AussieNick Squash National Capital Open PSA 2009

Organizers are extremely pleased with the support that players have given the 1.5 star ASTI National Capital Open 2009. The main draw has Shahier Razik (Can,#27) as the top seed, and has significant depth throughout with all players save the wildcard from the PSA top 80. All qualifiers appeared as scheduled and one reserve, South Africa's TG Raubenheimer, took a spot when local teaching pro Jahangir Naseem needed to withdraw.

The competition in the first round qualifiers was even tougher than the 2* event in 2008. The reserve Raubenheimer perhaps providing the high point of the day, with a near upset over Josh Greenfield. The match set off at a cracking pace and only slowed in brief spots after several remarkably long rallies. Greenfield controlled a lot of the match but all the extra running did not trouble Raubenheimer who appears to have an endless supply of stamina. A gripping 16/14 result in five sets kept the local audience riveted for 76 minutes.

Richmond pro, Patrick Chifunda, was too strong for Ben Olliner of the US. Olliner remarked after the match that he learnt a lot and felt he was in a lot of the points but sustaining the pace and consistency at that level was still an issue after only 4 pro tournaments.

Spain's David Vidal got out of the blocks well against the top seed in the qualifiers Robin Clarke. Vidal had game points to take a 2-0 lead, but Clarke kept his head and through some of the longest rallies ever seen at the National Capital Open, wore Vidal down to a near walk compared to his earlier pace. Vidal withered to lose the second in a tie breaker and never recovered from that point to give Clarke the match in an hour of entertaining squash.

Joshua Greenfield(NZL) d TG Raubenheimer(RSA) 5/11, 11/8, 7/11, 12/10, 16/14 (76 mins)

Arthur Gaskin(IRL) d Patrick Chifunda(ZAM) 11/8, 10/12, 11/5, 9/11, 11/2 (66 mins)

Martin Knight(NZL) d (8)Campbell Grayson(NZL) 11/7, 6/11, 11/7, 6/11, 11/5 (91m)

(2)Julian Illingworth(USA) d (6)Yasser El Hallaby(EGY) 11/7, 11/8, 2/11, 11/4 (64m)

Martin knight continued his march at the National Capital open, upsetting countryman Campbell Grayson. The two kiwis were evenly matched throughout the contest despite the contrast in their styles. As in the first round Knight played a defensive game and invited Grayson to attack for much of the match. Grayson certainly obliged going short at every opportunity especially on the volley. Even though his drops were of wondrous accuracy Knight showed even better retrieving skills and this eventually took its toll on Grayson. Grayson looked like he might turn it around in the fourth set and pleased the crowd with a small array of unplayable cross court nicks. It was enough magic to win the forth but he could not replicate it in the fifth and after 91 minutes of enthralling squash Knight eventually ran out a very pleased winner.

The old Princeton and Yale rivalry was rekindled as Julian Illingworth and Yasser el Halaby took the court for the final match of the round. El Halaby looked as sharp as ever, bounding around the court and hitting with great authority. Illingworth was well up to the task though, and displayed superior shot variety in dealing with el Halaby's power. Illingworth was pretty convincing throughout the match, illustrating his top 40 ranking was well earned. Illingworth goes on to play Knight and this has many of the Washington DC fans waiting with interest to see how these very different styles interplay.

Meanwhile the other seeds Shahier Razik and Jan Koukal had more routine wins over their opponents. Liam Kenny pushed Razik early but faded towards the end as he was forced in to extra work to cope with Razik's superior accuracy.

AussieNick are following on from the success of the 2008 National Capital Open and in conjunction with SquashEmpower and Sport and Health, are proud to announce their hosting of the 2009 National Capital PSA Open Squash Tournament. The event is a 1.5 star ($15,000+) and is coordinated with several other regional professional events, including the Richmond super series, allowing the National Capital event to attract some of the world's top squash playing talent to the region. We are currently looking for supporting and minor sponsors for he event, see below.

The tournament early rounds will be held at Bethesda Sport and Health and later rounds will be held at Worldgate Sport and Health.

Left: Bear Sterns 'Tournament of Champions' Grand Central Station NYC. Used with permission McWil Courtwall.

2008 Winner Cameron Pilley in full flight

Players and Hosts

Seed

Name

Country

World Rank

Host

1 M Shahier Razik CAN 27 Coffee

2 M Julian Illingworth USA 40 Mallory

3 M Jan Koukal CZE 42 Barry Wood

4 M Arturo Salazar MEX 51 Steve Bernstein

5 M Liam Kenny IRL 52 Lansdale

6 M Yasser El Halaby EGY 53 Samer Sadek

7 M Ryan Cuskelly AUS 63 Coffee

8 M Campbell Grayson NZL 65 Norton

9 M Khawaja Adil Maqbool PAK 68 Saifee

10 M Stephane Galifi FRA 69 Pascal Lienard

11 M Martin Knight NZL 76 Barnes

12 M Eddie Charlton ENG 152 Vaziri/Gore Dean

1 Q Robin Clarke CAN 78 Norton

2 Q Rafael F. Alarcon BRA 79 Coffee

3 Q David Phillips CAN 80 Connor

4 Q Arthur Gaskin IRL 96 Zimmerman

5 Q Zac Alexander AUS 100 Coffee

6 Q Cesar Salazar MEX 109 Bernstein

7 Q Patrick Chifunda ZAM 110 N/A

8 Q Joshua Greenfield NZL 112 N/A

9 Q David Vidal ESP 112 Lansdale

10 Q Andrew Mcdougall CAN 116 Zimmerman

11 Q Matthew Serediak CAN 136 Stahl

12 Q Tyler Hamilton CAN 142 Picone

13 L Ben Oliner USA N/A

14 L Joe Millman USA Barnes

15 L Graham Bassett USA N/A

16 L Jahangir Naseem USA N/A

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