24/01/2006
WINDY CITYOPEN 2006
Palmer Punishes Power To Take Windy City Title
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University Club of
Chicago
Illinois Squash Racquets Association |
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Palmer Punishes Power To Take Windy City Title
In a dramatic climax to the richest PSA Tour event in North America,
Australia's David Palmer saved four match balls in the
fifth-game decider against Canada's world No1 Jonathon Power
to lift the SSA Global Windy City Open Squash Championship title at
the University Club in Chicago.
Power, the fifth seed from Montreal, had reached his 61st PSA final
after surviving a 66-minute five-game semi-final against Egypt's world No2
Amr Shabana, the reigning world champion.
Palmer, the Belgium-based fourth seed from Lithgow in New South
Wales, upset England's James Willstrop, the No2 seed, in straight
games to reach the climax of the $100,000 PSA Super Series Gold event.
The advantage in the final swung between both players, with Power
twice fighting back after Palmer leads. But the Canadian was the
first to reach match ball at 10-6. Incredibly, the Australian secured six
successive points, saving four match balls on the way, to claim a stunning
11-5 5-11 11-8 9-11 11-10 win in 88 minutes.
The triumph marks Palmer's 17th PSA Tour title success, but his
first since winning the Kuwait Open in March last year.
Day 6
Power & Palmer Progress
To Windy City Final
Canada's Jonathon Power
and David Palmer will contest the final of the SSA Global Windy
City Open Squash Championship after contrasting semi-finals wins in
the richest PSA Tour event in North America at the University
Club in Chicago.
Power, the world No1 from Montreal, twice stemmed fight backs by world No2
Amr Shabana before beating the world champion from Egypt 11-9 7-11
11-1 9-11 11-5 in 66 minutes to reach his third successive PSA Tour final.
In the other semi-final, fourth seed Palmer upset England's
James Willstrop, the No2 seed, 11-9 11-9 11-6 in 47 minutes to reach
his first PSA final since losing to Shabana in the World Open
climax in Hong Kong in December.
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Day 1
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Day 2
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Day 3
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Day 4
. Day 5
. Day 6
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Qualifying
. Draw
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Preview |
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Australia's David Palmer lifts
trophy in Chicago showdown! |
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Canadian Jonathon Power looses out in final
to Australia's David Palmer |
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Windy City Open
2006 |
Round 1
19/20 Jan |
Round 2
21 Jan |
Quarters
22 Jan |
Semis
23 Jan |
Final
24 Jan |
[1] Thierry Lincou (Fra)
11/5, 11/6, 11/9 (45m)
[Q] Mark Chaloner (Eng) |
Thierry Lincou
10/11(3-5), 11/7, 11/6, 11/9 (59m)
Azlan Iskandar |
Thierry Lincou
5-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-3 (54m)
Amr Shabana |
Amr Shabana
11-9, 7-11,
11-1, 9-11, 11-5 (66m)
Jonathon Power |
Jonathon Power
11-5, 5-11,
11-8, 9-11, 11-10 (2-0) (88m)
David Palmer
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[14] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
9/11, 11/7, 11/6, 7/11, 11/4 (65m)
[Q] Gavin Jones (Wal) |
[7] Amr Shabana (Egy)
8/11, 11/3, 11/8, 11/9 (39m)
Cameron Pilley (Aus) |
Amr Shabana
11/6, 11/4, 11/6 (39m)
Adrian Grant |
[16] Shahid Zaman (Pak)
11/9, 11/6, 11/8 (26m)
Adrian Grant (Eng) |
[3] Anthony Ricketts (Aus)
6/11, 11/10(4-2), 11/8, 11/5 (62m)
Wael El Hindi (Egy) |
Anthony Ricketts
8/11, 11/6, 11/1, 11/7 (45m)
Graham Ryding |
Anthony Ricketts
11-7, 11-9, 11-7 (43m)
Jonathon Power |
[12] Graham Ryding (Can)
11/8, 11/4, 11/7 (32m)
Joe Kneipp (Aus) |
[6] Jonathon Power (Can)
11/4, 11/4, 11/6
[Q]
Liam Kenny (Irl) |
Jonathon Power
11/9, 11/5, 11/7 (44m)
Gregory Gaultier |
[10] Gregory Gaultier (Fra)
11/4, 3/11, 3/11, 11/8, 11/0 (61m)
[Q] Borja Golan (Esp) |
Mohammed Abbas (Egy)
11/5, 8/11, 11/9, 11/9 (64m)
[15] Ong Beng Hee (Mas) |
Mohammed Abbas
11/6, 9/11, 11/10(6-4), 7/11, 11/3 (64m)
John White |
John White
7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 (49m) David Palmer |
David Palmer
11-9, 11-9,
11-6 (47m)
James Willstrop |
[Q] Ben Garner (Eng)
11/9, 11/6, 11/7 (29m)
[8] John White (Sco) |
[Q] Simon Parke (Eng)
6/11, 11/9, 11/8, 11/3 (70m)
[16] Alex Gough (Wal) |
Alex Gough
11/4, 11/10(2-0), 11/5 (37m)
David Palmer |
Jonathan Kemp (Eng)
11/7, 11/8, 11/2
[4] David Palmer (Aus) |
[Q] Dan Jenson (Aus)
11/8, 11/7, 8/11, 11/10(2-0) (57m)
[13] Olli Tuominen (Fin) |
Olli Tuominen
11/5, 11/8, 11/7 (41m)
Nick Matthew |
Nick Matthew
11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8 (67m)
James Willstrop |
Stewart Boswell (Aus)
11/6, 9/11, 11/1, 11/7 (60m)
[9] Nick Matthew (Eng) |
[Q] Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
11/4, 11/1, 11/3 (24m)
[11] Karim Darwish (Egy) |
Karim Darwish
11/7, 11/5, 11/7 (44m)
James Willstrop |
Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11/8, 11/10(2-0), 11/4 (40m)
[2] James Willstrop (Eng) |
Qualifying finals:
Liam Kenny (IRL) bt
Laurent Elriani (FRA) 11-9, 11-10 (3-1), 11-10 (3-1) (57m)
Gavin Jones (WAL) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 4-11, 11-2,
11-7, 11-5 (51m)
Simon Parke (ENG) bt Mark Heather (ENG) 11-6, 11-10 (3-1),
11-9 (50m)
Davide Bianchetti (ITA) bt Arshad Iqbal Burki (PAK) 11-4,
11-4, 11-6 (27m)
Mark Chaloner (ENG) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-9, 11-10 (5-3),
7-11, 11-3 (64m)
Ben Garner (ENG) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 11-10
(5-3), 7-11, 11-9, 1-11, 11-9 (62m)
Dan Jenson (AUS) bt Patrick Bedore (CAN) 11-4, 10-11 (2-4),
11-5, 11-2 (34m)
Borja Golan (ESP) bt Renan Lavigne (FRA) 11-5, 11-4, 11-5
(34m)
Qualifying
Mark Chaloner (ENG), Simon Parke
(ENG), Cameron Pilley (AUS), Renan Lavigne (FRA), Dan Jenson (AUS), Davide
Bianchetti (ITA), Gavin Jones (WAL), Ben Garner (ENG), Liam
Kenny (IRL), Borja Golan (ESP), Mark Heather (ENG), Daryl
Selby (ENG), Arshad Iqbal Burki (PAK), Laurent Elriani (FRA),
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL), Chris Gordon (USA), Wade Johnstone (AUS), Beau River (USA), Dylan Patterson (USA),
Patrick Chifunda (ZAM), Pat Bedore (CAN), Bertrand Tissot (FRA),
Lefika Ragontse (BOT), Michael Joint (AUS), Rob McFadzean (USA),
Ryan Donegan (USA) and locals
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Day 5
Top Seed Thierry Toppled By Sharp Shabana In Chicago
Egypt's world champion Amr Shabana confounded
the seedings in the SSA Global Windy City Open Squash Championship
at the University Club in Chicago when he upset French favourite
Thierry Lincou in the quarter-finals of the richest PSA Tour event in
North America.
Shabana, the fifth seed, dominated the match, winning 5-11 11-8
11-4 11-3 in 54 minutes to register his first victory over the Frenchman
since November 2004. It was Lincou's sixth successive failure to
achieve his seeding in a PSA Tour event since winning the Pakistan Open in
July last year.
Shabana, winner of last week's Canadian Classic in Toronto, now
faces Canadian Jonathon Power, his victim in the Classic final. A
relaxed Power, the world number one yet fifth seed in the event,
defeated Australia's third seed Anthony Ricketts 11-7 11-9 11-7 in
43 minutes, the shortest game of the day.
The other semi-final will be a repeat of the match at the same stage in
last December's World Open in Hong Kong – between England's James
Willstrop and Australia's David Palmer.
In the match of the quarter-finals, Willstrop beat England
team-mate Nick Matthew in a no-holds-barred match which went the
full distance. Matthew played inspired squash to force a fifth
game, but Willstrop ultimately prevailed 11-6 6-11 11-6 7-11 11-8 in 67
minutes.
After winning the first game, Scotland's John White had little
energy left to contest fourth seed Palmer. The Australian beat
White, the title-holder, 7-11 11-4 11-4 11-6 in 49 minutes.
Day 4
Titanic Tussles Lined Up As Top Eight Seeds Reach
Windy City Quarters
Packed crowds at the University Club in Chicago will be
treated to top-quality quarter-finals of the SSA Global Windy City Open
Squash Championship featuring the top eight seeds, three of which matches
will be replays of major recent finals on the PSA Tour.
Competing in the richest PSA Tour event in North America, Canada's world
No1 Jonathon Power and Australia's world No3 Anthony Ricketts will
re-enact the final of last month's Saudi International, the second richest
PSA event of last year. Power, the fifth seed, overcame ninth seed Gregory
Gaultier 11-9 11-5 11-2 after the Frenchman appeared to give up the second
round fight after the second game.
Ricketts, the third seed from Sydney who arrived in Chicago fresh from his
Men's Doubles triumph in the WSF World Doubles Championships in his home
country earlier in the month, despatched Power's Canadian team-mate Graham
Ryding , the 11th seed, 8-11 11-6 11-1 11-7.
In what was described as the "best match of the day by far" by
SquashTalk.com publisher Ron Beck, Scotland's John White, the seventh
seed, beat Egypt's unseeded Mohammed Abbas 11-6 9-11 11-10 7-11 11-3 in a
64-minute clash in which the 25-year-old from Cairo ran out of steam in
the fifth game.
Title-holder White will meet Australian David Palmer in the quarter-final,
which is a repeat of the 2002 World Open climax in which Palmer clinched
the title after an epic 102-minute battle. Palmer beat Alex Gough, the
15th seed from Wales, 11-4 11-10 11-5.
Top-seeded Frenchman Thierry Lincou fought back from a game down to defeat
Malaysia's 13th seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar 10-11 11-7 11-6 11-9 to set up a
replay of the 2003 World Open final against Egypt's sixth seed Amr Shabana,
now the world No2. Shabana dismissed fellow left-hander Adrian Grant, from
England, 11-6 11-4 11-6.
Day 3
Gough Outlasts Parke In Windy City Marathon
Britons Alex Gough and Simon Parke battled
for 70 minutes on the second day of first round action in the SSA
Global Windy City Open Squash Championship in Chicago before Welshman
Gough prevailed in four games to move into the last sixteen of the richest
PSA Tour event in North America.
The pair, until recently both based in Nottingham, have
played each countless times over the past two decades – though,
remarkably, not since October 2002 on the PSA Tour. English qualifier
Parke, a former world No3 from Leeds in Yorkshire, took the opening game –
but 15th seed Gough, two years older than his opponent at 35,
came back to win 6-11 11-9 11-8 11-3.
England's Nick Matthew, also a Yorkshireman, secured his third
successive win over Stewart Boswell since the Australian
mounted his successful comeback last year. The eighth seed from Sheffield
won 11-6 9-11 11-1 11-7 in 60 minutes and will now take on Finland's
Olli Tuominen in the next round.
Finn Tuominen dashed Dan Jenson's hopes, beating the Australian
qualifier 11-8 11-7 8-11 11-10.
Scotland's John White needed only 29 minutes to successfully begin
the defence of his title in Chicago. The seventh seed defeated English
qualifier Ben Garner 11-9 11-6 11-7 and will now face Egypt's
unseeded Mohammed Abbas for a place in the quarter-finals.
Day 2
Zaman & Beng Hee Blown Away In Windy City
England's Adrian Grant and Egyptian Mohammed
Abbas claimed unexpected places in the second round of the SSA
Global Windy City Open Squash Championship in Chicago after upsetting
seeds on the first day of first round action in the richest PSA Tour event
in North America.
Grant, a 25-year-old left-hander from London, brushed aside
Pakistan's 16th seed Shahid Zaman 11-9 11-6 11-8 in just 26 minutes
to secure his first PSA Tour win in four events since November.
Abbas continued the momentum which took him into the quarter-finals
of last week's Canadian Classic in Toronto to overcome Malaysia's 14th
seed Ong Beng Hee 11-5 8-11 11-9 11-9 in 63 minutes.
Canada's fifth seed Jonathon Power also cruised into the last
sixteen. The world No1 from Montreal, who has shocked the squash world by
announcing that he will not be defending his Commonwealth Games title in
Melbourne in March, beat Irish qualifier Liam Kenny 11-4 11-4 11-6.
The event's top seeds Thierry Lincou and James Willstrop
also began their 2006 campaigns on the PSA Tour in fine style: French
favourite Lincou dismissed English qualifier Mark Chaloner
11-5 11-6 11-9, while Willstrop, the second-seeded Englishman,
defeated Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema 11-8 11-10 11-4.
Day 1
World Squash Stars Blow Into Windy City
The world's top squash players have arrived in the 'windy city' of Chicago
to compete in the SSA Global Windy City Open, the richest Professional
Squash Association (PSA) Tour event in North America.
France's Thierry Lincou is top seed, and meets English qualifier Mark
Chaloner in the first round. The former world No7 needed 64 minutes to beat
young compatriot Daryl Selby 11-9 11-10 7-11 11-3 in the qualifying finals.
Scotland's defending champion John White, the seventh seed, takes on another
English qualifier Ben Garner, the 11-10 7-11 11-9 1-11 11-9 winner over
Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez.
England's world No8 Lee Beachill has been forced to withdraw from the
$100,000 event following 'exploratory knee surgery'. Fellow Yorkshireman
Nick Matthew has been elevated to eighth seed in the event, and has taken
Beachill's place in the draw against Australian Stewart Boswell.
England's No2 seed James Willstrop faces Laurens Jan Anjema, from the
Netherlands, in the first round.
North American interest is led by Canada's world No1 Jonathon Power, the
fifth seed who takes on Irish qualifier Liam Kenny in the opening round.
Reports
SSA Global Backs Windy City Open: North America's Richest
Championship
SSA Global, the largest
Chicago-based software company and a leading provider of extended
enterprise solutions and services, today announced its title sponsorship
of the 2006 SSA Global Windy City Open.
The 25th annual tournament, which will take place at the
University Club of Chicago from 16-24 January 2006, becomes the
richest PSA Tour event in North America.
Considered one of the top-10 PSA events on the world
tour, the championship will draw nearly 60 world-renowned squash players,
including number one-ranked Thierry Lincou from France. Squash
boasts more than one million players in the USA, with more than 1,500 in
the Chicago area.
"Chicago is a vibrant squash community, and we are
excited to host a tournament on par with the US, Qatar, British, and
Hong Kong Opens," said John Flanigan, tournament and
athletic director, University Club of Chicago. "SSA Global has been
integral in raising the game and elevating the tournament to world-class
status."
This year marks SSA Global's third as the tournament's
title sponsor. With a prize purse of $100,000, the 2006 SSA Global
Windy City Open tops out as the most lucrative tournament in US
professional squash history. International competitors, including more
than 200 amateur players of all skill levels, will travel to Chicago to
compete in the event.
"SSA Global is competing and winning internationally in
the top tier of enterprise software and services. This tournament provides
the perfect opportunity to represent our business while sharing our
passion for squash with Chicago and the rest of the world," said Graeme
Cooksley, executive vice president, SSA Global. "Additionally, SSA
Global has been headquartered in Chicago for 25 years and we want to help
fortify the city's global cache as a world travel destination through this
international sport."
The University Club expects to seat more than 2,000
spectators in Cathedral Hall alongside a special all-glass squash court.
SSA Global is the title sponsor of the event, while lead corporate
sponsors include Cognos, Grant Thornton, LaSalle Bank, Mercer-Marsh and
the Tilchen Corporation. Additional corporate sponsors include Foley &
Lardner; Uline; Midland Marketing; Alpha Capital; Ancora Associates;
Holstein Law and Front Row.
About the University Club of Chicago:
The University Club of Chicago is downtown's premier business, social, and
athletic club, located at Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street, directly
across from Millennium Park. The University Club of Chicago was
established in 1889 by university graduates who wanted a special place
where they could enjoy intellectual pursuits. The University Club of
Chicago was founded for the purpose of fostering an appreciation of
literature and the arts. College or university graduation remains the
basic requirement for membership, and within the membership nearly every
business and profession is represented.
About SSA Global:
SSA Global (NASDAQ: SSAG) is a leading provider of extended ERP solutions
for manufacturing, distribution, retail, services and public organizations
worldwide. In addition to core ERP applications, SSA Global offers a full
range of integrated extension solutions including corporate performance
management, customer relationship management, product lifecycle
management, supply chain management and supplier relationship management.
Headquartered in Chicago, SSA Global has 63 locations worldwide and its
product offerings are used by approximately 13,000 active customers in
over 90 countries. For additional information, visit the SSA Global web
site at
www.ssaglobal.com
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