TOURNAMENT UPDATES

IN THE NEWS

January 23, 2008

CANADIAN RAZIK DENIED A REPEAT BY ENGLISHMAN GRANT

January 20, 2008

Seeking a repeat is always difficult as Canadian #1 Shahier Razik found out in the final match played this afternoon at the Evergreen Squash Club in North Vancouver at the $30,000 2008 Comfort Inn Open, presented by Hosting BC and Odlum Brown.

Slow starts are a well known part of Razik´s modus operandi. And, accordingly, he fell behind 3–8 in the 1st game despite some extraordinarily long rallies at a steady rhythmic pace. From time to time this pace would change to a lightening quick as one or the other starting searching for the nick. But Grant managed to stay the course and won the first game 11–7.

Then, in the second game, Shahier started to be more effective and, aided by five straight tins by Grant, he racked up seven consecutive points to win the game 11–4 and tie the match 1–1.

The third game was particularly interesting as the two engaged in a seesaw battle similar to two boxers probing each other for weaknesses. Non were found through 4–4 and then Shahier built a nice 8–6 lead. Grant fought his way back to tie the game at 9–9 when Razik notched two consecutive points for the 11–9 win and a 2–1 lead in games.

But something clicked for the #18th player in the world and Adrian started to find the nick with some very handy high cut cross courts, particularly on the forehand side and scored eight straight points to take an 8–1 lead. He then gave up one more point and won the game 11–2 and tied the match 2–2.

The very appreciative, close to capacity crowd, tried to motivate their defending champion in the hopes that he could stem the momentum that Grant had built up. Alas, it was not to be as Grant had found the probe he was looking for and used his formidable offensive skills to the max. The key features seem to be a carefully crafted mixture of straight drives and cross courts that kept Shahier scrambling out of the back corners only to fall victim to a well disguised cross court drop or straight drop. The end was quick as Grant won the game 11–1 and the match 3–2 in 88 mins.

This concluded a fabulous week of squash, not only with the PSA professionals, but also with the 150 amateurs who were competing at the same time. Large, enthusiastic crowds were in attendance throughout the event, including the qualifying rounds, which the players seem to feed off. And Adrian wasn´t the only winner this week as all the squash enthusiasts who were able to witness this or any of the other matches seem to think they had received full value for the time and money spent.

Looking forward to next year!!!!

The final results are:

  • (2) Adrian Grant (Eng) def (3) Shahier Razik (Can)
    11–7; 4–11; 9–11; 11–2; 11–1 in 88 mins
Paul Marley
Tournament Committee
January 20, 2008

SHAHIER NOTCHES MASSIVE WIN

January 19, 2008

#3 seed, Shahier Razik (Can), registered a massive upset by knocking off the #1 seed, Stewart Boswell (Aus), 3–1 in the semifinals of the 2008 Comfort Inn Open, presented by Hosting BC and Odlum Brown. The matches are being played at the Evergreen Squash Club in North Vancouver and the crowd of 250 showered their favourite son with a long round of thunderous applause in appreciation of his achievement.

The match started in typical Shahier fashion—ultra slow. He lost the first game 11–1 and some of gallery whispered that this might be a quick match. But those fans didn´t appreciate that somehow this start is programmed into his DNA and that all was not lost.

Starting with the second game we saw Shahier establish the rhythm we are accustomed to seeing. In other words, he communicated by his actions that he was going to retrieve all balls unless they crawled out of the nick. And this he did as only a few can do. Even though Boswell´s games features a more varied offensive arsenal than Shahier´s, coupled with the ability to play "tall" even for a relatively tall man, he couldn´t hit enough winners to get the job done and Razik went on to win the match 11–8, 11–7 and 11–7 in 62 minutes. The crowd erupted with a long standing ovation.

The second match featured two Englishmen with contrasting styles sufficient to interest the most avid squash fan. The hard hitting Bradley Ball, ranked #34 was probably the crowd favourite as he was very favourably received by the fans in his visit last year. But it was well known that Adrian Grant, ranked #18, was a formidable opponent and would likely deal up all that Ball could handle. The scoresheet would indicate that Grant was having an easy time of it by building up leads of 6–2 in the first game and 7–4 in the second game and then proceeding to win both. But, in reality, Grant had to work very hard to gain the advantage and seemed to do so by being as quick as a cat and showing an array of well disguised shots. But somewhere along the line, whether in this match or in a previous match, Ball had tweaked his left knee and was visibly wincing in the second game. The pain intensified and he had to retire very early in the third game and the hope is that he has not suffered a serious injury.

So this sets up a wonderful final, with the local favourite, and defending champion, Shahier Razik, thought of as the marathon man, taking on a higher ranked player, Adrian Grant, who has an impressive array of offensive weapons at his disposal. We can hardly wait.

The final match is at 3:00pm tomorrow:

  • (2) Adrian Grant (Eng) vs (3) Shahier Razik (Can)

The semifinal results are:

  • (3) Shahier Razik (Can) def (1) Stewart Boswell (Aus)
    1–11; 11–8; 11–7; 11–7 in 62 mins
  • (2) Adrian Grant (Eng) def (4) Bradley Ball (Eng)
    11–7; 11–8; retired; in 48 mins
Paul Marley
Tournament Committee
January 19, 2008

SEEDS WERE PERFECT – BUT IT WASN´T EASY

January 18, 2008

The quarter final round of the 2008 Comfort Inn Open, presented by Hosting BC and Odlum Brown, were concluded this evening at the Evergreen Squash Club in North Vancouver with all four seeds going through to the semifinals. Only one match was a 3–0 result with all the other matches being 3–1.

The evening started with top seed, Stewart Boswell (Aus), dictating the pace and controlling the court to win the first game relatively easily, 11–4, against his popular Canadian opponent Shawn Delierre. Shawn then took over the early part of the second game and sprinted out to a 5–2 lead only to see it slowly disappear into an 11–9 loss. Appearing to not be discouraged Delierre again seized the lead 6–1 in the third and this time he won the game convincingly, 11–5. In the fourth game, Boswell again established his dominance and cruised to an 11–3 victory and a 3–1 win to book a place in the semifinals.

The second match featured the defending champion Shahier Razik who made many friends at the Evergreen Squash Club in his successful visit last year. The gallery has become used to the Razik trademark which is to start slowly and then exhaust his opponent over time. True to form Razik started slowly but was at his retrieving best and while his opponent, number seven seed, Julian Illingworth (USA), won the game, he appeared to pay the price physically in this grueling thirty minute game. Razik then found his form, and his drop shot, and sailed through the next two games 11–5 &11–3. The gallery had written off the seemingly exhausted Illingworth but somewhere deep down he found some unused resources and came up with a gritty effort in his 11–7 loss. So Razik also has a place in the semis against the #1 seed Stewart Boswell (Aus).

The score and the time seems to indicate that the number four seed, Bradley Ball (Eng), had a relatively easy time in dispatching Hungary´s Mark Krajcsak in three straight. But we think this superficial examination doesn´t pass the test. Krajcsak put in a very solid effort this evening and his crisp shots, although perhaps not as hard as Ball´s, were very effective. The first game featured many extended rallies throughout resulting in a relatively long game and an 11–9 result. Perhaps this game was Krajcsak´s undoing as he seemed to get tired thereafter and more and more errors were soon creeping into his game. Consequently, Ball prevailed 11–6 in each of the next two games for the victory which was achieved in 42 minutes, the shortest match of the evening.

The final match of the evening was the eagerly anticipated match between the talented 19 year old, Tarek Momen (Egy), and the second seed Adrian Grant (Eng). Momen had impressed the gallery with his brilliant play last evening and when he showed some of that same magic and took the first game 11–9, the crowd started to sense an upset in the making. But, Adrian Grant is #18 in the world for a reason and he started to calmly and coolly take control of the court and the Momen-tum that we saw in the first game started to disappear. But the match continued to be very competitive with Grant winning the next three games 11–8, 11–9 and 11–5. We think we will hear of many fine results as Tarek Momen´s career develops.

This sets up the second semifinal between Adrian Grant and Bradley Ball who are very good friends and roommates for this tournament.

The semifinal matches are at 2:00pm &3:30 tomorrow in this order:

  • (1) Stewart Boswell (Aus) vs (3) Shahier Razik (Can)
  • (2) Adrian Grant (Eng) vs (4) Bradley Ball (Eng)

This evening´s results are:

  • (1) Stewart Boswell (Eng) def (8) Shawn Delierre (Can)
    11–4; 11–9; 5–11; 11–3 in 72 mins
  • (3) Shahier Razik (Can) def (7) Julian Illingworth (USA)
    10–11 (2–0);11–5;11–3;11–7 in 73 mins
  • (4) Bradley Ball (Eng) def Mark Krajcsak(Hun)
    11–9;11–6;11–6 in 42 mins
  • (2) Adrian Grant (Eng) def Tarek Momen (Egy)
    9–11; 11–8; 11–9; 11–5 in 51 mins
Paul Marley
Tournament Committee
January 18, 2008

SEEDS SCORE A 6–2 SQUASH VICTORY AT EVERGREEN

January 17, 2008

The first round of the main draw of the 2008 Comfort Inn Open, presented by Hosting BC and Odlum Brown, were concluded this evening at the Evergreen Squash Club in North Vancouver with seeds prevailing in six of the eight matches.

The upsets were provided by Mark Krajcsak (Hun), defeating the #5 seed, Chris Ryder and Tarek Momen (Egy), defeating the #6 seed, Liam Kenny.

A strong contender for match of the day was the five set Krajcsak/Ryder battle which featured two players who appeared almost identical in size, style and competitiveness. Krajcsak had to rally from 6–10 down in the 5th to win in the tie breaker (2–0) in 67 mins.

The other contender for match of the day was the see-saw war waged by Julian Illingworth (USA) and Amr Swelin (Egy). They are both close in age (they both turn 24 in the first half of 2008) and both have similar PSA experience—this is Julian´s 37th PSA appearance and Amr´s 40th appearance. Although Swelin was able to stave off match balls in the third and fifth game, and had match ball in the fifth, it was Illingworth who won the match in the tie breaker in 82 minutes. The crowd loved it.

The other upset saw the 19 year old Tarek Momen (Egy) take on the much more experienced veteran, Liam Kenny and dazzle with his shot making and court coverage. The crowd was most impressed as he seemed to have little difficulty in the 33 minute match. He should be well rested for his big test tomorrow against the #2 seed, Adrian Grant.

The Canadian supporters were treated with an outstanding match between two high profile Canadian players, #8 seed Shawn Delierre and David Phillips. These two quick, athletic, hard hitters provided many thrills for the crowd but Delierre´s touch combined with Phillips´ errors proved the difference in this 55 minute contest.

The remaining seeds: #1 Stewart Boswell looked comfortable in his 3–1 victory over Canada´s Matthew Giuffre; #2 Adrian Grant (Eng) was too much for the popular Simon Rosner (Ger); Shahier Razik (Can), the #3 seed and defending champion had too much patience and fitness for the very youthful (19 years old) and the very talented Khawaja Adil Maqbool (Pak); and #4 Bradley Ball (Eng) had to work very hard for his 3–0 victory over Bernardo Samper (Col) in 53 minutes.

The quarter final matches start at 6:00pm tomorrow and the lineup is as follows:

  • (1) Steward Boswell (Eng) vs (8) Shawn Delierre (Can)
  • (3) Shahier Razik (Can) vs (7) Julian Illingworth (USA)
  • (4) Bradley Ball (Eng) vs Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
  • (2) Adrian Grant (Eng) vs Tarek Momen (Egy)

This evening´s results are:

  • (1) Stewart Boswell (Eng) def Matthew Giuffre (Can)
    10–11 (2–0); 11–6; 11–4; 11–3 in 48 mins
  • (8) Shawn Delierre (Can) def David Phillips (Can)
    11–9; 11–9; 11–9 in 55 mins
  • (3) Shahier Razik (Can) def Khawaja Adil Maqbool (Pak)
    11–5; 11–10 (2–0); 7–11; 11–3 in 48 mins
  • (7) Julian Illingworth (USA) def Amr Swelin (Egy)
    11–7;11–6;10–11(2–0);1–11; 11–10(4–2) in 82 mins
  • (4) Bradley Ball (Eng) def Bernardo Samper (Col)
    11–9; 11–9; 11–10 (2–0) in 53 mins
  • Mark Krajcsak (Hun) def (5) Chris Ryder(Eng)
    11–7 5–11;11–10(2–0);10–11(4–2);11–10(2–0) in 67 mins
  • Tarek Momen (Egy) def (6) Liam Kenny (Irl)
    11–7; 11–9; 11–5 in 33 mins
  • (2) Adrian Grant (Eng) def Simon Rosner (Ger)
    3–1
Paul Marley
Tournament Committee
January 17, 2008

WONDERFUL PAKISTANI FLAVOUR AT EVERGREEN LAST NIGHT

January 16, 2008

The qualifying rounds of the 2008 Comfort Inn Open, presented by Hosting BC and Odlum Brown, were concluded this evening at the Evergreen Squash Club in North Vancouver.

The match of the night was a battle featuring two 19 year old Pakistani lions, Khawaja Adil Maqbool (we call him Adil) and the slightly higher ranked, by 11 places, Yasir Butt. They both played brilliant, attacking, entertaining squash showing flashes of raw power, stunning exhibitions of agility and wonderful shotmaking which many have come to consider the Pakistani "style". Any weak shot was immediately the recipient of a punishing return only to be run down and returned again – time after time. Amazingly, each game ended in a tiebreaker, each with an identical score in the tiebreaker and each, despite Butt holding a game ball in two of the three games, was won by Maqbool. This was a wonderfully entertaining match.

The evening opened with a relatively short match featuring the very quick and experienced Bernardo Samper (Col) taking control at a very early stage and dismissing the game, and improving, Jaymie Haycocks (Eng) 3–0 in 32 minutes.

Robin Clarke, the lone Canadian emerging out of last night´s 1st round qualifying round, showed a ton of grit and determination in his 3–1 loss to the more highly touted Amr Swelin of Egypt. This was a match of contrasting style featuring Robin´s height, power and wingspan vs Amr´s quickness and agility. Although it seemed at times that Amr was going to run away with the match, Robin wouldn´t go away. However, in the end, quickness prevailed.

And the final match of the evening featured the very popular German, Simon Rosner, who has endeared himself to the Evergreen galleries over the past three years, taking on the very likeable but overmatched Malaysian, Mohd. Nafiizwan Adnan, who happily for his new Canadian friends likes to be called "One". The big German simply had too many weapons and exerted enormous pressure on One that the match was concluded in 33 minutes with a 3–0 score.

This sets up a very exciting opening round of the main draw tomorrow with 16 players competing from 9 countries including 3 members of Canada´s national team that won 6th place in the World Team Championships in India early in December 2007. Stewart Boswell (Eng) is the tournament´s #1 seed and is ranked #13 in the world. The matches start at 6:00pm with the following lineup:

  • Stewart Boswell (Eng) vs Matthew Giuffre (Can)
  • Shawn DeLierre (Can) vs David Phillips (Can)
  • Shahier Razik (Can) vs Khawaja Adil Maqbool (Pak)
  • Julian Illingworth (USA) vs Amr Swelin (Egy)
  • Bradley Ball (Eng) vs Bernardo Samper (Col)
  • Chris Ryder (Eng) vs Mark Krajcsak (Hun)
  • Adrian Grant (Eng) vs Simon Rosner (Ger)
  • Liam Kenny (IRL) vs Tarek Momen (Egy)

This evening´s results are as follows:

  • Bernardo Samper (Col) def Jaymie Haycocks (Eng)
    11–8; 11–7 11–5 in 32 mins
  • Amr Swelin (Egy) def Robin Clarke (Can)
    11–3; 11–10 (2–0); 9–11; 11–8 in 53 mins
  • Khawaja Adil Maqbool (Pak) def Yasir Butt (Pak)
    11–10 (3–1); 11–10 (3–1); 11–10 (3–1) in 44 mins
  • Simon Rosner (Ger) def Mohd. Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas)
    11–7; 11–3; 11–7 in 33 mins
Paul Marley
Tournament Committee
January 16, 2008

LONE CANADIAN STANDING AFTER 1ST QUALIFYING ROUND

January 15, 2008

The qualifying rounds of the 2008 Comfort Inn Open, presented by Hosting BC and Odlum Brown, started this evening with eight Canadians competing and one surviving. Of course it helped that Robin Clarke was playing a fellow Canadian which insured a Canadian presence in the final round of qualifying tomorrow in matches being played at the Evergreen Squash Club in North Vancouver.

On paper, the Canadian contingent was hopelessly overmatched, on the basis of world rankings, as five of the matches pitted our boys against rivals whose rankings were at least 50% of theirs.

Accordingly, #68 ranked Amr Swelin (Egy) easily dispatched #145 Michal Reid (Can) 3–0 dispite a wonderful effort by Reid in the 1st game to overcome a 9–3 deficit only to succumb in overpoints 13–11 and eventually lose the match 3–0.

Matthew Serediak (Can) ranked #202 proved very gritty in the first game against #84, Adil Maqgool (Pak), by tying the 1st game 8 all but ultimately losing 11–9 and eventually the match 3–0.

The same fate awaited #221 Tyler Hamilton (Can) in his match against #91 Mohd Adnan who cruised to a 3–0 victory in spite of a very spirited 2nd game which was a showcase for the talents of both players.

#168 Keith Pritchard (Can) proved to be a better competitor than #72 Yasir Butt (Pak) expected, as Pritchard took the 1st game 11–6 and made Butt work hard for his 3–1 victory particularly in the final two games.

And then, #366 Justin Todd (Can) seemed to startle #67 Simon Rosner (Ger) with his agility, variety of shots and willingness to endlessly retrieve. Todd gave a wonderful effort and the 3–1 score line doesn't give a completely accurate picture of the closeness of this match.

The evening wouldn't be complete with what some might consider a minor upset as #185 Jamie Haycocks (Eng) overcame #139 Andrew MacDougall (Can) 3–0 in a match that was also much closer than it would appear. The 3rd game was particularly interesting as MacDougall built a 9–4 lead only to see Haycocks hit some impressive winners to take third game 12–10 and the match 3–0.

Finally there was the all Canadian match with #80 Robin Clarke winning 3–0 over #160 Dave Glass in a battle of two big guys who can really hammer the ball with Clarke having a clear edge.

Play continues tomorrow at 6:00pm with the following four matches in the second round of the qualification draw:

  • Bernardo Samper (Col) vs Jamie Haycocks (Eng)
  • Amr Swelin (Egy) vs Robin Clarke (Can)
  • Khawaja Adil Maqbool (Pak) vs Yasir Butt (Pak)
  • Mohd. Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) vs Simon Rosner (Ger)

This evening's results are as follows:

  • Amr Swelin (Egy) def Michal Reid (Can)
    13–11; 11–6 11–5 in 35 mins
  • Jamie Haycocks (Eng) def Andrew McDougall (Can)
    11–6; 11–7; 12–10 in 31 mins
  • Khawaja Adil Maqgool (Pak) def Matthew Serediak (Can)
    11–9; 11–4; 11–5 in 21 mins
  • Robin Clarke (Can) def Dave Glass (Can)
    11–3; 11–4; 11–5 in 25 mins
  • Yasir Butt (Pak) def Keith Pritchard (Can)
    6–11; 11–5; 11–9; 11–8 in 36 mins
  • Mohd. Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) def Tyler Hamilton (Can)
    11–5; 11–9; 11–3 in 31 mins
  • Simon Rosner (Ger) def Justin Todd (Can)
    11–7; 11–5; 6–11; 11–6 in 36 mins
Paul Marley
Tournament Committee
January 15, 2008

Pro Draw Loses Two Players

January 15, 2008

Some tough news this am. The two remaining Pakistani players who had not reported in, our #4 seed, Aamir Atlas Khan, and our #10 seed, Farhan Mehboob, have been refused visas and have withdrawn.

This means that Bernard Reid, Mike Reid's brother is in the qualifying draw; but, as he is based in Montreal it is unlikely he will make it. This provides an opportunty to a locally based PSA player, ranked #338, who will make his PSA North Vancouver debut. It also means that if Bernard Reid is unable to make the flight, local players Viktor Berg and/or Andrew Lynn will have a chance to participate.

See the Draw page for the updated Pro Draw and Entry List.

Schedule of Events

  • Tuesday Jan 15 - PSA Qualifying First Round starts at 6PM
  • Wednesday, Jan 16 - PSA Qualifying Second Round starts at 6PM
  • Thursday, Jan 17 - PSA Main Draw First Round starts at 6PM
  • Friday, Jan 18 - PSA Quarter Finals start at 6PM
  • Saturday, Jan 19 - PSA Semi-Finals start at 2PM<
  • Saturday, Jan 19 - Tournament Dinner at Capilano Golf Club - extra tickets available
  • Sunday, Jan 20 - PSA Final starts at 3PM

Tournament Coverage in Province

January 12, 2008

The following article appeared in the Province on Friday: Province Article.

Update on Pro Draw

December 16, 2007

Letter from Paul Marley - regarding draw and opportunities. PDF Format.

Get Involved

Check the Draw section for confirmed PSA players.

Check the Tickets section for ticket prices.

Registration for the tournament is now open. Register today.

  

Evergreen Squash Club
1802 Glenaire Drive, North Vancouver BC  V7P 1Y1
604.985.8636