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25-Jan, FINAL:
[5] John White (Sco) bt [4] Amr
Shabana (Egy)
11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (40m)
WHITE HOT IN WINDY CITY
Phil Yarrow reports on the Final ...
The local Chicago squash enthusiasts packed Cathedral Hall at the
University Club for the final of the 2005 SSA Global Windy City Open
between Amr Shabana of Egypt and John White of
Scotland.
It was not necessarily the match-up that many of the fans had
expected at the start of the tournament -- fourth seed versus fifth
seed, world number 10 versus world number 12. Shabana had reached
the final of only one tournament since his World Open in 2003, White
had not reached his seeded position in any tournament since becoming
world number one in March 2004. On the flip side though, Shabana's
one final was the British Open, where he narrowly lost to David
Palmer, proving that he continues to raise his game for the big
event ... which says a lot for the Egyptian's views of the status of
the Windy City Open! White's poor recent performances are only
partly a result of poor form ... his wife did just give birth to
twins!
At the start the odds surely favored Shabana. He has looked in
fantastic form throughout the tournament, particularly in his
thrashing of world number two Lee Beachill in the semi-finals. White
had also looked good playing his own brand of aggressive squash, but
you wondered if he would be feeling the effects of his marathon
encounter with Jonathon Power the previous day.
To stand a chance of winning, White would need to take Shabana out
of his game in the same way he did with Power. The Scot likes to
pepper the front of the court with fierce kill shots, forcing his
opponent into a more defensive retrieval game. Shabana looked tense
at the beginning of the first game allowing White to assert his game
and take a quick 5-0 lead. A forehand tin by White opened Shabana's
account and helped him to settle and he was soon back at 5-6. Then
followed two great rallies that both went to the tall Scot, the
first through a beautifully executed backhand volley drop and the
second courtesy of a Shabana backhand drop that hit the tin. At 9-7,
White wrong footed the Egyptian with an awesome backhand straight
drive and he crunched in a backhand kill to win the next rally and
wrap up the first game.
Shabana really started to show his form early in the second game as
a forehand volley for a winner followed by an inch perfect backhand
drive gave him a 5-1 advantage. White stepped up with two winners of
his own to get back to 3-5. Both players were aggressively attacking
now and the rallies were fast and furious. It was breath taking
stuff. A backhand boast winner got White back to 6-6 and several
rallies later they were tied again at 8-8. A delicate backhand drop
followed by another backhand kill gave White game ball and the
Egyptian disappointing pushed the return of serve on the next rally
into the middle of the tin to hand the Scot a two game advantage.
White looked really relaxed at the beginning of the third...joking
with the crowd in typical White fashion. His movement was great and
he was pounding the ball and hitting far fewer tins than in his game
against Power the previous day. Unlike his semi-final match with
Beachill, Shabana was unable to cut his drop shots into the nick,
instead he was being forced to stretch and push all his drops up. In
the third game he dived desperately in vain attempts at several of
White's trickle boasts and drops. White quickly advanced from 4-3 to
10-4 match ball with a magnificent display of attacking squash. At
match ball, Shabana hit a backhand cross court drop shot only to
frustratingly see the Scot standing all over it ready to pound it to
the back of the court to seal the match and become the 2005 Windy
City Open Champion.
Many thanks to the title sponsor SSA Global (who announced their
commitment to make next year's event even bigger and better), the
presenting sponsor LaSalle Bank and the supporting sponsors Foley &
Lardner and Grant Thornton for enabling Chicago to host its first
five star PSA event. And thanks also to Tournament Director John
Flanigan and his University Club squash staff, Conor O'Malley and
Tonneisha Tillman for their hard work over the past few months that
made possible the spectacle that we witnessed over the past week.
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WINDY CITY
MAIN PAGE
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24-Jan, Semi-Finals:
[4] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt [1]
Lee Beachill (Eng)
11-3, 11-8, 11-3 (35m)
[5] John White (Sco) bt [7] Jonathon Power (Can)
7-11, 11-10 (4-2), 11-7, 10-11 (2-4), 11-4 (94m) |
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Semi-Finals in Contrast
Phil Yarrow reports from Chicago
The 2005 SSA Global Windy City Open
semi-finals involved two pairs of players with contrasting styles.
The first match involved the skillfully deceptive Canadian Jonathon
Power and the aggressive hard hitting Aussie born Scot John White.
The second match, the silky smooth, consistent top seeded Englishman
Lee Beachill and the rather erratic, but highly talented little
Egyptian Amr Shabana.
Shabana is the only one of the four not yet to have reached a world number
one ranking, but of course he does have a World Open title to his name.
The 30 year-old Power and the 31 year-old White have crossed paths many
times in the past on the PSA tour. In fact this was their tenth meeting in
the last five years, with Power leading the head-to-head 5-4, including
victories in their past two encounters. The last meeting was the
Canadian's 3-1 victory in the quarter-finals of the Bermuda Open in March
2004.
Ironically, at that time, Power was in danger of slipping out of the top
ten for the first time in nearly a decade and White was playing his first
tournament as world number one. Now the situation is reversed, with White
recently dropping out of the top ten for the first time since February
2001 and Power, currently world number six, looking set for another
serious assault on the top spot. |
White wins Thriller
White started poorly, a few errors helped Power to a 6-1 lead. Power was
looking comfortable, moving well and striking the ball with authority.
White dug in and one of his signature forehand kills plus a rather
fortunate back wall nick helped him back to 4-7. But the first game was
really all Power and he clinched it 11-7 when White clipped the top of the
tin on a forehand drive. White began the second game in similar
inconsistent fashion as the first -- two tins followed by two winners,
followed by another tin and another winner.
Unusually for a game involving Jonathon Power, his opponent was dictating
the outcome of most of the rallies. A no let called that Power heavily
disputed followed by a stroke decision that also frustratingly for the
Canadian went against him suddenly gave the Scot a 6-3 lead. But three
more tins and Power was back on level terms at 7-7. More White winners and
errors followed and the game was tied again at 10-10. After Power saved
three game balls, one of which with a fortunate backhand miss hit that for
White dropped agonizing for a winner, White finally succeeding in taking
the 25-minute game on his fourth attempt with a well executed forehand
cross court volley that was just out of Power's reach.
The feeling was that the match was going to rest on whether White could
hit more winners than tins as he aggressively attacked the front of the
court. The squash was great at the start of the third. In one rally White
dove in the back court and just managed to retrieve the ball via the back
wall, frustratingly for Power, the Scot got up and retrieved the next shot
and escaped with a let. White was beginning to look in a more relaxed,
jovial mood. He was clearly enjoying the encounter now that he was firmly
in it. A reflex backhand volley winner gave him a 5-4 lead and a backhand
kill gave him the lead at 7-6. Power was clearly more frustrated, arguing
most referee decisions that went against. His retrieving was still
incredible, but the world number 12 was now hitting many more winners than
tins and a tight forehand drop gave White game ball at 10-7 and he
finished it with a forehand cross court kill to take the two game to one
advantage.
The fourth game was as tight as the previous two. At 5-4 to Power, the
Canadian thought he had won an incredible rally went White tinned a
forehand volley only to agonizingly have to play a let due to dubious pick
up early in the rally. Power was rattled again and slammed the next
backhand into the tin. White then hit a furious forehand cross court kill
and nicked out a backhand cross court. It was looking more desperate for
the world number six when he was refused a let after a delicate forehand
drop from White.
But it was the Canadian's turn to dig deep and he drew level at 8-8 when
White put a backhand boast in the tin. A no let and a tight forehand drop
later and White stood at match ball. But a loose forehand that ended in a
stroke to Power followed by two tins by White and suddenly Power had game
ball.
On the next rally, Power lost his racket as he made his way into the back
corner to retrieve a White drive. To the Canadian's disgust his appeal for
a let was denied. He came out of the court to argue his case but to no
avail.
Power saved two more match balls and reached a second game ball for
himself with a fabulous backhand volley into the nick. And much to the joy
of the crowd extended the match to a deciding game when he cut off a White
cross court and fired it into the back corner for a winner.
After the disappointment of not closing out the match in the fourth game,
White got himself off to a perfect start in the fifth building a quick 5-0
lead. Power hung in there determinedly but after a big collision in the
middle of the court as he raced back to attempt to retrieve a White drive
he was again frustratingly (for him) denied the let and White led 7-2. A
few rallies later Power hit a backhand out of court and it was 10-3 White.
The Scot converted on his sixth match ball two rallies later when he hit a
forehand cross court winner and secured his place in tomorrow's final.
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Shabana’s Magic too much for Beachill
The crowd took a few minutes to catch their breath before the second
semi-final. For Amr Shabana, this tournament marks only his second time
advancing beyond the quarter-finals of an event since his World Open win
in December 2003. The world number ten lost to Lee Beachill 3-1 in their
last encounter this time last year in the Kuwait Open. Shabana looked
sharp in his win yesterday against James Willstrop and it would be
interesting to see if he could repeat the performance against another
consistent Yorkshireman.
Shabana got off to a good start taking leads of 4-0 and 6-3. He was
finding the nick from anywhere on the court and Beachill was having
trouble putting him under pressure. The Egyptian rattled off the last five
points to close out the game 11-3 in only 8 minutes.
Shabana continued his domination into the early part of the second game
building a 5-2 lead. But Beachill was now extending the rallies and
starting to find a little rhythm. A backhand drop brought him back on
level terms at 6-6. After a number of lets, it was the Egyptian that
seized back the advantage with two winners and a wonderful forehand cross
court nick gave him a 9-7 advantage. A no let call on a tight backhand
drop gave Shabana game ball at 10-8 and another backhand drop winner
secured him the second game.
Beachill battled hard in the early part of the third game. But he was
having a hard time putting the ball away against Shabana. Shabana on the
other hand was demonstrating his wizardry with the racket.
His touch at the front was incredible and he was finding the nick at will.
From 2-3 down he rattled off the last nine points to close out the match.
It was really a remarkable performance by Shabana, to beat the world
number two in 35 minutes and set up a match against John White in the
final tomorrow. |
23-Jan, Quarters:
 Power
Tames
Thierry in Chicago
Phil Yarrow
reports ...
Sunday afternoon and the crowd gathered expectantly in Cathedral Hall for
the quarter-finals of the SSA Global Windy Open. All the match ups were
intriguing but none more so than Thierry Lincou versus Jonathan Power, and
so it proved. The French world number one beat the Canadian 11-8 in the
fifth last month in the final in Toronto.
Power looked in great form yesterday as he swept away Simon Parke and is
brimming with confidence after his victory in Apawamis last week.
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WINDY CITY MAIN PAGE
The University
Club of Chicago
QUARTERS,
23-Jan:
Lee Beachill (Eng) bt
Wael El Hindi (Egy)
11-7, 11-3, 11-1 (33m)
Jonathon Power (Can) bt
Thierry Lincou (Fra)
11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4 (60m)
John White (Sco) bt
Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11-6, 4-11, 11-7, 11-10 (2-0) (55m)
Amr Shabana (Egy) bt
James Willstrop (Eng)
8-11, 11-6, 11-6,11-6 (50m)
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Shabana Magic stops Willstrop
Last match on the all glass court was the up and coming Englishman
James Willstrop versus the shot making magician from Egypt
Amr Shabana. These two players met four times in 2004 and split
the encounters two a piece. After his recent victory in the Pakistan
Open, Willstrop had advanced from 13 in the world rankings to number
five.
Shabana has been going the other way recently as he has dropped to
number ten. Even so, on his day, with his remarkable racket work, he
is clearly capable of beating anyone in the world. Willstrop is from
the same club as Lee Beachill and like his higher ranked training
partner he plays in a very cool, calm and collective manner. He took
a 6-3 advantage by playing very tight and negative Shabana's racket
skills.
Willstrop's touch on his drops was awesome and a slightly frustrated
Egyptian made a few errors to help the Englishman's cause. Willstrop
extended his advantage to 10-6. Shabana dug himself out of desperate
situations in the next two rallies to get back to 8-10, but he
couldn't do it a third time and Willstrop closed out the game 11-8.
Shabana started the second game with more purpose and built leads of
6-4 and 8-5. The rallies were shorter and involved a little more
shot making from both players, which seemed to favor the Egyptian
and he closed out the game 11-6.
The little Egyptian was starting to show some of his shot making
magic and cutting way down on his tins, a dangerous sign for
Willstrop. A 6-2 lead in the third was soon 9-3 and Shabana
eventually closed out the game 11-6 to take a two game to one
advantage.
Willstrop hung in bravely, but Shabana was looking really sharp and
the Yorkshireman was now the one hitting tins and loose shots. Two
strokes against Willstrop gave the world number ten a 7-3 advantage.
At 9-4, Willstrop slapped a forehand volley in the nick, but it was
a short respite as a backhand cross court winner gave Shabana match
ball at 10-5.
Willstrop saved the first match ball with a remarkable forehand drop
winner off a Shabana boast, but he could not return a Shabana
backhand drop in the next rally and the Egyptian saw his way through
to a match up tomorrow with number one seed Lee Beachill.
Amr Shabana
(Egy) bt
James Willstrop (Eng)
8-11, 11-6, 11-6,11-6 (50m)
 |
Gaultier takes
a break
After pulling out of the Windy
City, world no 9 Grégory Gaultier tells Framboise of his injury
problems ...
 "Thanks
for your note asking about my withdrawal from Windy City. Well, I
still have the same injury since Pakistan. As soon as I returned
to France, I had an MRI that showed that the internal part of the
right quadriceps was damaged.
"I had 3 weeks rest, had another MRI, where everything seemed back
to normal, so I returned to training. Unfortunately, 10 days
later, the pain came back, although the MRI doesn’t show anything.
"I am under intensive care, another three weeks without training
or matches. So it will make at least two months away from the
circuit (January and February), but I hope I’ll be back with a
vengeance after that…"
Grégory
Gaultier
©2005 SquashSite |
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One Englishman too
many for El Hindi
 First
on court though, was top seed Lee Beachill. His opponent was
Egyptian Wael El Hindi.
For El Hindi it was his third match in a row against a talented young
Englishman. On Friday, he survived a marathon encounter against Joey
Barrington and then yesterday he upset the reigning Windy City Open
champion Nick Matthew, again in five games. This would be his toughest
assignment to date. The pace of the game was relatively sedate early as
both players appeared to be feeling each other out.
Neither player held the upper hand until three errors in a row by the
Egyptian at 7-7 gave Beachill game ball and he won the game on a forehand
boast from El Hindi that clipped the top of the tin. Beachill's game is
relatively straight forward. He moves effortlessly around the court and
hits the ball with text book technique. There is nothing flashy about his
game but he appears always in total control. In the second game the world
number two immediately found his rhythm and dominated from the start.
Perhaps feeling the effects of his tough matches the previous two days, El
Hindi was error prone and very loose. Beachill was making him pay and won
the game easily 11-3. In the third game the errors came thick and fast
from the Egyptian and he began to show his frustration. It was quickly 4-0
to Beachill. Then El Hindi began to extend the rallies, but he was being
made to do a tremendous amount of work by Beachill. After a massive rally
that the Englishman won to lead 6-1, El Hindi again slipped into mistakes
and Beachill quickly closed out the game 11-1 for a comfortable win to
move into the semi-finals.
Lee Beachill (Eng) bt Wael
El Hindi (Egy)
11-7, 11-3, 11-1 (33m) |
Power Tames Thierry
Then to Lincou and Power. Power strode confidently on court,
finally injury free and in good form for the first time in a while. It was
Lincou, the current world champion though that made the early going
opening a quick 4-0 lead aided by a couple of Power tins. Power steadied
himself and got it back to 5-6 with a wickedly deceptive backhand reverse
boast, tied the score with a beautiful forehand volley drop and took the
lead with an identical shot on the backhand side.
 Power
was finding his stride, a backhand cross court winner made it 8-6, before
two stroke calls got Lincou back on level terms. Not only were Power's
drops precise his length was tight as well. A forehand drive that died in
the back corner made it 9-8 Power, and after a stroke gave him game ball a
perfectly executed forehand drop brought the Canadian the first game 11-8.
In the second game, it was Lincou again that made the better start. And he
again led 4-0 before Power began to fight back. Power seemed to have
Lincou off balance a lot, but the Frenchman was hanging tough hitting
delicate drops and sharp drives to the back.
Unlike the first game where he relinquished the advantage mid way through
this time he pushed on to take a 9-4 lead. A Power tin gave Lincou game
ball at 10-5 and despite a couple of errors that would give Power the
sniff of a comeback he closed out the game 11-8 to level the match at one
game a piece.
The match was fascinatingly poised. Lincou was playing steady, virtually
error free squash. Power was playing...well simply like the Power of
old,with fabulous deception and incredible accuracy but also with the
occasional tin thrown in. At 3-3, Power winced in pain as he he hit miself
with the racket hitting a forehand. After losing the rally Power gave
himself a break by coming off court to discuss with the referee a Lincou
backswing that the Canadian felt was a deliberate attempt to poke him in
the eye.
 Power
was clearly rattled and became more argumentative. The problem for Lincou
is that when Power is rattled he is often at his best and the world number
six rattled off three sublime winners to take a 7-5 advantage. In somewhat
typical Power fashion though this was followed by two tins to tie it back
up.
The play was extremely tight as both players fought for that critical
advantage. It went Power's way and a beautiful backhand drop volley got
him to 10-8. Lincou won the next rally with a drop that stuck to the side
wall, but Power won the game with a fine backhand cross court drive that
died in the back corner as Lincou dived back in vain for it. The packed
crowd was loving every minute of it.
The exertions were starting to take a toll on both players, the let calls
became more frequent and they both took more time between rallies. But the
level of play did not drop a notch, especially from Power who opened up a
6-1 lead with some incredible shots at the front of the court.
Lincou was clearly becoming disheartened, some errors and loose shots
allowed the Canadian to move to 10-2 and despite Lincou winning a couple
of fabulous rallies to save the first two match balls the Frenchman was
clearly tired and he tined on a forehand kill shot to seal the match and a
great win for Jonathon Power.
Jonathon Power (Can) bt Thierry
Lincou (Fra)
11-8, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4 (60m) |
White back on track
 The
third match was between Scotland's John White and Dutch giant
killer Laurens Jan Anjema. Anjema who looked a little indifferent
in the qualifying rounds caused a major upset in the first round yesterday
by beating world number three Peter Nicol. The question on everyone's mind
was whether Anjema could raise his game for a second straight day to take
out another former world number one. At the beginning the Dutchman looked
up for the task as he took an early 5-4 advantage.
But gradually White began to assert control over the match. The Scot
looked relaxed as he swatted forehands into the nick and even managed to
make an unconventional skid boast die in the back corner nick. He quickly
ran out the winner of the first game 11-6.
In the second game though instead of White being unable to miss the nick
this time he couldn't miss the tin. And it was LJ who took a big 9-2 lead
and closed the game out 11-4. Maybe the 22 year-old Dutchman could pull
off another shock win. He was making few errors and again seemed to be
growing with confidence as he built an early 3-1 lead in third.
White stuck with it though and nudged ahead 7-5. It was an entertaining
encounter. Despite their size both players moved well around the court. It
was much more a case of brute force as opposed to the delicate racket
skills and deception seen in the previous match. White kept the advantage
moving to a 9-7 lead and then a wonderfully executed forehand volley drop
and a serve that nicked in the back court gave White the game.
White is based in Nottingham, England. His wife recently gave birth to
twins, which may be part of the reason for his recent slippage in the
world rankings to number 12.
But he clearly still has the talent to regain his top ten position and be
a force at the top of the sport again. It looked like White's experienced
would see him through as moved to a 5-3 lead in the fourth. But Anjema won
a monster rally with a sharp backhand volley and it was followed by three
White tins to make the outcome look much more uncertain. Another forehand
tin gave Anjema a 9-6 lead and a stroke gave him game ball at 10-7. White
hit a backhand cross court nick to save the first game ball and a forehand
winner made it 9-10.
An Anjema tin tied it at 10-10 and after some great gets by White another
tin gave him match ball. The Scot sealed it with a tight backhand rail and
breathed a huge sigh of relief as he advanced to a semi-final show down
with Jonathon Power.
John White (Sco) bt Laurens
Jan Anjema (Ned)
11-6, 4-11, 11-7, 11-10 (2-0) (55m)
©2005 SquashSite |
22-Jan, First Round:
Chicago Cold Can't Stop LJ
Phil Yarrow and Aidan Harrisson
report from Chicago
It was fitting that the highest quality international squash field ever
assembled in Chicago should be greeted by a typical January Chicago snow
fall that dropped over a foot of snow on the city.
It did not stop eager squash enthusiasts from gathering in Cathedral Hall
at the University Club for the first round of the main draw of the 2005
SSA Global Windy City Open. They were treated to some marvelous squash
including a major upset and the demise of the defending champion ...
Anjema Aces Nicol
Laurens Jan Anjema may not yet be a household name in the world of
squash but the Dutch number two has been playing better and better over
the past few days in this tournament and today pulled off a major upset by
beating English world number three Peter Nicol.
LJ to his friends, the Dutchman was in a zone, he dominated Nicol from
start to finish with virtually error free squash. He took the ball early
pinning Nicol deep in the back corners and then punishing the loose
returns with tight drops and sharp kills. The world number 38 took a 7-3
lead in the first game and then closed out the game 11-5. At 4-4 in the
second he again took over.
 Nicol
looked uncharacteristically error prone as he tried to find away to move
Anjema off the T. Anjema quickly rapped up the second 11-6. Nicol finally
started to find some rhythm in the third as Anjema started to slow down.
At 7-2 it looked as if the Englishman might be beginning to take control.
But Anjema had other ideas. He fought back to 6-8 and then with two inch
perfect backhand drop shots tied it at 8-8. Anjema took the lead after
finishing off a tremendous rally with a wrong footing backhand boast. A
forehand drop took him to match ball and a Nicol tin capped the Dutchman’s
best win of his life.
Willstrop's repeat over Ricketts
One of the most eagerly awaited matches of the day was the rematch of last
month’s Pakistan Open final between James Willstrop of England and
Australian Anthony Ricketts. Willstrop won the Islamabad encounter
3-1. The Englishman got off to a flying start today, playing at a fast
pace, volleying everything and hitting great length. He overwhelmed the
Australian early, building a 6-1 lead and then going on to take the game
11-3. Ricketts, the world number nine, came out in more determined fashion
at the beginning of the second and aided by some nice trickle boasts at
the front of the court built a 6-4 lead.
The pace slowed a little as both players looked to grind it out. A couple
of untimely tins by Ricketts though gave Willstrop an 8-7 advantage and
the world number five closed out the game 11-7, to take a two game
advantage. Ricketts opened up a 5-2 lead in the third. But Willstrop then
began a five point run, with a sublime crosscourt volley drop off a
Ricketts back wall boast. At 7-5, Ricketts won a tremendous rally with a
great forehand volley drop and then he went ahead 8-7 with a perfectly
executed backhand drop. But on this day, Willstrop was not going to be
denied.
The final rallies involved some frenetic retrieving, but also some
Ricketts tins and Willstrop took the game 11-9 to finish off the match.
Beachill & Lincou ease through
The first match of the day was between two gentleman of the modern game,
Lee Beachill and Mohammed Abbas. In the opening rallies both
players tried to find a good length on the all glass court. Beachill, the
silent assassin, moving with grace, controlled the tempo and executed
whenever he was given an opening with a combination of delicate drops and
precise depth. The Englishman who is the top seed in the tournament and
the current world number two won the first game 11-5. After a small lapse
of concentration in the second, the Yorkshireman sailed through the next
two games 11-10 (2-1) and 11-5.
Thierry Lincou looked energized as he romped through the first two
games against Australian Dan Jensen. In the third though Jensen
began to pound the ball deep into the back corners with good effect. He
had the world number one looking in a bit of trouble and took the third
game 11-9 to extend the match. The fourth was also close. But Jensen was
now obviously beginning to tire and went down 11-9 as the Frenchman
clinched his spot in the quarter-finals.
White & Power take it easy
Next up was an entertaining encounter between Aussie born Scot John
White and Canadian Graham Ryding. White, the number five seed
and a former world number one came through in three well-contested games.
Ryding, a semi-finalist last year, used his speed and agility to do his
best to test White, but was constantly under pressure from the Scot’s hard
hitting length and precise kill shots.
Of the battle of the veterans, 30 year-old Jonathon Power beat 32
year-old Simon Parke. Parke battled bravely, but Power is looking
like the Power of old, moving his opponent at will, attacking constantly
and of course making full use of his patented deception. Power took just
30 minutes to see off his English opponent and set up a delicious match up
with current world number one Thierry Linocu in the quarter final
tomorrow.
Shabana sorts out Pilley
Another qualifier that looked on his way to a quick exit was Australian
world number 41 Cameron Pilley. Pilley was up against Egyptian
Amr Shabana. Shabana is arguably the best shot player on the circuit
today and he used his racket wizardry to quickly win the first two games
11-3, 11-2. Rather than go down easily, the Australian showed what is he
capable of in third game and opened up a 7-2 lead. Shabana tried to close
the gap, but Pilley held out to win the game 11-6. It was back to all
Shabana in the fourth though, as he again dominated the court and ran out
a comfortable 11-4 winner.
El Hindi beats Defending Champ
Last on court was Wael El Hindi, involved in another contentious
battle against a young Englishman. This time the Egyptian’s opponent was
the reigning Windy City Open champion Nick Matthew.
El Hindi, coming off a fierce five game battle versus Joey Barrington the
previous day, started well against Matthew. He again used his patient
length to good effect and his delicate drop shots were deadly. He wrapped
up the first game 11-8 with a fabulous forehand cross court volley nick.
In the second Matthew dominated early and quickly built a 9-1 lead before
closing out the game 11-3 to level the match. The third and fourth were
hard fought tight affairs, El Hindi found the strength to push on from 8-8
to take the third 11-8. But it was Matthew in the fourth game who played
well at the critical time as he took the last four points to win it 11-7
and set up a decisive fifth game.
The let calls continued to come with even more frequency at the beginning
of the fifth game as neither player wanted to give up the early advantage.
It was El Hindi though that did begin to get the upper hand as he built
leads of 5-1 and 7-2. Matthew dug deep and got back to 6-8, before a
forehand kill by El Hindi put him back on track again.
After running El Hindi all over the court a forehand drop into the tin by
Matthew gave the Egyptian match ball at 10-7 and he closed out the match
on a disputed no let call. |
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21-Jan, Qualifying Finals
Windy City Open Heats Up
Despite the blizzard-like weather outside, things are heating up inside
the University Club of Chicago, with qualifying now complete as the
$50,000 event moves to the show courts of the University Club of Chicago
on the seventh and ninth floors.
Phil Yarrow and Aidan Harrisson
report from Chicago
El Hindi outlasts Joey
Wael El Hindi triumphed in an ill-tempered battle against Joey
Barrington to be the first player to advance out of the qualifying and
into the main draw. The world number 21 advanced 3-2 in an hour and forty
minute tussle that was punctuated by many mid-court collisions and let
calls.
 Barrington
struggled early as El Hindi dictated the pace with slow drives and precise
drop shots. The Egyptian built up an early 8-2 lead, his delicate cross
court drops being particularly effective. Barrington tried to play more
aggressively and did manage to get back to 6-8 before El Hindi closed out
the game 11-8. El Hindi started the second game in similar fashion,
advancing to a 5-2 lead. But Barrington was more determined to grind it
out and began to attack more to counter El Hindi’s drops.
The game began to get more intense as both players jockeyed for position.
El Hindi had game ball at 10-8, but a backhand drop winner from the
Englishman followed by tight backhand straight drive tied it at 10-10 and
then after a couple of lets Barrington won the next two rallies to tie the
match at a game a piece. What had threatened in the second game began to
take hold in the third.
Both players became increasingly frustrated as Barrington felt that El
Hindi was not clearing and El Hindi believed Barrington was constantly
playing the man. In fairness it was probably a bit of both making for some
tough refereeing decisions for Beau River. The game itself was an epic,
tight throughout, with some great retrieving and shot playing from both
competitors.
Barrington was first to game ball as he stood at 10-9, but a no let tied
it up. Both players continued to save game balls until a winning boast by
El Hindi secured the 30 minute game 15-13. Barrington got off to a great
start in the fourth game, quickly taking a 7-2 advantage. The squash was
still littered with let calls, but it was gripping stuff all the same. El
Hindi fought back to 7-8, but this is as close as he would get as
Barrington went on to take the game 11-8. El Hindi had the early advantage
in the all important fifth. He led 7-3 and then 8-5.
At this point, after yet another collision with the Egyptian, Barrington’s
contact lens was dislodged and he took his three minute injury break to
take care of it. He came back and immediately went 10-5 down. He saved a
couple of match balls before El Hindi closed it out 11-7. El Hindi drew
Nick Matthew in the main draw.
LJ Halts Heather
The second match involved Mark Heather who had upset Shahier Razik
the previous day. Heather was trying to upset the world rankings again as
he took on the 38th ranked LJ Anjema from Holland.
The Englishman again got off to a poor start and made several errors as he
allowed Anjema to open a big lead. The tall Dutchman closed out the game
11-6. The squash was better from heather in the second as he took a 6-4
lead. Anjema looks a little awkward, but his unorthodox swing is very
effective and he played solidly to take back the advantage and win the
game 11-8. LJ as he likes to be known took an early lead in the third 8-3,
kept his focus and finally closed out the match 11-5. LJ drew Peter Nicol
in the main draw.
Pilley Pounces on Zaman
Two promising stars of the Professional tour, Shahid Zaman from
Pakistan and Australian Cameron Pilley enlightened the crowd with
scintillating squash. Pilley took control from the very first point and
led 5-1 before Zaman found his signature shot the backhand low kill. After
a tense tie breaker , the tall Australian absorbed the pressure by hitting
tight precise length 13-11. Entering his fourth season on the tour ,
Pilley has the composure and racket skill to be a top ten player quick. He
controls the T working all four corners with mixed pace, deception and
confidence.
He rolled off the next two games 11-9, 11-7 to set up an exciting first
round match with Amr Shabana.
Parke to take on Power
Simon Parke, the veteran tour
player and former world no.3 went head to head with another young England
protégé Jonathan Kemp. Parke entertained the crowd with his
excellent athletism chasing his opponents constant volley pressure and
squeaked out the first 11-9.
His recent bout of the flu took its toll on Parke and he lost the second
comfortably 11-5. But Kemp did not realize the experience of the tough
Yorkshire hard man. Kemp jumped onto a 3-0 lead in the third only to be
binfolded and lose the next ten points in a row. Parke ended the game 11-5
heading into the fourth with renewed confidence.
He exploited his younger opponent with a slower paced game and destroyed
Kemp in the fourth 11-3. Parke drew Jonathan Power in the Main Draw
©2005 SquashSite |
Qualifying Round One:
Qualifying Day one:
Phil Yarrow reports from Chicago
 Mark
Heather opened the 2005 SSA Global Windy City Open with an upset
victory over Canadian Shahier Razik in the first qualifying round.
Razik, who at 30 in the world rankings is 26 places higher than the
Englishman, looked set to cruise to a comfortable victory after winning
the first game 11-5 and building a 10-6 lead in the second. However,
Heather suddenly found his game and reeled off 11 points in a row to take
the second game and a 5-0 lead in the third.
Razik attempted to fight back, but Heather was now playing very steadily
and picking his spots to hit winners. Razik got back to 5-7, but that is
as close as he would get as Heather took the final four points to win the
game 11-5. The Canadian took an early 5-2 lead in the fourth. But Heather
quickly pulled it back to 5-5 and then at 7-7 again Heather stepped his
game up at the decisive time to close out the game 11-7 and complete his
first victory in three attempts against Razik.
Heather will now face LJ Anjema tomorrow. The Dutch number two
narrowly over came a spirited effort from Nicholas Kyme of Bermuda. Kyme
took the first game 11-10 (2-0) and narrowly lost the third game 10-11
(2-4). But LJ finally ran out the winner in four games.
 One
of the most anticipated matches of the day was the match up between
Shahid Zaman of Pakistan and Frenchman Stephane Galifi. Zaman
has quickly advanced to number 21 in the world and is brimming with
confidence after winning his biggest PSA event to date in
Virginia last week.
After a three year absence from the tour Galifi has quickly established
himself back in the top 50 and is himself shooting for the top 25. Zaman
took the first game 11-7, but Galifi struck back quickly and decisively in
the second to take it 11-3. The 22-year old Pakistani is in fine form at
the moment though and his attacking style was too much for the Frenchman.
He controlled the third and fourth games winning them 11-9, 11-7 to
advance to the second qualifying round tomorrow.
The last match of the day involved local favourite Beau River.
River, the only American in the draw, battled well in the first game
against young Australian Cameron Pilley. Pilley, currently ranked
41 in the world, began to take control after that though and eased
comfortably through to a 3-0 victory.
Preview:
Windy City Open Upgraded for 2005
 Significantly upgraded for 2005, the SSA Global Windy City Open
features a $50k prize fund which has attracted a quality field with eight
of the world's top ten.
New world number one Thierry Lincou is seeded two, with Lee
Beachill, who Lincou deposed as number one as well as beating him in
the World Open final, seeded two. Lincou was champion here in 2001.
Defending champion England's Nick Matthew, seeded six, faces a qualifier
and then a possible quarter-final with Beachill, while 2004 runner-up
Gregory Gaultier is seeded eight and faces a tough first round match
against Anthony Ricketts. Gaultier is a familiar face in Chicago,
also reaching the final in 2002 and 2003.
With Peter Nicol, John White and Jonathon Power, all
former number ones, plus 2003 world champion Amr Shabana in the
draw specators are in for a treat at Illinois University Athletic Club,
where the glass court situated on the ninth floor.
Steve Cubbins
©SquashSite
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