|
RESULTS & Reports |
|
Final |
|
09 Feb - Final:
[2]
Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt [1] John White (Sco) 6/15, 15/7, 15/6, 15/12
 BOSWELL
SCORES SWEDISH SUCCESS
Report from Swedish Squash
Stewart Boswell, the number 2 seed at this year’s
Catella Swedish Open, won an enthralling final against top seed, John
White, at the Linkoping Sports Arena.
White stormed into an early lead in the first game with a mixture of
fiercely hit drives and early volleys. Boswell struggled to get in
front of his opponent who dominated the tactics. White was much
quicker on the ball and after just 16 minutes, the 29 year old
Scotsman, ranked number 4 in the world, won the first game 15-6.
The young Australian is made of stern stuff and showed both mental and
physical strength in opening up a lead of 4-1 in the second game.
White pegged it back to just one point but then an electrifying rally
won by Boswell with a dying length into the rear forehand re-opened a
3 point gap to give Boswell a score of 9-6. White started to go for a
few early shots, trying to win rallies earlier but there were too many
unforced errors to harm Boswell. Just keeping the ball in play,
Boswell waited for the errors to come from his opponent and only
dropped one more point to take the second game 15-7 and level the
match score.
The beginning of the third game was tight. Boswell seemed to have
difficulty holding his racket each time a decision by the referee went
against him and there was a flurry of lets with the score at 6-4 to
the 24 year old from Canberra, Australia. Boswell was looking strong
now and increasingly kept White away from the front court. At 8-6 the
third game had taken the same length of time to play as the whole of
the first game. Some of this was because Boswell wanted to question
virtually every decision made by the referee but despite this he
managed to keep his concentration and maintain a 2 or 3 point lead.
More errors were made from White and it seemed that the steadier
Boswell was gaining a strong grip on the match. He was playing the
better length, moving his opponent off the T and despite a few
attempts to work his backhand volley to the front, White slipped
further and further behind until he lost the third game 6-15.
Boswell started the fourth game looking very confident and sprightly.
He stormed into 4-1 lead after just 4 minutes and capitalised on an
increasingly frustrated White. More errors came from the Scotsman’s
racket and he looked down and out after 60 minutes of play. Some great
play from White, this time with two forehand volleys and a forehand
drop shot kept him in the match but Boswell still managed to keep a 2
point lead. Boswell could scent victory and a flying dive to retrieve
a White shot at the front followed by a flashing cross court drive
opened a 4 point lead at 9-5.
White is a fighter though and after
3 more rallies, Boswell had to dive again but this time he didn’t win
the rally, hitting the ball out of court. Suddenly, White was back in
the match, looking sharper and volleying the ball hard and low. He
reduced the lead to just 1 point but Boswell then won two rallies with
penalty strokes to go 12-9 up. An extraordinary winner played between
his legs took him to 13-9. The end was in sight and his consistently
accurate and hard drives brought him to match point. White hung in and
managed to win three consecutive rallies to give him hope, but Boswell
finished with a forehand volley drive to give him his first Swedish
Open title.
Boswell was celebrating his seventh PSA Tour title victory and his
first since lifting the Bolzano Open trophy in Italy in May 1999.
White's loss marked the Nottingham-based Scot's fourth successive
defeat in a final, after finishing as runner-up in last year's British
Open, South African Challenge and World Open.
|
|
Semi-Finals |
|
Semi-finals:
[1] John White (Sco) bt [6] Joe Kneipp (Aus) 15/13,
15/6, 11/15, 15/13
[2] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt [4] Martin Heath (Sco) 15/13, 15/10,
7/15, 15/9
WHITE & BOSWELL TO CONTEST CATELLA FINAL
Scotland's No1 seed John White and Australia's second-seeded Stewart
Boswell, ranked four and five in the world respectively, will meet in
the anticipated final after surviving tough four-game semi-finals in Linköping.
Boswell, 24, from Canberra, took on the experienced and highly talented
Martin Heath, the fourth seed from Scotland. After slipping down the
rankings last year, Heath has recently enjoyed some good results to
surge back into the top 10. Always trailing by no more than two points
in the first game, Martin managed to level the score at 13-all only to
see the game slip away in the next two points. Boswell then played near
faultless squash to take the second game and the match seemed to be all
over, especially with the Scot becoming increasingly frustrated with the
referee's decisions.
However, Heath drew on all his experience and fought back well,
dominating the third game with a mixture of solid basic squash and
exciting shot play, executed with great precision and accuracy. The
fourth game showed that Boswell is one of the new generation of players
who will soon be challenging for the top position in the world. Pushing
further up the court, he took the ball earlier, attacking the ball and
keeping Heath behind him. His variation of shot out-thought and
wrong-footed the Scotsman several times in what was to be the final
game. Boswell comfortably took the game to become the first player to
gain a place in the final with a 15-13 15-10 7-15 15-9 scoreline.
In the second semi final, John White - a Scotsman born in Australia and
living in England - faced Joe Kneipp, an Australian who nearly changed
his allegiance for his native country to play for the Netherlands 18
months ago. The first game was tight all the way through and played in a
good humour, except for two occasions when Kneipp left the court to
remonstrate with the referee for not giving him a let on each occasion -
decisions which
television replays later confirmed were entirely appropriate! White was
lucky to win the first game when he hit a forehand volley that caught
the corner between front and side walls to spin out at an angle that
Kneipp could not retrieve.
The top seed then ran away with the second game in just nine minutes to
go two games up. Unforced errors by White in the third, finally allowed
Kneipp to bring the score back to 2/1 - but White got off to a great
start in the fourth game, streaking into a 5-1 lead. Joe reduced this to
5-7 before levelling the score at 13-all - but at match ball up, White
received a stroke off a loose shot from Kneipp to clinch his place in
the final with a 15-13
15-6 11-15 15-13 victory.
Whilst the Swedish final will mark the 16th PSA Tour climax of White's
career, and the 17th of Boswell's, neither has claimed a title for more
than two years. White, runner-up in last year's World and British Opens,
scored his most recent triumph in the Flanders Open in February 2001,
whilst it was in May 1999 that Boswell claimed his last trophy in the
Bolzano Open in Italy.
|
|
Quarter-Finals |
|
Quarter-finals:
[1]
John White (Sco) bt [5] Amr Shabana (Egy) 15/12, 15/10, 14/15,
15/10
[6] Joe Kneipp (Aus) bt [Q] Rodney Durbach (Rsa) 15/11, 15/7, 15/12
[4]
Martin Heath (Sco) bt [8] Simon Parke (Eng) 17/16, 17/14, 15/13
[2] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt Graham Ryding (Can) 15/6, 16/17, 15/6, 15/7
White & Boswell on course for final showdown
Both semi-finals will be Australian/Scottish affairs,
after tight quarter-finals in Linköping in
which all the fancied players survived.
After a shock upset over Malaysia's third-seeded defending champion Ong
Beng Hee in the first round, South African qualifier Rodney Durbach met
his match in Australia's Joseph Kneipp, going down to the sixth seed
from Queensland 15-11 15-7 15-12.
Amsterdam-based Kneipp now faces former compatriot John White, the
Australian-born Scot who is favourite to win the Swedish title for the
first time - but was given a stiff test by Egypt's Amr Shabana before
beating the fifth seed 15-12 15-10 14-15 15-10.
The closest quarter-final clash of the day was staged by Scotland's
Martin Heath, the fourth seed, and eighth-seeded Englishman Simon Parke.
Heath ultimately prevailed 17-16 17-14 15-13, leaving Parke to head home
to fine-tune his final preparations for next week's British National
Championships in Manchester.
Heath, just 30, from Oban, now meets Australia's second seed Stewart
Boswell, who ended unseeded Canadian Graham Ryding's run in four games,
15-6 16-17 15-6 15-7.
|
|
First
Round |
|
Round One:
[1] John White (Sco) bt Daniel
Forslund (Swe) 15/14, 15/9, 15/13 (42m)
[5] Amr Shabana (Egy) bt Paul Price (Aus)
15/13, 15/10, 13/15, 15/9 (70m)
[Q] Rodney Durbach (Rsa) bt [3] Ong Beng Hee
(Mas) 15/12, 15/13, 9/15, 13/15, 15/13 (94m)
[6] Joseph Kneipp (Aus) bt Olli
Tuominen (Fin) 15/12, 15/11, 15/12 (53m)
[8] Simon Parke (Eng) bt [Q] Mika Monto
(Fin) 12/15, 12/15, 15/13, 15/5, 15/11 (77m)
[4] Martin Heath (Sco) bt [Q] James
Willstrop (Eng) 15/9, 15/12, 14/15, 15/9 (61m)
Graham Ryding (Can) bt [7] Mansoor Zaman
(Pak) 15/13, 15/10, 15/10 (38m)
[2] Stewart Boswell (Aus) bt [Q]
Jean Michel Arcucci (Fra) 15/7, 15/13, 15/12
(57m)
Durbach deposes Ong in Linkoping
Qualifier Rodney Durbach produced a stunning upset in
Linkoping, beating defending champion Ong Beng Hee 3/2 in a 94-minute
marathon. Durbach went two games up, only to be pegged back to 2-all,
but eventually won 15/13 in the fifth to set up a quarter-final
against sixth seed Joe Kneipp, who ended Scandinavian interest with a
3/0 win over Olli Tuominen.
Simon Parke fought back from two games down to
finally end the run of Finland's Mike Monto. Monto had
survived two 3/2 marathons to qualify, and had enough left in the tank
to establish a lead against Parke, the eighth seed, but Parke eventually
reeled the Finn in after 77 minutes. Parke now plays Martin Heath, who took just over an hour
to beat world junior champion James Willstrop.
Top seeds John White and Stewart
Boswell both enjoyed comfortable first round victories, and meet Amr
Shabana and Graham Ryding respectively in the quarters.
|
|
Qualifying
| Previews |
|
Qualifying finals:
England's James Willstrop continues his squash
education when he tackles Scotland's No.4 seed Martin Heath in the first
round of the Catella Swedish Open in the first round Linkoping.
Willstrop accounted for long-term junior rival Peter Barker in the final
qualifying round 15-13, 13-15, 15-12, 15-7 and will no doubt have
received a detailed game plan from father Malcolm as he prepares to
tackle one of the most gifted players in the game.
Two other English players fell by the wayside in qualifying, with South
Africa's Rodney Durbach removing Joey Barrington 15-12, 15-10, 15-11 and
Finland's Mika Monto beating Andy Whipp 15-13, 15-5, 11-15, 11-15, 15-3.
Durbach faces reigning champion Ong Beng Hee while Monto tackles
England's No.8 seed Simon Parke.
Top seed John White (Scotland) opens his campaign against the home
nation's Daniel Forslund, while No.2 seed Stewart Boswell (Australia)
faces a fourth qualifier, Jean Michel Arcucci of France, who beat
Sweden's Christian Drakenberg 15-11, 15-12, 8-15, 15-7.
05 Feb
Qualifying Finals:
Rodney Durbach (Rsa) bt Joey Barrington (Eng)
15/12, 15/10, 15/11
Jean-Michel Arcucci (Fra) bt Christian Drakenberg (Swe)
15/11, 15/12, 8/15, 15/7
Mika Monto (Fin) bt
Andrew Whipp (Eng) 15/13, 15/5, 11/15, 11/15, 15/3
James Willstrop (Eng) bt Peter Barker (Eng) 15/13, 13/15,
15/12, 15/7
04 Feb
Qualifying round one
Rodney Durbach bye
Joey Barrington (ENG) bt Martin Dzur (CZE)
15-7,15-7,15-8
Christian Drakenberg (SWE) bt Henrik Lofvenborg
(SWE)
15-1,15-6,15-10
Jean-Michel Arcucci bye
Andrew Whipp (ENG) bt Badr Abel Aziz (SWE)
15-8, 15-14, 15-11
Mika Monto (FIN) bt Anders Thoren (SWE)
15-13,12-15,16-17,15-9,15-9
Peter Barker (ENG) bt Joakim Karlsson (SWE)
15-10,15-8,15-11
James Willstrop bye
04-Feb
SARAH FITZ-GERALD IN SWEDISH OPEN PROMOTION
Australia's Sarah Fitz-Gerald will make her first
international appearance on a squash court since winning her record fifth
World Open title last November when she attends the Catella Swedish Open in
Linkoping in Sweden from 6th to 9th February.
Sarah, who has spent the past month in Australia training and working as a
special ambassador for her home country's Australia Day celebrations, will
play a series of challenge matches in Linkoping. In addition to matches
against New Zealand's world No17 Shelley Kitchen, she will also participate
in a mixed doubles event featuring PSA players competing in the Swedish
Open.
"To have Sarah here will mean a lot for ladies squash in Sweden," said
Tournament Director and former international player Fredrik Johnson. "We
also hope Sarah will take part in the Pro-Am tournament we are organising,
in which former Wimbledon tennis champion Stefan Edberg will be competing -
so, who knows, there might be a Sarah v Stefan match!"
"The response to this year's Swedish Open has been fantastic," Johnson
added. "Swedish TV will be doing a number of interviews, etc., and regional
TV will be covering all Sarah's matches. We are working hard to organise one
of the best squash tournaments in the world."
|
Catella Swedish Open
Malaysia's Ong Beng Hee scored his first PSA Tour title of the new year
when he beat Finland's Olli Tuominen 15-10 11-15 15-12 12-15 15-8 in an
epic 89-minute finale of the $25,000 Catella Swedish Squash Open in
Linköping - the first major PSA event in Sweden for almost a decade.
Both players exerted intense pressure on each other in the third, trading
volley for volley, drop for drop. Beng Hee finally opened a crucial gap at
11-9, and ultimately took the game on a penalty stroke. The match was now
nearly an hour long and the crowd really got behind the young Nordic
player as they both walked back on court. The Finn got off to a good
start, and at 6-9 down Beng Hee looked as if he was tiring - but
incredibly he soon levelled the score at 10-10. It was then, however, that
the Finn strung together his best rallies of the match, and eventually
held his nerve well to win the game 15-12 in 17 minutes.