Boston Open 2013

GRAND PRIX
by SquashPlayer

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Round 1
Mari Taylor bt Jess Dixon 11/7, 14/12, 11/9 (23m)
Alison Hemmingway bt Emily Ison 11/8, 6/11, 11/7, 11/5 (26m)

BOSTON STANDARD

As a purple skyline illuminated Boston on Sunday night, the sun set on the BSPA Boston Open for a 17^th consecutive year, as top seeds Tom Richards and Jaclyn Kemp (pictured) took the men’s and women’s titles respectively.

A weekend of high quality sport began on Friday with the men’s round of 32. The top four seeds all had byes and the 5/8 seeds all progressed. Although he lost 3-1, Boston’s Mark Hildred put in a good performance to take the third game on a tie-break against Keith Timms in what was, at 41 minutes long, the joint-longest match of the round.

At the other end of the spectrum, Scott Handley – making his seventh appearance at Boston, swept aside his opponent in 14 minutes, and took just three minutes longer to win his second round match on Friday evening. All the seeds again progressed from the round of 16, but the top two seeds dropped one game each as they secured their passages with 3-1 wins.

On Saturday the quarter-finals took place.  In the ladies’ event top two seeds Jaclyn Kemp and Victoria Temple-Murray progressed comfortably in straight sets, and would go on to do similar in the semis against fellow quarter-final winners Alison Thomson and Lily Taylor.

In the men’s quarters Tom Richards beat Tristan Eysele 3-0, while number two seed Jonathan Kemp eroded the lead that Ben Ford had held late in the fourth game to win the match 3-1. Defending champion and ¾ seed Eddie Charlton beat Doug Kempsell in straight games, but the upset of the round saw 5/8 seed Scott Handley progress at the expense of Greg Lobban. Handley was in scintillating form to win 11/7, 11/9, 11/4 in 25 minutes. At 10/9 down in the second game, Lobban played a shot which he insisted was up, but the referee disagreed and awarded the game to Handley.

In the semis Tom Richards came from a game down to beat Scott Handley 3-1. The latter had led 8/7 in the second game too, but was then denied a let before Richards went on to win the game and match. Jonathan Kemp won 3-1, losing the third game 13/11 despite saving two gameballs.

Sunday’s finals were set up perfectly, with the world’s #22 and #44 in the men’s, and a Commonwealth gold medallist against the European under-19 champion in the ladies’. Experience was the winner in the women’s showpiece, as Jaclyn Kemp beat Victoria Temple-Murray 11/4, 8/11, 12/10, 11/6. The crucial turning point was when Jaclyn Kemp saved three gameballs in the third game to take a 2-1 lead.

The men’s final saw the first five-game final for three years, as Tom Richards won 3/11, 11/6, 12/10, 5/11, 11/6. It was a fitting climax to a tournament that had had only one other five-set match. The final was played in a great spirit, with the referee having remarkably few decisions to make. Kemp had been close to taking a 2-1 lead rather than conceding it, but couldn’t capitalise on having the first gameball of the set.

Speaking at the end of another weekend of crowd-pleasing squash, tournament organiser Mark Hildred said:“It was fantastic to watch both finals. Both of them were clean and it was superb squash. Well done to all the players.”

BOSTON TARGET

The top seeds took the titles at this year’s BSPA Boston Open on Sunday, as world #22 Tom Richards won a five-set men’s final after Commonwealth gold medalist Jaclyn Kemp had beaten European junior champion Victoria Temple-Murray 3-1 in the women’s.

The ladies’ final saw both players, who hadn’t dropped a single game in their semi or quarter final matches, play tight squash throughout. With the games level at 1-1, Kemp saved three gameballs having been 10/7 down to take the crucial third game, and eventually the match - 11/4, 8/11, 12/10, 11/6.

The number one seed was also victorious in the men’s final, as Tom Richards beat second seed Jonathan Kemp 3/11, 11/6, 12/10, 5/11, 11/6 in 44 minutes.  Kemp, the world #44, had comfortably taken the first game, but Richards pulled level before taking a 2-1 lead in games – despite his opponent having a gameball at 10/9 up in the third set. Richards’s shots were often simply too tight for Kemp to boast back.

Sunday’s finals had followed Saturday’s quarters and semis. In the women’s quarters 15-year-old Mari Taylor, a promising prospect, managed to win 15 points against Jaclyn Kemp having already won a qualifier match, but was unable to win a game. Alison Thomson and Lily Taylor also progressed to the semi-finals, where they were beaten in straight sets by top two seeds Kemp and Victoria Temple-Murray respectively.

After the men’s event had gone to seeding in the rounds of 32 and 16 on Friday, the quarters saw the first major upset of the weekend. 38-year-old Scott Handley beat ¾ seed and 2012 runner-up Greg Lobban in straight sets. Handley took just 25 minutes to dispatch the Scotsman, after securing wins in 14 and 17 minutes in the previous two rounds.

However, despite racing into a 1-0 lead against Tom Richards in the semi-finals, Handley came unstuck against the men’s favourite. His spirits were never dampened though – after playing a drop shot into the tin from the back of the court he joked, “It must have hit him [Tom] on the way through.” Jonathan Kemp beat last year’s winner Eddie Charlton in the other semi. It was one of the best matches of the tournament, and regularly drew applause and breath from the gathered crowd.

After the finals the two winners thanked the tournament’s organisers and sponsors for putting the event on, as well as the tournament’s referees. “It was nice to be able to play a match and have proper referees come down and not have to do it ourselves,” said women’s winner Jaclyn Kemp.

BSPA UK Grand Prix