TOURNAMENT:
Salzburg Squash Open, Salzburg, Austria
REPORTS:
1st round
Seeds Slump In Salzburg
Quarters and Semi-finals:
History Made As Qualifiers Quash Salzburg Opponents
Finals:
Rooney Celebrates Maiden PSA Title In Historic Salzburg Open
RESULTS:
MEN:
1st round:
[Q] John Rooney (IRL) bt [1] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 11-8, 11-6, 11-8 (48m)
Regardt Schonborn (RSA) bt [7] Andre Haschker (GER) 8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4
(49m)
[Q] Joe Lee (ENG) bt [4] Aqeel Rehman (AUT) 11-9, 11-7, 11-10 (3-1) (45m)
Neil Hitchens (ENG) bt [8] Ryan Thompson (NAM) 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-3 (65m)
[Q] Ricky Davies (WAL) bt [6] Friedrich Scheel (GER) 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-9
(47m)
[3] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Jakob Dirnberger (AUT) 11-5, 11-4, 11-3 (25m)
[Q] Morten W Sorensen (DEN) bt [5] Patrick Gaessler (GER) 11-10 (3-1), 11-7,
11-9 (41m)
[2] Romain Tenant (FRA) bt Rene Mijs (NED) 11-4, 11-5, 11-7 (33m)
Quarter-finals:
[Q] John Rooney (IRL) bt Regardt Schonborn (RSA) 11-10 (2-0), 11-9, 11-4
(39m)
[Q] Joe Lee (ENG) bt Neil Hitchens (ENG) 7-11, 6-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-2 (60m)
[Q] Ricky Davies (WAL) bt [3] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 11-10 (2-0), 8-11,
9-11, 11-5, 11-9 (85m)
[Q] Morten W Sorensen (DEN) bt [2] Romain Tenant (FRA) 8-11, 11-5, 11-4,
9-11, 11-7 (64m)
Semi-finals:
[Q] John Rooney (IRL) bt [Q] Joe Lee (ENG) 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (34m)
[Q] Ricky Davies (WAL) bt [Q] Morten W Sorensen (DEN) 11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9
(55m)
Final:
[Q] John Rooney (IRL) bt [Q] Ricky Davies (WAL) 11-6, 11-2, 11-2 (26m)
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REPORTS:
1st
round
Seeds Slump In Salzburg
Only two of the top eight seeds survived the first round of the Salzburg
Squash Open in a sensational opening day of upsets in the PSA Tour event in
the Austrian city.
Irish qualifier John Rooney recorded the biggest shock, ousting fellow
countryman Arthur Gaskin, the top seed, 11-8, 11-6, 11-8. Rooney will now
face Regardt Schonborn, the unseeded South African who upset Germany's
seventh seed Andre Haschker 8-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-4.
English qualifier Joe Lee disappointed local fans by upsetting tournament
organiser Aqeel Rehman, the No4 seed, 11-9, 11-7, 11-10 (3-1). The
17-year-old from Surrey will now take on compatriot Neil Hitchens for a
place in the semi-finals.
Quarter-finals and Semi-finals:
History Made As Qualifiers Quash Salzburg
Opponents
Salzburg, the Austrian city famed as the birthplace of Mozart, struck a
historical note in squash on Saturday when all four qualifiers in the
Salzburg Open made it through to the semi-finals of the PSA Tour event in
its second year.
Welshman Ricky Davies and Denmark's Morten W Sorensen both survived marathon
five-game thrillers to reach the last four - Davies, from Caldicot, fighting
back from 1/2 down to beat New Zealand's third seed Campbell Grayson 11-10
(2-0), 8-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9 in 85 minutes, and the 27-year-old Dane from
Copenhagen toiling for 64 minutes to upset second-seeded Frenchman Romain
Tenant 8-11, 11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7.
The pair then met in the semi-final, with 25-year-old Davies prevailing
11-8, 11-3, 8-11, 11-9 in 55 minutes to reach his first PSA Tour final.
Irishman John Rooney is the only qualifier to have come through the event
without dropping a game. After beating unseeded South African Regardt
Schonborn in the quarters, the Galway-born 27-year-old faced English Premier
League St George's Hill team-mate Joe Lee in the semi-finals.
Lee, 17, reached his first Tour semi-final after a 60-minute triumph over
unseeded compatriot Neil Hitchens, surviving a two-game deficit to win 7-11,
6-11, 11-1, 11-7, 11-2.
But it was the fresher Rooney who claimed the other place in the rare
all-qualifier final, beating Lee 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 to also record his maiden
appearance in a PSA Tour climax.
Final:
Rooney Celebrates Maiden PSA Title In
Historic Salzburg Open
Irishman John Rooney celebrated his PSA Tour title debut in the historic
Austrian city of Salzburg after beating fellow qualifier Ricky Davies in the
final of the Salzburg Squash Open.
The Satellite PSA event lived up to its staging in the city famed as the
birthplace of Mozart by creating its own place in squash history. For the
first time on the Tour, all four qualifiers made it through to the
semi-finals - after the two seeded players who survived the first round were
ousted in the quarter-finals!
Galway-born 27-year-old Rooney beat his English Premier League St George's
Hill team-mate Joe Lee in straight games in the semi-finals to reach the
final without dropping a game.
Davies, however, had battled through an 85-minute quarter-final before
securing a four-game win in 55 minutes over Denmark's Morten W Sorensen in
the other semi-final.
At the beginning of the opening game of the final, the rallies were close
and level, but from the middle of the game it was Rooney who took control
and dominated his opponent.
It was one-way traffic thereafter as the Irishman stormed to his 11-6, 11-2,
11-2 victory to secure his first international Tour title.
"Ricky looked to be tired after his marathon match yesterday while John let
him work hard again, but Ricky could not stand the pressure and after just
26 minutes the final was over," said tournament organiser Aqeel Rehman.
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