22/11/2010
DUTCH OPEN
Atkinson Bows out In Style As Pilley Wins The Men
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Reports |
Men's Draw |
Women's Draw |
Preview |
 Dutch Open Squash 2010
Men's Draw
16-21 Nov, Victoria Squash,
Rotterdam |
Round One
18 Nov |
Quarters
19 Nov |
Semis
20 Nov |
Final
21 Nov |
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11-5, 11-7, 12-10
(55m)
Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) |
Laurens Jan Anjema
11-6, 5-11, 11-3,
14-12 (54m)
Hisham Ashour |
Laurens Jan Anjema
11-5, 11-5, 11-1
(54m)
Stewart Boswell |
Laurens Jan Anjema
11/7, 11/9, 11/13, 14/12 (105m)
Cameron Pilley |
[5] Hisham Ashour (Egy)
11-7, 11-4, 7-11,
11-7 (49m)
Davide Bianchetti (Ita) |
[4] Stewart Boswell (Aus)
11-5, 11-8, 11-7
(40m)
Dylan Bennett (Ned) |
Stewart Boswell
11-4, 5-11, 11-4,
11-7 (47m)
Simon Rosner |
[6] Simon Rosner (Ger)
13-11, 11-9,
9-11, 11-7 (67m)
Chris Simpson (Eng) |
[Q] Jens Schoor (Ger)
11-2, 11-3, 11-7
(29m)
[7] Chris Ryder (Eng) |
Chris Ryder
14-12, 5-11,
5-11, 11-8, 11-8 (92m)
Alister Walker |
Chris Ryder
11-9, 11-5, 11-8
(48m)
Cameron Pilley |
[Q] Joel Hinds (Eng)
11-6, 11-0, 12-10
(43m)
[3] Alister Walker (Eng) |
[Q] Steve Finitsis (Aus)
11-6, 11-9, 4-11,
11-9 (80m)
[8] Aaron Frankcomb (Aus) |
Steve Finitsis
11-9, 13-11, 5-11,
7-11, 11-7 (90m)
Cameron Pilley |
[Q] Piedro Schweertman (Ned)
12-10, 11-7, 11-5
(40m)
[2] Cameron Pilley (Aus) |
Dutch Open Squash 2010
Women's Draw
16-21 Nov, Victoria Squash,
Rotterdam |
Round One
18 Nov |
Quarters
19 Nov |
Semis
20 Nov |
Final
21 Nov |
[1] Rachael Grinham (Aus)
11-8, 11-1, 11-4
(25m)
[Q] Victoria Lust (Eng) |
Rachael Grinham
11/7, 11/1, 11/7 (29m)
Manuela Manetta |
Rachael Grinham
11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8 (45m)
Vanessa Atkinson |
Vanessa Atkinson
11/9, 11/3, 11/7 (36m)
Madeline Perry |
[8] Manuela Manetta (Ita)
12-10, 7-11,
6-11, 11-6, 11-9 (60m)
Annelize Naudé (Ned) |
[4] Vanessa Atkinson (Ned)
11-5, 11-5, 11-7
(25m)
Heba El Torky (Egy) |
Vanessa Atkinson
11/3, 6/11, 9/11, 11/9, 11/5 (51m)
Sarah Kippax |
[5] Sarah Kippax (Eng)
11-4, 7-11, 11-4,
11-5 (36m)
[Q] Sina Wall (Ger) |
Orla Noom (Ned)
11-6, 8-11, 11-8,
11-7 (41m)
[7] Latasha Khan (Usa) |
Orla Noom
11/8, 11/6, 11/5 (31m)
Natalie Grinham |
Natalie Grinham
11-4,
5-11, 11-9, 11-9 (42m)
Madeline Perry |
[Q] Emily Whitlock (Eng)
11-9, 11-3, 12-10
(25m)
[3] Natalie Grinham (Ned) |
Kanzy El Dafrawy (Egy)
12-10, 12-10, 9-11,
11-3 (50m)
[6] Aisling Blake (Ned) |
Aisling Blake
11/3, 11/9, 11/7 (39m)
Madeline Perry |
[Q] Nicolette Fernandes (Guy)
11-9, 11-4, 11-5
(29m)
[2] Madeline Perry (Irl) |
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Reports
Atkinson Bows out In Style As Pilley Wins The Men
Home favorite Vanessa Atkinson played out of her skin today to claim the
Dutch Open Squash 2010 title in Rotterdam, the 'capital of sports' in the
Netherlands. The 34-year old Dutch player crowned a wonderful week with an
impressive win over Madeline Perry, the event's second seed, in front of
a packed and appreciative crowd at the renowned Victoria squash club.
Atkinson started off slowly, going 2-6 down in the opening game, but took charge
from that moment onwards and totally dominated her higher ranked opponent. The
2004 World Champion displayed a level, which was simply too much for Perry to
handle, and romped home to a 11-9, 11-3, 11-7 win.
The Dutch Open triumph, her second, marks Atkinson's 24th WISPA Tour title, and
makes a perfect ending for the 12-time Dutch National champion, who announced
her retirement for May 2011, therefore winning the last match and tournament she
competed in on home soil.
In the men’s draw Cameron Pilley made it 'third time lucky' when he
defeated local hero Laurens Jan Anjema in four close fought games in
Sunday's climax. The tall Aussie made amends for losing out in the 2008 and 2009
Dutch Open finals, to England's Nick Matthew and Daryl Selby respectively, by
upsetting the seeding and denying the large home crowd a double Dutch victory.
Pilley started the final in full swing, firing in blistering drives from the
onset, forcing his opponent to not take control of the T-area. Anjema resisted
heavily though and the crowd where in for a real treat. With the players
matching each other in intensity and determination, it was always going to come
down to a few points here and there, and Pilley ended up the one winning the
most important ones. After 105 minutes the scoreboard showed a 11-7, 11-9,
11-13, 14-12 score line in favour of the Australian, who is sure to rise in the
world rankings due to his biggest tournament win ever.
Despite his loss in today's final against his regular practice partner, who
moved to Holland almost three years ago, Anjema will find himself in the world's
top-10 next month, for the first time ever, when the new PSA World Rankings are
revealed.
Atkinson and Anjema Delight Home Crowd
Dutch favourites Vanessa Atkinson and Laurens Jan Anjema secured
home interest in both the men’s and women’s final at the Dutch Open Squash
2010 with two equally impressive performances on Saturday at the Victoria
Squash club in Rotterdam.
Women
34-year old Vanessa Atkinson delighted a packed gallery with an
impressive performance against top seed Rachael Grinham to keep hopes for
a home winner alive during the $25,300 WISPA tournament in the Dutch city of
Rotterdam. The Dutch star sneaked the opening game, but had to succumb in game
two with Grinham moving her around just a little too much for her liking. The
third proved to be decisive with Grinham leading most of the way, but Atkinson
taking the honours. The fourth followed the same pattern with Atkinson clinching
the final points after some spectacular rallies: 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8.
In
Sunday’s final Atkinson will face Ireland’s Madeline Perry who secured a
hard-fought win over Dutch ‘mum’ Natalie Grinham. The Irish champion took
the first with ease, but was unable to stop the attacking play of her opponent
in game two with Grinham junior leveling the score. The third and fourth proved
to be close affairs as Perry, the world number 6, and Grinham, the former world
number 2 currently ranked 67, traded shot for shot until the end of each of each
game with Perry closing them out just a little bit better than the 2009 European
champion.
Whilst Grinham can be happy with her performance, showing enormous improvements
from her first tournaments as a new-born mother, Perry can look forward to her
first Dutch Open final. One that shapes up to be a cracker with Perry gunning
for her first Dutch Open title and the third seeded Dutch ace looking for
revenge after losing to Perry, seeded second in Rotterdam, in the Irish Open
final just two months ago!
Men
In
the men’s event the home crowd, out in large numbers to support their heroes,
witnessed a spectacular performance from their number one Dutch player with
Laurens Jan Anjema playing the match of his life to reach the final of the
Dutch Open Squash 2010. The 27-year old from The Hague was in total control from
start to finish against Australia's Stewart Boswell and hardly put a foot
wrong as he stormed to a 11-5, 11-5, 11-1 victory.
Earlier in the evening Cameron Pilley moved into his third consecutive
Dutch Open final, fighting off a spirited challenge by England's Chris Ryder
in the first men's semi final. The big tall Aussie was in blistering form,
combining powerful kills, controlled drives and deft drops to deny the seventh
seeded Ryder a place in Sunday's climax. Pilley won the first, a close fought
game, then raced away with the second when he seemed to step up a gear halfway
through the game. The third was close again, but a tired looking Ryder was
unable to match the impressive front court play of the number two seed.
Anjema's win over Boswell not only secured him a place in Sunday's final, but it
also means that the Dutch champion will find his name back in the world's
top-ten for the first time when the next rankings are published on December 1st.
Whether he can ‘celebrate’ it with a win is partly in the hands of his regular
practice partner Cameron Pilley, the world number 14, who is looking to make it
'third time lucky' after losing out to Nick Matthew (2008) and Daryl Selby
(2009) in the two previous Dutch Open finals!
Dutch
Hopes Stay Alive in Dutch Quarters
Dutch favourites Vanessa Atkinson and Laurens Jan Anjema were both sorely tested
in Rotterdam before taking their expected places in the semi-finals, on a day
which saw one major upset at the Victoria Club.
LJ
stems Ashour
You pretty much know what you're going to get with Hisham Ashour - outrageous
winners from anywhere on the court, coupled with patches of determined
'traditional' play, and if you're lucky a few tins thrown in for good measure.
Whether all the Victoria crowd realized what they were in for is hard to tell,
but Laurens Jan Anjema certainly knew, and he, and they, duly got it all. A few
too many tins from Hisham in the first, a few too many winners from LJ's point
of view in the second. The Egyptian's concentration went in the third and LJ
took advantage. The fourth was a humdinger. An early lead for LJ, a comeback
from Hisham to earn two game balls at 10/8, plenty of discussions with the refs,
a final momentum switch as LJ finally, finally put the nerves of the crowd to
rest.
"I'm happy and relieved to get through that one for sure," said LJ. Hisham is a
really difficult player to play, you have to adapt to it and not play your usual
game. "The fact that my family and friends are here in the gallery gives you an
extra two or three percent, the support is great and I needed all of that
today!"
Anjema's opponent in the semi-finals will be Australian fourth seed Stewart
Boswell, who started well enough against Simon Rosner, but found himself level
after a fight back from the German. The comeback floundered in the third though,
as Rosner berated himself for a number of unforced errors, and Boswell needed no
second invitation as he powered through to claim a spot in the last four.
Ryder shocks Walker
"That's more pleasing than beating him last time in Alexandria," said a
delighted Chris Ryder after beating third seed Alister Walker in a marathon
quarter-final to open proceedings. "It was long," added Ryder, "but it wasn't
fast paced, I couldn't beat him at that type of game, he's a better athlete than
me." Ryder made a good enough start, although it took a while for him to
establish a 7/2 lead as the rallies were long, the opportunities rare. Walker
fought back but still Ryder reached 10/7, but he couldn't finish it, at least
not until extra points, with two short kills at the end of long rallies from
12-all, with 29 minutes on the clock. Walker came out fast, more aggressive in
the next two games, took early leads and closed them out, both 11/5. Ryder
regrouped though, and led throughout the final two games, never by much, but he
never allowed Walker to get back on level terms, and let out a delighted "Yes"
as he put the final ball deep into the back corner with Walker stranded at the
front.
"He was more prepared for what I had to offer this time," admitted Ryder, "and
he played very well in the second and third, he got good starts which are hard
to catch up on this court. Joel [Hinds] was telling me to go back to basics, but
to be a little more aggressive too - I was trying to win through tactics, but
you have to add a bit of physicality too, and that's what I did in the fourth
and fifth."
Pilley survives
"Every little helps," quipped second seed Cameron Pilley after being told that
he'd spent two minutes less on court than his semi-final opponent. Another
marathon match, this time between two big, hard-hitting, Dutch-based Aussies,
and to say it could have gone either way is an understatement. Pilley took three
points in row at the end of the first, then saved two game balls in the process
of doing the same in the second - 15 and 22 minutes, those games took. The third
and fourth were shorter, 11 and 13 minutes, as Steve Finitsis, in Pilley's
words, "opened his shoulders and started going for some ridiculous winners, and
getting most of them!"
Cue the fifth, a 22-minute game that was almost like a match in its own right.
Finitsis took the first point, and stayed one or two ahead as the scoreboard
inched its way to 7/5. Steve was still going for his winners, but they weren't
coming off as well now, and he had to resort to a full-length dive or three to
stop some of Cameron's attempts. Cameron put in a tight drop and was awarded a
stroke to level, then we had six long rallies and six lets, how on earth would
it ever end? Two loose shots and two quick strokes to Cameron proved the deal
breaker, an dying length and a final short kill that Steve thought about diving
for but didn't, and we had our first semi-final pairing.
"Oh my God ... it was just one of those games," said Pilley. "It wasn't a push
to win the first two, but it was tough. I'm not playing very well, and I had a
tough three games yesterday and five tough ones today. I'm not really sure how I
won that in the end. After he took the third and fourth I just had to try and
contain him in the fifth, which in the end I did. Sometimes it takes something
like that to get you into gear, let's hope so!"
Atkinson firmly tested
The crowd were out in force to see Vanessa Atkinson set out on the next leg of
her quest to claim a second Dutch Open title in her final outing in the event
[she won in 2002]. It started off well for the home favourite, well in control a
first game in which Sarah Kippax was struggling to get a foothold. That foothold
was all but given to her as Atkinson made a series of unforced errors at the
start off the second, and soon Kippax led 7/1. Winning the longest rally of the
match seemed to cure Atkinson of her tin-itis, but it she was too far behind and
soon enough we were level.
If
Kippax had received a helping hand in the second, she needed none in the third
as she played her best squash, stayed with Atkinson all the way and from 9-all
took the lead with a lovely crosscourt flick and a stroke with Atkinson trapped
at the front. It was all to do for the Dutch star, and she came out in the
fourth showing every sign of intending to do it, leading 7/1, then 10/4. The
crowd, and Vanessa herself, were getting nervous as Sarah pulled back point by
point. Two delicate drops from midcourt brought her to within a point, but a
third attempt was picked up and despatched by Vanessa, to the relief of most.
There was less anxiety about the fifth, 6/2, 10/4 and finished on the second
attempt ... phew.
"I
felt quite tired at the start of the match," admitted the winner, "I was setting
a high pace and the nervous energy from the support got to me a bit I think. But
it was working, I stepped back a bit in the second, I should have kept going,
that gave her some confidence and made a bit of a momentum shift. The third was
close all the way, but I played a good fourth and knew the fifth would be tough
as I was starting to feel it physically then. Fortunately I got a few quick
points at the start. It's great having everyone here, and a relief too as I
normally lose when my parents come to watch!"
Top three through with ease
Madeline Perry came through her all-Irish clash with Aisling Blake relatively
unscathed. The second seed looked comfortable in the first game, but Blake
regrouped and offered sterner resistance thereafter, but leads of 9/6 in the
second and 6/5 in the third couldn't be converted as Perry powered through.
Top seed Rachael Grinham had Manuela Manetta running around in circles in the
middle part of their match. The Italian ran willingly, as she always does, but
the Australian's range of drops, lobs and flicks proved too much for her, as
they do to many an opponent.
Rachael's younger sister Natalie Grinham, playing under the Dutch flag, showed
6-month-old Kieran that her comeback is gathering strength as she won the
all-Dutch battle with Orla Noom, who couldn't repeat her heroics of yesterday
but still gave the former world number two a good workout.
Full
results and more information can be found at
www.dutchopensquash.nl.
Mixed
success for Dutch in Round One in Rotterdam
While hosts Holland have most players in the women's draw of the Dutch Open in
2010, home hopes in the men's event rest on the shoulders of national number one
Laurens Jan Anjema.
Men's Round One
"He was so fast in the first two games," said Mathieu Castagnet after losing out
to top seed and local favourite Laurens Jan Anjema. "He was pretty fast too,"
countered LJ, "and the thing with Mathieu is that his level never changes, he's
the same throughout the whole match, so in the first you think 'this is not too
bad', but by the time you get to the third you think 'this is getting hard
now'." And that's exactly what happened. It was never easy, the rallies were
tough, the hitting ferocious and the retrieving at times breathtaking, but LJ
held the upper hand in the first two games. Far from staying at the same level,
it seemed that Castagnet upped his game in the third, moved faster, hit harder,
led 5/1, 6/4 and 8/6, but LJ picked his own game up for one final effort,
levelled at 9-all and, much to his own relief, took the match on his second
match ball. LJ, the only player in the men's draw to compete in every edition of
the Dutch Open since 2002, was happy to be through in three games: "The first
two games were very tough physically, the third was tough scorewise, I just had
to keep my focus there, it was more of a mental game, that one."
Next up for Anjema is Egypt's Hisham Ashour, older brother of, who came through
a noisy encounter with Davide Bianchetti. "I enjoyed it, but there was too much
talking," claimed Hisham, who it has to be said is normally the instigator of
such things.
After yesterday's heroics it was a quick return to Earth for qualifiers Jens
Schoor and Joel Hinds as they both crashed out 3/0 in the opening matches of the
day. Schoor only really got into a rhythm against seventh seed Chris Ryder when
he was already 8/2 down in the third, but he couldn't delay the inevitable for
long. "One match too many," he said afterwards. "Yesterday was tough and if I'd
had a day's rest I might have done better, but Chris was too strong for me
today."
Hinds lost to Alister Walker in a strange scoreline of 11/6, 11/0, 12/10, and he
matched the third seed for over half the match - the first was even up to 6-all,
but Walker then took the next sixteen points to establish a commanding lead.
"Too many mistakes, and even when I did have opportunities I messed them up,"
mused Joel, "just not good enough." He came back strongly in the third though,
and had a game ball at 10/9 to extend the match, but Walker again denied him.
Runner-up for the last two years, Cameron Pilley's 2010 campaign didn't get off
to the greatest of starts as the second seed found himself 10/7 down to Dutch
qualifier Piedro Schweertman in their first game. "He played well in the first,
at five or six all he started going for crosscourt nicks and got most of them,"
explained Pilley. "I just had to try to weather the storm, tough out a few
rallies and get back into it."
He
did just that, taking the next five points and enjoying a more comfortable time
in the next two games of which he was always in charge. "I train with Piedro
quite a bit so I know he's a strong ld and that it was going to take a little
while to tire him out." The Hague-based Aussie finished off the match in style
with a powerful kill to the front corner, although to be fair it was about the
tenth nick he'd tried for in that rally.
Steve Finistis predicted last night that his match with fellow-Aussie Aaron
Frankcomb would be tough, and so it proved, 80 minutes for a 3-1 win and the
first upset of the main draw. "It was more of a length game, the pace wasn't
ridiculously high so I don't feel too bad physically," said a delighted winner.
"At two-nil up I maybe thought I had a bit of a roll on and relaxed a bit, but
he stayed steady to pull one back and we both fell back into a sort of safe mode
in the fourth." It certainly was a tight finish as the fourth was level all the
way to 9-all, five lets were played then Finitsis won a stroke as Frankcomb
played the ball down the middle of the court then promptly tinned his service
return.
The final pair of men's matches saw home hopes left to rest on LJ's ample
shoulders as Stewart Boswell joined fellow Australians Pilley and Finitsis in
the quarters at the expense of Dylan Bennett. He will meet Simon Rosner whose
hour plus win over Chris Simpson left the English with just two players in the
last eight.
Women's Round One
The women's first round kicked off with contrasting wins for two Irishwomen,
guaranteeing that the Irish will be represented in the semi-finals. Second seed
Madeline Perry was comfortable enough against qualifier Nicolette Fernandes, the
only trick moment coming when she almost let a 10/4 lead slip in the first. "I
always seem to find a way of making it hard," she commented.
What would Aisling Blake have given for a lead like that - she struggled for
three games to see of the determined young Egyptian Kanzy El Dafrawy who,
despite a few trademark dives, narrowly lost out in the first and second games.
The tables were turned in the third as Kanzy edged another too-close-to-call
game, but Aisling finally gained some measure of control in the fourth, leaving
her opponent sprawled on the floor as she tucked away the winning drive. “It was
a good game for me to play, she has a totally different style so I had to learn
how to deal with that and try different things myself. When I attacked straight
she was under a lot more pressure but it took time. It will be nice to play
Madeline, we haven't played in a while, but we both know each other's games very
well so there probably won't be many surprises this time around."
Top seed Rachael Grinham encountered some strong early resistance from English
qualifier Victoria Lust, but once her 'pull you here, twist you there' style of
play started to take its toll it became easier for the Australian, and although
Lust never stopped fighting there was only one likely outcome.
The outcome of the final match of the afternoon session was in the balance right
until the death though, as eighth seed Manuela Manetta withstood the attacking
play of local favourite Annelize Naudé to win a gruelling five-setter. "Her
shots are so good," said the Italian, who now faces Grinham in the quarters.
"You just have to make sure you get a good length, anything on the T she can
chop it in and you're in big trouble. I tried to keep the pace slower, and I
didn't feel any pressure, I just wanted to enjoy the match. It's not easy to
play her but I thought I played well today, and it's nice to get a win too!"
First on the showcourt for the evening session was Natalie Grinham, continuing
her comeback with six-month-old Kieran watching as ever. The junior theme was
maintained as her opponent was 16-year-old qualifier Emily Whitlock, half her
opponent's age. The English girl wouldn't have expected too much against the
former world number two, but she gave an excellent account of herself. She was
in contention for the whole of the first game, but two or three unforced errors
contributed to her undoing. It was all Grinham in the second, floating the ball
around and pushing in those soft drops, making her opponent work hard but still
willing to put in the work herself when needed. The Dutchwoman continued to hold
sway in the third, led 4/1, 7/4 and 10/7 but rather surprisingly didn't finish
it off as Emily came back to force extra points with two lovely winners. That
was as far as she got though, she was thoroughly worked out of position on the
next point and wrongfooted by Natalie's drop on the match ball that counted, but
she will be encouraged nonetheless.
Orla Noom was surprised to see so many supporters make the short trip over to
court two once Natalie's match had finished: "I was quite happy not to play on
the showcourt, there were a few people watching and then suddenly the gallery
was packed!" They enjoyed the spectacle too as Orla fought out a tough battle
with Latasha Khan. A good start for the Dutchwoman was cancelled out by the
many-time US champion, but Orla managed to keep her nose in front for the next
two games to cement a win which she was delighted with. "That was fun," she
said. "Well, it was really hard actually, especially the third. I thought I was
dying in that one so it's a good job I snuck it otherwise I'd have been in big
trouble. We play a lot in training and I can count on one hand the games I've
taken off her, so to actually win in this tournament is great - I don't usually
play well in Holland so I was just hoping I didn't freeze or mess it up, and
thankfully I didn't! It will be fun playing Nat, I play her a lot in training
too and he's getting better and better every week, so nothing to lose I'll just
give it a good go."
"It's a strange feeling knowing you're playing your last WISPA tournament in
Holland," said twelve-time Dutch Champion Vanessa Atkinson after her opening
match, "it could go two ways, a great way to finish or an absolute disaster -
let's hope it's the latter!" She made a good enough start, wining in straight
games against the all-action young Egyptian Heba El Torky, who confessed to be
nervous at the prospect of playing a player with such a record. "She's such a
great player," said Heba. "I would put in a good dropshot, she'd get there and
at the last minute play a lob and I'd have to start the rally again!" For her
part, Vanessa knew she had to be on her guard: "She's very bouncy, and I knew
she could be very dangerous so I was prepared for it being difficult, but I felt
pretty sharp, especially for a first round. Sharp she was, consolidating an
early lead in the first and dominating the second as she moved ahead 9/1. Heba's
nerves were showing as she made a few errors and berated herself for them, but
she settled, got a few ppints back before losing the second and held her own in
the third, getting as close as 8/7 before Vanessa stepped on the accelerator to
finish it off. "This is the club I play league for, so it's nice to be on
familiar ground," added Vanessa, "I know a lot of people here which always
helps."
Atkinson now meets England's Sarah Kippax, who beat German qualifier Sina Wall
in four games.
Full
results and more information can be found at
www.dutchopensquash.nl.
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Preview
Anjema commits to Dutch Open
Dutch ace Laurens Jan Anjema has announced that he will
participate in next month’s Dutch Open Squash 2010, which will take place
from 16-21 November 2010 at the renowned squash club Victoria Squash
in Rotterdam.
The 27-year old from The Hague is experiencing a
successful year and is closing in on becoming the first ever Dutch player to
reach the world’s top-10. Anjema already won 2 PSA Tour titles in the beginning
of this year in Canada and reached the final of the US Open only
ten days ago, in which he went down fighting to Wael el Hindi.
A good result during the PSA 3 Star championship in
Rotterdam might mean that the left handed Dutchmen, currently ranked 11th in the
world, will break into the top-10, which adds an extra dimension to the high
profile tournament on Dutch soil.
Tournament director Tommy Berden also confirmed that
Dylan Bennett was granted the wildcard for the main draw of this year’s
Dutch Open, providing the 26-year old from Eindhoven, who proved
victorious during 2 PSA tournaments this year, with a chance to boost his
current world ranking of 70.
The third biggest squash tournament in Europe in 2010, the Dutch
Open will feature a Professional Squash Association (PSA) 3 Star event
and a Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (WISPA) Silver 20 competition,
which will attract some of the world’s best male and female players to
Rotterdam, also known as the ‘City of Sports’ in Holland. The Dutch Open Squash
2010 offers a total prize fund of US$55,000 as well as valuable world
ranking points for competitors from all over the world.
More information about the Dutch
Open Squash 2010 can be found at the official tournament site: www.dutchopensquash.nl.
Dutch Open back in Rotterdam
The Dutch Open Squash championships will take place
again this year in Rotterdam. The tournament will be staged from 16-21
November 2010 at Victoria Squash, one of the most successful squash
clubs in the Netherlands.
The third biggest squash tournament in Europe in 2010, the Dutch
Open will feature a Professional Squash Association (PSA) 3 Star event
and a Women’s International Squash Players’ Association (WISPA) Silver 20 competition,
which will attract some of the world’s best male and female players to
Rotterdam, also known as the ‘City of Sports’ in Holland. The Dutch Open Squash
2010 offers a total prize fund of US$55,000 as well as valuable world
ranking points for competitors from all over the world.
This year’s Dutch Open will see the return of the best female
players to the championship after a one year absence due to the staging of the
Forexx Women’s World Open Squash 2009 in the Netherlands. Malaysia’s World
Champion Nicol David is the reigning title holder in the women’s event
having won the tournament in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Dutch stars Natalie Grinham (2003
and 2004) and Vanessa Atkinson (2002) have also won the highly
sought-after title at least once each before.
The last three men’s editions of the Dutch Open were won by David
Palmer (2007), Nick Matthew (2008) and Daryl Selby (2009).
Five time Dutch champion Laurens Jan Anjema won the most prestigious
squash championship on Dutch soil back in 2004.
Last year was the first time that the high profile event was
played in Rotterdam, as a result of an extensive partnership that was struck
between promoter NextSquash and its tournament partners Squash Bond
Nederland and Rotterdam Topsport to further enhance the profile of
squash in the harbour city. In the same deal it was agreed that Rotterdam would
also host the World Open Squash 2011, the individual world championship
for both men and women, which will be staged next year in the renowned Luxor
Theatre in Rotterdam.
More
information about the Dutch Open Squash 2010 can be found at the official
tournament site: www.dutchopensquash.nl.
More info about the World Open Squash 2011 is available at
www.worldopensquash2011.com
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