08/02/2007
SWEDISH OPEN
Palmer & Huisman Secure Swedish Open Titles
Swedish Open Squash
Championships,
Linköping, Sweden
Men's final:
[1] David Palmer (AUS)
bt [4] Alex Gough (WAL) 11-10 (2-0), 11-4, 11-7
Men's semi-finals:
[1] David Palmer (AUS)
bt [3] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 (47m)
[4] Alex Gough (WAL) bt
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) 11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9 (75m)
Men's quarter-finals:
[1] David Palmer (AUS)
bt [7] Alister Walker (ENG) 11-6, 4-11, 10-11 (1-3), 11-3, 11-3
[3] Olli Tuominen (FIN)
bt [6] Liam Kenny (IRL) 11-8, 11-4, 11-7
[4] Alex Gough (WAL) bt
[5] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-6, 11-9, 11-9
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY)
bt [8] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-5, 11-2, 11-8
Men's 1st round:
[1] David Palmer (AUS) bt
[Q] Amr Swelim (EGY) 11-8, 11-6, 11-7
[7] Alister Walker (ENG)
bt [Q] Jonathan Harford (ENG) 11-8, 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0)
[3] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt
Jean-Michel Arcucci (FRA) 11-5, 11-4, 11-3
[6] Liam Kenny (IRL) bt
Stacey Ross (ENG) 11-9, 11-9, 11-6
[5] Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
bt [Q] Chris Ryder (ENG) 11-8, 11-6, 11-9
[4] Alex Gough (WAL) bt
Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND) 11-10 (3-1), 11-4, 11-8
[8] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK)
bt Christian Drakenberg (SWE) 11-7, 11-9, 11-6
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt
[Q] Alex Stait (ENG) 11-4, 11-6, 11-9
Women's final:
[3] Margriet Huisman
(NED) bt [1] Line Hansen (DEN) 5-9, 9-2, 9-7, 9-3
Women's semi-finals:
[3] Margriet Huisman
(NED) bt [2] Georgina Stoker (ENG) 9-0, 3-9, 9-7, 9-3
[1] Line Hansen (DEN) bt
[4] Kirsty McPhee (ENG) 4-9, 9-2, 9-6, 9-3
Quarter-finals:
[2] Georgina Stoker (ENG)
bt [8] Carrie Hastings (ENG) 9-5, 9-1, 9-6
[3] Margriet Huisman (NED)
bt [6] Lotte Eriksen (NOR) 9-3, 9-1, 9-1
[4] Kirsty McPhee (ENG) bt
[7] Anna-Carin Forstadius (SWE) 9-1, 9-0, 9-5
[1] Line Hansen (DEN) bt
[5] Daniela Schumann (GER) 9-0, 9-1, 9-0
Women's 1st round
[2] Georgina Stoker (ENG)
bt Selina Sinclair (ENG) 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
Lovisa Forstadius (SWE) bt
[8] Carrie Hastings (ENG) 9-0, 9-5, 9-1
[3] Margriet Huisman (NED)
bye
[6] Lotte Eriksen (NOR) bt
Lauren Selby (ENG) 9-8, 6-9, 9-7, 9-5
[7] Anna-Carin Forstadius
(SWE) bye
[8] Carrie Hastings (ENG) bt Lovisa
Forstadius (SWE) 9-0, 9-5, 9-1
[4] Kirsty McPhee (ENG) bt
Victoria Lust (ENG) 9-0, 10-9, 9-5
[5] Daniela Schumann (GER)
bye
[1] Line Hansen (DEN) bt
Cajsa-Marie Gulin (SWE) 9-0, 9-1, 9-0
Qualifying finals:
Alex Stait (ENG) bt Jesse
Engelbrecht (ZIM) 11-10 (2-0), 4-11, 11-7, 11-4
Amr Swelim (EGY) bt Romain
Tenant (FRA) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4
Jonathan Harford (ENG) bt
Badr Abdel Aziz (SWE) 11-9, 11-8, 11-9
Chris Ryder (ENG) bt Simon
Rosner (GER) 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8
Palmer & Huisman
Secure Swedish Open Titles
Top seed David Palmer
beat surprise opponent Alex Gough in the final Case
Swedish Open Squash Championships to win the 3-star PSA Tour
event title in Linköping, Sweden.
By contrast, third seed
Margriet Huisman upset top seed Line Hansen in the
women's Zack Swedish Open final to secure her maiden
WISPA World Tour title.
The 75-minute semi-final
clash in which Gough upset Egypt's second seed Karim Darwish in
five games clearly had its toll in the final for the 36-year-old
'veteran' Welshman.
Gough, the fourth seed,
took Palmer to a tie-break in the opening game - but the world champion
from New South Wales had the upper hand thereafter as he strode to an
11-10 (2-0), 11-4, 11-7 victory to notch up the 20th PSA Tour
title of his career.
The Swedish Open success
extends Palmer's lead over Thierry Lincou, the Frenchman who
boasts 18 Tour crowns, as the current player on the PSA Tour with the
most titles.
Margriet Huisman reached
the women's final after overcoming England's No2 seed Georgina Stoker
in the semi-finals. In the final, favourite Line Hansen, from Odense
in Denmark, took the first game.
But 23-year-old Huisman,
from Arnhem in the Netherlands, then took control of the match to run
out a 5-9, 9-2, 9-7, 9-3 winner.
Tournament promoter
Fredrik Johnson was delighted with his fourth staging of the event
in Linköping since 2002: "All the players have been very helpful and
I'm proud to have been host for the players this last week. Everyone
has done a great job also off court.
"There have also been a
number of promotional activities during the tournament for the different
sponsors and the players have helped out really well. Of course it was
fantastic this afternoon to listen to both Palmer and Gough in the
speeches after the final when they both commented that the Swedish Open
2007 had been one of the best tournaments they have played for a long
time.
"Line Hansen, runner-up
in the ladies went even further when she said that the players had been
treated as princesses," added Johnson, who confirmed that the 2008 Case
Swedish Open will also take place in Linköping.
The semi-finals and
finals were covered live on a Swedish TV channel, and Swedish national
TV will broadcast a one-hour feature on the finals next week.
Darwish Downed By
Veteran Gough
Just two months after
celebrating his 36th birthday, Alex Gough showed that
he still has the same fighting spirit as when he joined the PSA Tour
14 years ago by upsetting second seed Karim Darwish in the
semi-finals of the Case Swedish Open Squash Championships
in Linköping, Sweden.
The Welshman will now
face top seed David Palmer after the Australian beat local hero
Olli Tuominen, from Finland, in the other semi-final of the
3-star PSA Tour event.
Margriet Huisman
denied British interest in the other final when she upset England's No2
seed Georgina Stoker to set up a decider with top seed Line
Hansen in the women's Zack Swedish Open.
Gough, a former world
No5 now ranked outside the top 20, twice stemmed fight-backs by Darwish,
the 25-year-old world No8 from Cairo. But, after 75 minutes, it was the
wily fourth seed - originally from Newport - who prevailed, winning
11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-9 to reach his first PSA Tour final since
September 2004.
After surviving a close
call in the quarter-finals, Palmer was back to his best in the
semi-final. The 30-year-old world champion from Lithgow in New South
Wales recovered from a game behind to beat Tuominen, the No3 seed, 9-11,
11-5, 11-5, 11-7 in 47 minutes. It will be the world number two's
second Tour final of the year, but the 43rd of his career.
Both women's semis took
four games to resolve. Huisman, the No3 seed from the Netherlands,
despatched Stoker 9-0, 3-9, 9-7, 9-3 to reach her second WISPA World
Tour final.
Hansen, from Odense in
Denmark, fought back from a game down to overcome England's fourth seed
Kirsty McPhee 4-9, 9-2, 9-6, 9-3 to set up her third Tour final
appearance.
Both women's finalists
are seeking their maiden WISPA titles.
Walker Tests Palmer In
Linköping
Top seed David Palmer
was given a stern test by No7 seed Alister Walker in the
quarter-finals of the Case Swedish Open Squash Championships
before eventually making it through in five games in the 3-star PSA
Tour event in Linköping, Sweden.
Englishman Walker, ranked
more than 30 places below the world champion from Australia, led 2/1 after
surviving a third game tie-break.
But the experienced
Palmer, ranked two in the world, soon regained the upper hand to win 11-6,
4-11, 10-11 (1-3), 11-3, 11-3 - and set up a semi-final clash with adopted
local hero Olli Tuominen. The third-seeded Finn despatched
Irishman Liam Kenny, the No6 seed, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7.
The other men's semi-final
also saw the seeds saunter through - Egypt's second seed Karim Darwish
beating Pakistan's Aamir Atlas Khan 11-5, 11-2, 11-8 to set up a
clash with Welshman Alex Gough, the fourth seed who defeated
Davide Bianchetti, of Italy, 11-6, 11-9, 11-9.
Swedish interest in the
women's Zack Swedish Open disappeared when
Stockholm's Anna-Carin Forstadius went down 9-1, 9-0, 9-5 to
England's Kirsty McPhee in the WISPA World Tour event.
The fourth seed from
Yorkshire will now take on top seed Line Hansen after the Dane
defeated Germany's Daniela Schumann 9-0, 9-1, 9-0.
There will also be English
interest in the other semi-final when Georgina Stoker takes on
Margriet Huisman. The second seed from Merseyside beat compatriot
Carrie Hastings (wrongly reported earlier by organisers as having
lost her first round match) 9-5, 9-1, 9-6, while third seed Huisman
outplayed Norway's Lotte Eriksen 9-3, 9-1, 9-1.
Men's semi-final line-up:
[1] David Palmer (AUS) v
[3] Olli Tuominen (FIN)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) v
[4] Alex Gough (WAL)
Women's semi-final
line-up:
[2] Georgina Stoker (ENG)
v [3] Margriet Huisman (NED)
[1] Line Hansen (DEN) v
[4] Kirsty McPhee (ENG)
Olli Offers Nordic
Interest In Swedish Open Quarters
Olli Tuominen
extended Nordic
interest through to the quarter-finals of the Case Swedish
Open Squash Championships after despatching France's Jean-Michel
Arcucci in straight games in the first round of the 3-star PSA
Tour event in
Linköping,
Sweden.
But there will be local
interest in the women's Zack Swedish Open when Stockholm sisters
Lovisa Forstadius and Anna-Carin Forstadius battle against
English opponents in the last eight of the WISPA World Tour
event.
Tuominen, the Finnish
number one who is third seed in the men's event, defeated unseeded
Arcucci 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 and will now face sixth seed Liam Kenny
for a place in the semi-finals after the Irishman beat England's
Stacey Ross 11-9, 11-9, 11-6.
Australia's top seed
David Palmer, the world champion from Lithgow in New South Wales,
had a comfortable 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 win over Egyptian qualifier Amr
Swelim. The Belgium-based 30-year-old will now meet Alister
Walker after the No7 seed was taken to two tie-break games by fellow
Englishman Jonathan Harford before quashing the qualifier 11-8,
11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0).
Lovisa Forstadius caused
a notable upset in the women's first round when she beat England's NO8
seed Carrie Hastings 9-0, 9-5, 9-1. The 19-year-old, in her
WISPA Tour event debut, will now face another English opponent, second
seed Georgina Stoker who crushed compatriot Selina Sinclair
9-1, 9-0, 9-0.
Men's quarter-final
line-up:
[1] David Palmer (AUS) v
[7] Alister Walker (ENG)
[3] Olli Tuominen (FIN)
v [6] Liam Kenny (IRL)
[4] Alex Gough (WAL) v
[5] Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY)
v [8] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK)
Women's quarter-final
line-up:
[2] Georgina Stoker
(ENG) v Lovisa Forstadius (SWE)
[3] Margriet Huisman
(NED) v [6] Lotte Eriksen (NOR)
[4] Kirsty McPhee (ENG)
v [7] Anna-Carin Forstadius (SWE)
[1] Line Hansen (DEN) v
[5] Daniela Schumann (GER)
England Trio Earn
Qualifying Places In Swedish Open
English players Alex
Stait, Jonathan Harford and Chris Ryder claimed three of
the four qualifying slots in the Case Swedish Open Squash
Championships after the completion of the qualifying finals in
Linköping, Sweden
Harford, 23, from Leeds,
disappointed the local crowd when he despatched Sweden's qualifying hope
Badr Abdel Aziz, from Stockholm, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9. He now faces
fellow Leeds-based Englishman Alister Walker, the No7 seed.
World University champion
Chris Ryder, from Wolverhampton, defeated Germany's European
Junior champion Simon Rosner, ranked two places higher in the
world, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8
Updated 1st round draw:
[1] David Palmer (AUS) v
[Q] Amr Swelim (EGY)
[7] Alister Walker (ENG) v
[Q] Jonathan Harford (ENG)
[3] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v
Jean-Michel Arcucci (FRA)
[6] Liam Kenny (IRL) v
Stacey Ross (ENG)
[5] Davide Bianchetti (ITA)
v [Q] Chris Ryder (ENG)
[4] Alex Gough (WAL) v
Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND)
[8] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK)
v Christian Drakenberg (SWE)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY) v
[Q] Alex Stait (ENG)
Swedish Open Attracts
Top Squash Players To Linköping
After a two-year
absence, the Swedish Open is back on the international squash
calendar again as the University town of Linköping, in south
Sweden, hosts one of the biggest PSA Tour events in Europe, from
8-11 February.
"The event boasts a
$31,250 prize-fund, and the winner will also receive a watch worth
around 5,000 US dollars," said tournament director Fredrik
Johnson.
Australia's world
champion David Palmer is top seed - and expected to meet second
seed Karim Darwish, the world No8 from Egypt who won the title in
2004, in the final. Also in the draw is world No18 Olli Tuominen,
from nearby Finland.
The Case Swedish Open
will be played on a four-glass-walled court in the big arena in
Linköping Sporthall.
"In the arena will also
be a big exhibition area, a range of different food and drink places, a
very nice VIP-lounge for the sponsors and players, and - of course -
also a special kids area," added Johnson.
In conjunction with the
men's event will be the Women's Zack Swedish Open, a WISPA
World Tour event in which Denmark's Line Hansen is the
favourite.
"This year the WISPA
tournament is a lower grade, but the aim is to raise the prize money for
the men's and women's tournaments next year," explained Johnson.
Linköping is the city
where Fredrik Johnson was based during his years as a squash
professional.
"Linköping right now
really looks and sounds like the 'City of squash and Swedish Open',"
explained the former Swedish international, now an active player on the
Masters circuit.
"It's all over the city
with a lot of coverage and adverting in different papers, radio
commercials with David Palmer, TV-advertising and a lot of different
marketing around the town. National Swedish TV will broadcast one hour
from the tournament and one TV-channel will cover the semis and the
finals live. Also PSA Live will be here to cover the tournament.
"Wimbledon champion
Stefan Edberg, a big squash fan, will be here as well. We have invited
Peter Nicol over too, and he has challenged Stefan to an exhibition
match," explained Johnson.
Men's 1st
round draw:
[1] David Palmer (AUS) v
Qualifier
[7] Alister Walker (ENG)
v Qualifier
[3] Olli Tuominen (FIN)
v Jean-Michel Arcucci (FRA)
[6] Liam Kenny (IRL) v
Stacey Ross (ENG)
[5] Davide Bianchetti
(ITA) v Qualifier
[4] Alex Gough (WAL) v
Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND)
[8] Aamir Atlas Khan
(PAK) v Christian Drakenberg (SWE)
[2] Karim Darwish (EGY)
v Qualifier
Women's 1st round draw:
[2] Georgina Stoker
(ENG) v Selina Sinclair (ENG)
[8] Carrie Hastings
(ENG) v Lovisa Forstadius (SWE)
[3] Margriet Huisman
(NED) v Anna Detter (SWE)
[6] Lotte Eriksen (NOR)
v Lauren Selby (ENG)
[7] Anna-Carin
Forstadius (SWE) v Qualifier
[4] Kirsty McPhee (ENG)
v Victoria Lust (ENG)
[5] Daniela Schumann
(GER) v Milou van der Heijden (NED)
[1] Line Hansen (DEN) v
Cajsa-Marie Gulin (SWE)
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