16 Draw Tournament Page

EBS Dayton Open 2003
23-26 Jan, Dayton, USA, $30k

Final:
[2] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [1] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
15/12, 12/15, 11/15, 15/7, 15/11

RICKETTS UPSETS LINCOU IN DAYTON
Charlie Johnson reports

# 2 Seed Anthony Ricketts (world # 7 from Australia) upset # 1 seed Thierry Lincou (world # 6 from France) in 5 action packed games! A packed gallery and local TV coverage was on hand, despite the snow here in Dayton, OH, to witness this world-class sporting event.

The # 2 seed Ricketts, got off to good start winning the 1st game 15-12. After losing games 2 & 3, appearing to get tired after several long rallies, Ricketts came out strong in game 4 and won quite convincingly 15-7.

The action packed 5th game had the crowd on the edge of their seats and it was close until 11 points all. At this point, after several great rallies exchanging serve, Ricketts pulled away and won the match on a perfect forehand volley drop winner.

"Having just agreed new racket, footwear, clothing and string deals on the eve of this tournament, it was a real thrill to come away with the title against the odds," said the Dayton champion. "It was also fantastic to gain revenge for my loss
to Thierry in the last final we played, in the Pittsburgh Open just a year ago - it's been a great start to the new year," added Ricketts.

Draw & Results
Reports

RESULTS & Reports
Final
Final: [2] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 15/12, 12/15, 11/15, 15/7, 15/11 RICKETTS UPSETS LINCOU IN DAYTON Charlie Johnson reports # 2 Seed Anthony Ricketts (world # 7 from Australia) upset # 1 seed Thierry Lincou (world # 6 from France) in 5 action packed games! A packed gallery and local TV coverage was on hand, despite the snow here in Dayton, OH, to witness this world-class sporting event. The # 2 seed Ricketts, got off to good start winning the 1st game 15-12. After losing games 2 & 3, appearing to get tired after several long rallies, Ricketts came out strong in game 4 and won quite convincingly 15-7. The action packed 5th game had the crowd on the edge of their seats and it was close until 11 points all. At this point, after several great rallies exchanging serve, Ricketts pulled away and won the match on a perfect forehand volley drop winner. "Having just agreed new racket, footwear, clothing and string deals on the eve of this tournament, it was a real thrill to come away with the title against the odds," said the Dayton champion. "It was also fantastic to gain revenge for my loss to Thierry in the last final we played, in the Pittsburgh Open just a year ago - it's been a great start to the new year," added Ricketts.
Semi-Finals
Semi-finals: [1] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [3] Lee Beachill (ENG) 17-15, 15-6, 4-6 ret. [2] Anthony Ricketts (AUS) bt [5] Alex Gough (WAL) 15-10, 13-15, 15-8, 10-15, 15-10 Beachill Suffers Further Ankle Disappointment For the second time in successive PSA Tour events, England's Lee Beachill crashed out of the semi-finals of the $30,000 EBS Dayton Squash Open in Ohio, USA, with an ankle injury. In a similar mid-court clash to one which caused his withdrawal from last month's World Open in Belgium with an ankle injury, third seed Beachill collided with top-seeded Frenchman Thierry Lincou when leading in the third game in the 60th minute of a titanic battle. The world No9 from Yorkshire was forced to concede the match 17-15 15-6 4-6 to favourite Lincou. "It was not exactly the same injury as before, but Lee was unable to continue," said Beachill spokesman Paul Walters. Beachill is due to begin the defence of his title in the British National Championships in just over two weeks. Lincou, the world No6 from Paris, will face second seed Anthony Ricketts in the final after the world No7 from Australia survived a marathon five-game battle against Welshman Alex Gough in the other semi-final. The balance of power between the two swung backwards and forwards, Ricketts taking the opener, fifth seed Gough the second, then the Australian fighting back to take the third, only for the Welshman to level matters in the fourth. Gough recovered from 11-1 down in the decider, but Ricketts ultimately claimed victory in 95 minutes with the score at 15-10 13-15 15-8 10-15 15-10. The victory marks Ricketts' seventh appearance in a PSA Tour final - but his first since facing Lincou in the final of the Pittsburgh Open exactly a year ago, when the Frenchman went on to claim his 9th PSA title.
Quarter-Finals
World Class Squash continues in Dayton Ohio! Charlie Johnson reports from Dayton Tonight at the Dayton Squash Center 3 of the top 4 seeds made it through the 1/4 finals to Saturday's semi-final matches. #1 Seed Tierry Lincou, the world # 6 from France, was tested in three by an up and coming Englishman Adrian Grant. In a tight match, Grant had the lead towards the end of both games 2 & 3, but Lincou was able to push through and win without going to extra games. #2 Seed Anthony Ricketts, world # 7 from Australia, was too strong for North America's top PSA player Graham Ryding from Canada and with a high paced game, won in three. # 3 Seed and world # 9 Lee Beachill was very efficient and smooth in his 3-0 victory over the competitive Rodney Durbach. Although troubled early by errors on his forehand side short, his tight play on the backhand side and punishing length was too much for Durbach. The crowd of over 100 was entranced by the match between # 4 seed Joseph Kneipp (world # 15) and # 5 Alex Gough (world # 17) and the closeness of their respective world rankings was demonstrated by the close scores in the first two games, 15/12 Gough, 17/15 Kneipp. After game three, Gough appeared to have the upper hand and then Kneipp was forced to retire in the fourth with an injury. Despite the early finish, the spectators were enthusiastically clapping at the end of the match for the squash talent displayed on the court for the previous 90 minutes. The Dayton Squash Center was packed as over 50 amateur players began their first round matches in the 2003 version of the Revenge of the Baby Boomers squash tournament. Amateur play started at 5:00 pm today and runs through Sunday afternoon, concluding with the FINALS of the 2003 EBS Dayton Open professional matches at 2:30 PM.
First Round
PRICE THE ONLY CASUALTY IN ROUND ONE Charlie Johnson reports from Dayton The main draw of the $30,000 EBS Dayton Open squash tournament commenced tonight and over one hundred spectators saw some great squash played. As you can see from the results below, the seeding held true to the world rankings except for Adrian Grant of England beating Paul Price of Australia in 3 games. The Dayton Squash Center's Julian Wellings put up a good fight against world # 9 Lee Beachill but succumbed in 3. "Lots of continuous pressure out there" was what Wellings had to say after leaving the court. Many Dayton squashers showed up to support our local touring pro and enjoyed his match. These matches and some of the Alex Gough, Lee Drew match were covered by a local TV station, WDTN channel 2, and will air tonight on the sports segment and then they play to return tomorrow (Friday) to cover the 1/4 final matches and do an extended story on squash and the Miami Valley Squash Foundation. The Dayton Open is being held to raise funds and the awareness of squash for the Foundation which is introducing this great sport to area youth. 15-20 kids from our local schools program were at the Dayton Squash Center to watch the matches and enjoy the food provided for all spectators and sponsors. On Friday, 1/24/2003, 85 amateur squash players from around the country (Colorado to Connecticut, Detroit to Memphis) will convene at the Dayton Squash Center to play squash along side these talented professionals as the 2003 version of the Revenge of the Baby Boomers squash tournament takes place. Amateur play starts at 5:00 pm on Friday, coinciding with the beginning of the quarter-final matches in the Professional draw, and runs through Sunday afternoon, concluding with the FINALS of the 2003 EBS Dayton Open professional matches at 2:30 PM.
Qualifying
Qualifying finals: Peter Genever (ENG) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 15-11, 15-8, 15-8 Lee Drew (ENG) bt Patrick Chifunda (ZAM) 10-15, 15-7, 15-9, 15-11 Cameron White (AUS) bt Peter Pastijn (BEL) 15-5, 15-11, 15-11 Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt Ben Garner (ENG) 15-9, 15-10, 15-10 1st qualifying round: Peter Genever (ENG) bye Cameron Pilley (AUS) bt Dylan Bennett (NED) 15-17, 15-4, 11-15, 15-5, 15-7 Patrick Chifunda (ZAM) bt Matthew Giuffre (CAN) 13-15, 15-12, 8-15, 15-9, 15-10 Lee Drew (ENG) bt Jago Nardelli (ENG) 15-5, 15-10, 15-10 Cameron White (AUS) bt Karim Yehia (EGY) 15-4, 15-8, 15-4 Peter Pastijn (BEL) bt Ian Power (CAN) 13-15, 15-17, 15-13, 15-7, 15-9 Ben Garner (ENG) bt Jamie Crombie (USA) 15-8, 15-11, 15-10 Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt Rob McFadzean (USA) 15-5, 15-11, 15-5