01/02/2006
DAVENPORT VIGINIA PRO
White Wins In Virginia
Draw
Reports
Tournament
Davenport Virginia Professional Squash Championship,
Richmond, USA
Final:
[1] John White (SCO)
bt [4] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 (41m)
Semi-finals:
[1] John White (SCO) bt [3]
Graham Ryding (CAN) 11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7 (48m)
[4] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt [2] Wael El Hindi (EGY) 2-11,
11-6, 7-11, 11-1, 11-10 (2-0) (77m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] John White (SCO) bt Mark
Heather (ENG) 11-8, 6-11, 11-3, 11-2 (41m)
[3] Graham Ryding (CAN) bt
[7] Dan Jenson (AUS) 11-6, 11-7, 10-11 (0-2), 3-11, 11-9 (83m)
[4] Adrian Grant (ENG) bt
[5] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) 4-11, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8 (76m)
[2] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt
[6] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 10-11 (0-2), 11-9, 11-6, 10-11 (1-3), 11-4 (82m)
Qualifying
finals:
Dylan Bennett (NED) bt
Regardt Schonborn (RSA) 11-10 (2-0), 11-7, 11-3 (35m)
Laurent Elriani (FRA) bt
David Phillips (CAN) 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (44m)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
bt Dylan Patterson (USA) 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 (33m)
Lee Drew (ENG) bt Ahmed
Maged Hamza (EGY) 11-10 (2-0), 11-5, 11-6 (45m)
Reports
John White and Adrian Grant
(right)
White Wins In Virginia
Scotland's John White netted his second PSA Tour title of the
year when he beat England's Adrian Grant in the final of the
Davenport Virginia Pro Squash Championship in Richmond, USA.
White, now based in Philadelphia in the USA, applied pressure from the
outset - but Grant hung with him point for point, chasing balls down and
displaying some excellent shots himself. When it mattered most, however,
White came up with what was needed and was able to close out the first game
11-9.
The 32-year-old Scot maintained his advantage in the second game and soon
took a 2/0 lead.
"The last game of the last match of this Championship was worthy of the
squash that has graced this court all week as both players exhibited the
athleticism, racquet skills and sportsmanship that makes them without doubt
two of the best players on this planet," said Tournament Director Gus
Cook.
Grant, a left-hander from London, again found himself chasing from the
start, up against an opponent who knows how to win the big matches at the
right time.
White displayed all the qualities that took him to the world No1 spot just
under two years ago as he closed out the third and final game to record an
11-9 11-6 11-9 victory in 41 minutes.
It was White's 25th appearance in a PSA Tour event final -
fittingly exactly 25 months after the first professional tournament was ever
played in the state of Virginia, in January 2004.
The success marked the Scot's 10th PSA title triumph, and
immediately followed his victory in the Dayton Open in Ohio.
White
& Grant In
Virginia Final
Favourite John White
and fourth seed Adrian Grant will meet in an all-British final of the
Davenport Virginia Pro Squash Championship in
Richmond, USA.
Grant staged a number of comebacks to overcome Egypt's second seed Wael
El Hindi in a dramatic 77-minute semi-final. The left-handed Englishman
from London twice found himself behind the skilful Egyptian but in the
fourth game bounced back to draw level with the loss of just a single point.
After a series of long rallies in the decider, Grant again dug deep and
found strength from somewhere to bring himself back from the brink of
defeat, saving two match balls and taking the game into a tie-break, before
winning four consecutive points to close out the match 2-11 11-6 7-11 11-1
11-10.
While Grant is celebrating his 15th appearance in a PSA Tour
final, White marked his 'silver' final by beating Canada's third seed
Graham Ryding. It is the Scot's second final in just over a week
but the 25th since he reached his first final in Santa Barbara,
in the USA, in June 1994.
After taking the first two games, White lost his focus in the third as
Ryding began to exhibit some of his own trademark skills and fought back to
reduce the deficit. But the top seed proceeded to pick up the pace again in
the fourth game and reasserted his top-dog status to close out the match
11-8 11-7 4-11 11-7 in 48 minutes.
Grant Survives Scare To
Vanquish Abbas In Virginia
England's fourth seed
Adrian Grant
was fully extended by
Egypt's Mohammed Abbas before beating the fifth seed in the
quarter-finals of the Davenport Virginia Pro Squash Championship in
Richmond,
USA.
The London-born left-hander
had to fight back from two games down to win 4-11 9-11 11-2 11-7 11-8 in 76
minutes to earn his predicted semi-final bout with second seed Wael El
Hindi, also an Egyptian.
In one of two quarter-final marathons which lasted more than 80 minutes, El
Hindi defeated Australia's sixth seed Cameron Pilley 10-11 11-9 11-6
10-11 11-4 in 82 minutes.
The other two players left in the draw of the $30,000 PSA Tour event
reached the semi-finals in contrasting styles. Favourite John White,
fresh from his success in last week's Dayton Open in Ohio, brushed
aside England's unseeded Mark Heather 11-8 6-11 11-3 11-2 in just 41
minutes.
The Scot's opponent, however, took more than twice as long to make the last
four. Canada's Graham Ryding, the third seed, twice saw his lead
pegged back by Australian Dan Jenson before finally seeing off the
seventh seed 11-6 11-7 10-11 3-11 11-9 in 83 minutes.
Rodriguez Makes It Into Fourth PSA Event Of The Year In Virginia
Colombia's Miguel Angel
Rodriguez successfully began his fourth PSA Tour campaign of the
year by qualifying for the Davenport Virginia Professional Squash
Championship at the
University of Richmond
in
Richmond,
USA.
The Bogotá boy beat USA's Dylan Patterson 11-9 11-7 11-7 in the
qualifying finals to set up a first round clash with Egypt's second seed
Wael El Hindi. Rodriguez arrived in Richmond fresh from his triumph in
the Rochester Pro Open in New York.
By contrast, Lee
Drew is making
his first PSA Tour appearance of the year. The Englishman despatched
Egypt's Ahmed Maged Hamza 11-10 11-5 11-6 in 45 minutes to earn a
first round meeting with top seed John White.
White, the Philadelphia-based world No10 from Scotland, also recorded a
PSA Tour victory last week, winning the Dayton Open in Ohio.
1st round draw:
[1] John White (SCO) v [Q]
Lee Drew (ENG)
[8] Mark Chaloner (ENG) v
Mark Heather (ENG)
[3] Graham Ryding (CAN) v
Ryan Donegan (USA)
[7] Dan Jenson (AUS) v [Q]
Dylan Bennett (NED)
[5] Mohammed Abbas (EGY) v
Liam Kenny (IRL)
[4] Adrian Grant (ENG) v [Q]
Laurent Elriani (FRA)
[6] Cameron Pilley (AUS) v
Raj Nanda (AUS)
[2] Wael El Hindi (EGY) v
[Q] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
The first round matches will be split between the Country Club of
Virginia and the all-glass court which has been set up in the grounds of
the University of Richmond. |
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