11-6 11-1 11-4 (28 mins)
Adil Maqbool bt Maxym Leclair
11-6 11-5 11-8 (33 mins)
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20-Feb,
Semis:
Top seeds advance
to
Montreal final
Shahier Razik of Toronto advanced to the final Friday at the $21,000
Midtown Sanctuaire Open men’s professional squash tournament.
Razik, the tournament’s second seed, defeated four-time U.S.,
national champion and fourth-seed Julian Illingworth 3-2. It was a
rematch of Sunday’s final at the National Capital Open in Washington
which Razik won in straight games
“I knew it would be tough because we had just played each other,”
said Razik, who won the first, third and deciding fifth game. “It
doesn’t take long to get familiar with your opponent. He played
really tough but he started to slow down in the fifth and I
capitalized on that.”
Razik will face top-seed Alister Walker of England in the final.
Walker eliminated compatriot Jonathan Kemp in the other semi.
“I’ve played a lot of squash over the past two weeks so I’m hoping
the body can hold out,” said Razik, ranked 33rd in the world. “But
it’s good to have this kind of success. I had been struggling a bit
before last week’s win.” |
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19-Feb, Quarters:
Walker & Kemp set up all-English semi in
Montreal
An English finalist in the Midtown Sanctuaire Open is guaranteed
after compatriots Alister Walker and Jonathan Kemp
battled to straight games wins in the quarter-finals at
Midtown Le Sporting Club Sanctuaire in Montreal.
In the swiftest victory of the day, third seed Kemp defeated
Frenchman Julien Balbo. The 27-year-old left-hander from Halifax
will now face fellow Yorkshire-based player Alister Walker – the top
seed from Leeds who need 54 minutes to overcome Czech Republic
number one Jan Koukal, the fifth seed..
The other semi will be an all-North American affair between
four-time US champion Julian Illingworth and second-seeded
Canadian Shahier Razik. But third seed Illingworth toiled for
77 minutes to put paid to an all-Canadian semi when he beat local
hero Shawn Delierre, the eighth seed from Montreal.
Razik maintained the winning form which saw him win last week’s
National Capital Open in the USA – where he beat Illingworth in the
final. The 31-year-old from Toronto beat Hungary’s Mark Krajcsak..
18-Feb, Round One:
All seeds safe
in
Montreal ...
Local star Shawn Delierre delighted the
crowd at the Midtown Sanctuaire Open when he held off the challenge
of Spaniard David Vidal in the first round at Midtown Le Sporting
Club Sanctuaire in Montreal, Canada.
The 26-year-old from Montreal, seeded eight, beat the 30-year-old
qualifier in 45 minutes to set up a quarter-final clash with North
American rival Julian Illingworth.
The fourth seed from the USA, fresh from his appearance in the final
of last week's National Capital Open in Maryland, also prevailed in
straight games, beating Australian Wade Johnstone.
Shahier Razik, winner of the Maryland title, will also provide
Canadian interest in the last eight in Montreal. The second seed
needed 54 minutes to overcome South African Stephen Coppinger, and
will now face sixth-seeded Hungarian Mark Krajcsak for a place in
the semi-finals. |
 |
 18-Feb,
Qualifying Finals:
Qualifying
complete
in Montreal ...
Maxym Leclair reports
With three players already in the main
draw, the Canadian squash team was hoping to have two more tonight.
 Andrew
Mcdougall, world 111, was playing Josh Greenfield, world 114
from New Zealand. With the confidence of his win in first round, he
managed to get a 3-0 victory in 37 minutes. It was the start of a
good evening for the crowd. "I played well in the last two days, I'm
really happy to be in the main draw," said McDougall.
 The
star of the night, David Phillips (#74) from Montreal, was
playing the world 73, Adil Maqbool from Pakistan. The first two
games were one sided for Phillips 11-4,11-4 but Maqbool played
better squash in the third to win 11-9. The last game show intense
squash between two excellent players. Maqbool was trying to end the
rally early but Phillips was getting all his shots. It came to a
11-3 victory for Phillips to close the match 3-1 in 37 minutes. "I
played well," said Phillips, "he is a good player and a good
shotmaker, he is strong at the middle."
 The
two others matches show excellent squash and two upset wins, first
for David Vidal (#107) from Spain who beat Chris Gordon (#79)
from USA 3-1 in 74 minutes and finally Rafael Alarcon( #95)
from Brazil who took the win against Arthur Gaskin (#90) from
Ireland 3-1 in 62 minutes.
"It's the second time I beat a player who is higher ranked than me,"
said a delighted Vidal. "I was feeling very confident in the court,
he is very tall so I try to make him turn and go down. In the third,
he started to hit harder and I try to hit the ball softer."
Tomorrow night will show exiting squash as the main draw begins. Two
locals players will be playing, Shawn Delierre, who is ranked 61 in
the world will face off against Vidal, and David Phillips will meet
Hungarian Mark Krajczak, the 6th seed of the tournament.
The matches begin at 2pm. |
Junior Night
We had a junior night yesterday. I wanted to thank the players who
played in it: Shahier Razik, Michal Reid, Colin Ramasra and Wade
Johnstone.
They were very good with the juniors! Thanks, to Jan Koukal
who was here to, but we don't had enough juniors!
A special thanks to Shahier, who played almost an hour with one of
the juniors and showed him some tips. Shahier is a great athlete and
great person!
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17-Feb, Qualifying
Round One:
Qualifying under
way
in Montreal ...
I started to played well in the third,
but I was a little bit nervous at the beginning.
Josh Greenfield
 I
tried to play basic squash, he played better in the third and I
tried to end the point too early. He made two unforced errors at
10-10 in the third ...
David Vidal
 I
was not really concentrated at the beginning, he surprised me a
little bit, but I came back in the second and played much better
squash.
Arthur Gaskin
I had a really good first game, but he played better squash after
that.
Maxime Blouin
We had a long first game and I played better in the second and the
third, it's dangerous to go to the front the court, it's really
bouncy.
 Chris
Gordon
It's the second time I played him in two weeks. He is a coming pro
and he played well.
David Phillips
 I
rolled my ankle last week, it was hurting me. It's the first time
I've played in a big tournament like that, it's really fun.
Bernie Reid
I was tired, it's tough to organise the tournament and be here all
day! But he played better squash then me.
Maxym Leclair |
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Top Squash back in Quebec
Montréal, QC; From February 16 to 21, the Midtown le Sporting du
Sanctuaire sports club will be hosting a PSA tournament
showcasing some of the best players from around the world.
Twenty-eight players from 13 countries, including England, France,
Australia, the United States, and South Africa will be playing for
the $21,050 US prize money. It has been many years since the
province of Quebec has seen such a high level of competition.
The tournament features British player Alister Walker,
currently number 18 in the world rankings. Joining him in the
line-up will be World #27, Canadian Shahier Razik, and
several local players such as (8th Shawn Delierreseed
and 59th world), David Phillips (80th in the world),
Michal Reid, Jason Delierre, Bernard Reid, and a
young up-and-coming athlete Maxym Leclair.
The Canadian Squash Circuit is a national tour consisting of Men's
PSA and Women's WISPA sanctioned events across Canada. Canadian
players compete for points in the Canadian Squash Circuit standings,
which culminate with a year end Grande Finale between the highest
point earners from the Men's and Women's Circuit. The Canadian
Squash Circuit's goals are to provide Canadian squash players with
an opportunity to play at a high level of competition within Canada
and to increase the level of awareness of squash in Canada.
The 2008/2009 Circuit also includes stops in Ottawa, ON, Saskatoon,
SK, Vancouver, BC, Richmond, BC, Calgary, AB, Edmonton, AB, North
Vancouver BC, Halifax, NS, Montreal, QC and Winnipeg, MB. For
information, visit:
http://www.squash.ca/e/can/circuit/
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