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 Garavan's West
of Ireland
Open 2008
Galway, Ireland, 20-23 Mar, $6k |
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23-Mar, Final:
Handley foils Rooney in Galway ...
There was to be no
repeat triumph for John Rooney in the second running of the
Garavan's West of Ireland Open in Galway as the local favourite and
defending champion went down in straight games to top seed Scott
Handley. |
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Garavan's West
of Ireland
Open 2008
Galway, Ireland, 20-23 Mar, $6k |
Round One
21-Mar |
Quarters
22-Mar |
Semis
22-Mar |
Final
23-Mar |
[1] Scott Handley
(Eng)
8/11, 11/6, 11/6, 11/8 (55m)
Rasmus Nielsen (Den) |
[1] Scott Handley
13/11, 13/11, 11/4 (43m)
[Q] Fabien Verseille |
[1] Scott Handley
11/6, 12/10, 11/8 (44m)
[5] Aqeel Rehman |
[1] Scott Handley
11/6, 11/8, 12/10 (42m)
[2] John Rooney |
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[8] Darren Lewis
(Eng)
11/9, 15/13, 11/4 (25m)
[Q] Fabien Verseille (Fra) |
[3] Tom Hoevenaars (Ned)
11/7, 11/5, 11/8 (27m)
Stefan Brauneis (Aut) |
[3] Tom Hoevenaars
11/6, 11/1, 11/9 (37m)
[5] Aqeel Rehman |
[5] Aqeel Rehman
(Aut)
11/6, 11/7, 11/7 (28m)
Dan Roberts (Irl) |
[Q] Piedro Schweertman
(Ned)
11/8, 11/6, 5/11, 12/10 (65m)
[6] Clinton Leeuw (Rsa) |
[6] Clinton Leeuw
6/11, 13/11, 13/11, 13/11 (55m)
[4] Gilly Lane |
[6] Clinton Leeuw
11/6, 11/3, 9/11, 11/8 (59m)
[2] John Rooney |
[Q] Johan Bouquet
(Fra)
11/3, 11/3, 6/11, 11/7 (50m)
[4] Gilly Lane (Usa) |
[Q] Eddie Charlton (Eng)
11/5, 11/4, 11/8 (33m)
[7] Jakob Dirnberger (Aut) |
[Q] Eddie Charlton
11/2, 11/5, 11/3 (26m)
[2] John Rooney |
Tom Pashley (Eng)
11/7, 11/2, 11/6 (34m)
[2] John Rooney (Irl) |
21-Mar, Qualifying Finals:
Johan Bouquet (Fra) bt
Bart Ravelli (Ned)
10/12, 5/11, 11/8, 11/7, 11/5 (63m)
Piedro Schweertman (Ned) bt Joan Lezaud (Fra)
7/11, 11/5, 10/12, 11/9, 11/7 (57m)
Eddie Charlton (Eng) bt
Kristian Frost Olesen (Den)
11/6, 11/1, 12/14, 11/8 (62m)
Fabien Verseille (Fra) bt Lewys Hurst (Wal)
11/6, 9/11, 12/10, 7/3 rtd (38m)
20-Mar, Qualifying Round One:
Johan Bouquet (Fra) bt Lewis Walters (Eng)
11/9, 9/11, 11/8, 11/7 (55m)
Bart Ravelli (Ned) bt Jonas Laursen (Den)
11/8, 11/6, 11/3 (26m)
Piedro Schweertman (Ned) bt Andrew Birks (Eng) 11/4, 12/10,
11/8 (27m)
Joan Lezaud (Fra) bt David Noone (Irl)
11/4, 11/5, 11/5 (13m)
Kristian Frost Olesen (Den) bt Niall Rooney (Irl)
8/11, 11/5, 11/6, 11/4 (34m)
Eddie Charlton (Eng) bt Rory Byrne (Irl)
11/4, 11/7, 11/5 (24m)
Fabien Verseille (Fra) bt Jason Barry (Rsa)
4/11, 12/10, 11/5, 3/11, 11/8 (63m)
Lewys Hurst (Wal) bt Colin Whitney (Eng)
11/6, 11/6, 11/5 (21m)
2007 Event
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22-Mar, Semis:
Down to the final ...
Edwin Brennan reports
After both semi-finals were completed this evening in Galway we are
down to the final.
Scott Handley the number one seed was first on court against
Aqeel Rehman the number five seed. Handley looked in control
from the start, controlling the rallies and seemed to get everything
back. Rehman was visibly under pressure, and despite his best
attempts to change the game Handley, the higher ranked player, never
looked in doubt about victory winning 11/6, 12/10, 11/8 in 44
minutes.
Next up on court was John Rooney, the number two seed; he was
drawn to play Clinton Leeuw the number six seed from South
Africa. Rooney was anxious to get off to a quick start and did just
that. He won the first two games 11/6, 11/3, seemed to be confident
in his shot selection and decisive on where to put the ball.
However, Leeuw was fit and kept up to the pace and won the third
game. Rooney came back in the fourth taking it 11/8.
Rooney will need to up his game to beat Handley in the final, but,
with the home crowd behind him it could be enough to get him through
...22-Mar, Quarters:
Quarters complete
in Galway
The quarter finals of the Garavana’s
West of Ireland Open got under way this morning. First on court were
Tom Hovennaars and Aqeel Rehman. Aqeel looked in
control of his higher ranked opponent from the off never looking in
doubt. In the third game Hovennaars seemed to come alive however
Rehaman kept the pressure up to win 3-0.
Next up was the number one seed Scott Handley who had to play
the qualifier who looked in flying form. Fabien Verseille
made him work hard to earn a 3-0 victory however the score line did
not reflect the standard of play.
Local man John Rooney was next up to face another qualifier
Eddie Charlton. Rooney, the number two seed, looked in fine form
never letting up in his fast paced game.
The best match of the session was definitely between Gilly Lane
and Clinton Leeuw. In a match that lasted 55 minutes the pair
gave us a hard hitting and hot tempered encounter where three of the
four games went to extra points. Lane looked impressive however he
could not put the ball away against his opponent, who now faces
Rooney tonight.
21-Mar, Round One:
Fabian & Eddie
upset the seedings ...
The first round main draw got under way this evening with all the
top seeds in action.
Qualifier Eddie Charlton defeated the number 7 seed Jakob
Dirngberger in straight games in a match which lasted 33 minutes.
Fabien Verseille, who also came through qualifying defeated the
number 8 seed Darren Lewis where he came out the 3-0 winner after
25min.
Number 1 seed Scott Handley was slow to start in his match againt
Rasmus Neilsen finding himself 1-0 down however his experience
prevailed and after 55 minutes he won 3-1.
The Dutch number 3 seed Tom Hovennaars played qualifier Stefan
Braunies in a one sided match, he was a 3-0 winner.
The tournament wild card Dan Roberts was next on court against
Austrian Aqeel Rehman. Roberts playing in his first PSA event was
not as experienced as his higher ranked opponent as he came out a
3-0 winner.
Clinton Leeuw, the South African player, was next on court playing
against qualifier Piedro Schweertman. This was to be the longest
match of the evening where after 65 minutes Leeuw was the 3-1
winner.
The American Gilly Lane was next up, he was drawn to play Johan
Bouqet the qualifier, they battled it out for 55 minutes however
fitness was to be the deciding factor where he was the 3-1 winner.
Next on the centre court was local crowd favourite John Rooney, the
number 2 seed, he was playing in-form Tom Pashley. Rooney looked
sharp and quick which proved too much for his opponent, a delighted
home crowd saw him win 3-1 in 34 minutes.
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21-Mar:
Qualifying finals
Edwin Brennan reports
This morning saw the final qualifying matches of the Garavan’s West
of Ireland Open. All the players were fighting for a place in the
main draw and none of them wanted to be knocked out at this stage.
The first match of the morning saw Johan Bouqet who knocked
out the top seed in the qualifying Lewis Walters last night continue
his good run coming from two games down to beat Bart Revelli 3-2 in
a match that last over an hour.
Next on was another five-setter where Piedro Schweertman
defeated Joan Lezaud. Eddie Charlton defeated Kristian Frost Olesen 3-1 in another
match that lasted over an hour.
The final qualifying match saw Fabien Verseille play Lewys
Hurst. The match started out at a fast pace however Hurst had to
retire in the fourth game with a Achilles injury.
Under way in Galway
The Garavan’s West of Ireland Open got under way with the first
round qualifying this evening.
The first match on court saw Lewis Walters the number 1 seed for the
qualifying play 9/16 Johan Bouquet. This proved to be one of the
most exciting matches of the evening with both players battling
until the end. Bouquet beat his higher ranked opponent in 4 sets in
just under an hour.
On the other side of the draw Jason Barry and Fabien Verseille did
battle in a match lasting well over an hour. Barry started off well
however Verseille kept his head to come out the eventual 3-2 winner.
On the local front none of the ‘local’ players managed to get the
better of their opponents – David Noone; Niall Rooney; Rory Byrne
and Colin Whitney all were defeated however they did get valuable
experience from their matches.
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West of Ireland
Open Returns
Edwin Brennan reports
The Garavan’s West of Ireland Open returns to Galway Lawn Tennis
Club this weekend with an increased prize fund and star status.
The tournament now in its
second year
as a PSA event has attracted a high quality entry with Scott
Handley the world ranked 70 as the number 1 seed.
The continued support of our generous sponsor Garavan’s Bar,
Galway city, along with funding from Irish Squash and the Irish
Sports Council have enabled us to increase the status of the event
and seen it grow to a prize-fund of $6000.
On a local front Galway man John Rooney is seeded third this
year, the 2007 champion is set to meet Handley in the top half
semi-final for a place in the final, where the winner is expected to
meet number 2 seed Alex Stait.
The Irish number 2 said “its great to have such a high quality event
in my home club, it will be a tough task to retain my title but I
hope the home crowd will give me a boost.”
The event starts on Thursday 20th March with qualifying matches and
the main draw will begin on Friday evening.
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