Reports
 

Pilley Punishes Grant In Wolverhampton Open Upset 

Australian Cameron Pilley secured an unexpected place in the men's final of the Wolverhampton Open after upsetting second-seeded Englishman Adrian Grant in the semi-finals of the UK’s biggest club-based squash championships in Wolverhampton, England.

Pilley, the No4 seed, will face England favourite Lee Beachill in the $30,000 3-star PSA Tour event final, while the women's WISPA World Tour Silver championship final will feature the top two seeds Madeline Perry, of Ireland, and England's defending champion Laura Lengthorn-Massaro.

Despite surviving a marathon two-hour quarter-final only 24 hours before, Adrian Grant showed remarkable powers of recovery to fight back from 2/0 down against Pilley to level the match.  But the all-round challenge of the 24-year-old from New South Wales eventually proved too great as Pilley clinched his 11-5, 11-9, 3-11, 6-11, 11-8 victory after 90 minutes.

“Today was very hard and I had to dig really deep to win,” said Pilley. “Adrian’s performance was incredible in view of his match yesterday, and I’m just looking forward to giving it a good go tomorrow. The club has a great feel and atmosphere which really suits my game.”

Lee Beachill, the three times British National Champion, twice Commonwealth Games gold medallist and former world No1, defeated Spain's defending champion Borja Golan 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-10 (3-1).

The young Spaniard, who has helped add a real international flavour to the event in which a total of seventeen nationalities have been represented, showed signs of fatigue - which allowed Yorkshireman Beachill to become increasing dominant as the match progressed.

“It’s very different playing on traditional courts as opposed to the all-glass courts that I have been used to over the past few years, but I’ve enjoyed the challenge,” said Beachill.  “Winning is a habit and winning my three matches this week has helped to become more confident.  Borja showed today just how competitive the men’s game is and I am really pleased to have beaten him to reach the final.”

Despite winning in straight games, both top seeds in the women's event were made to battle in their semi-finals.  Perry, the Irish number one and eight-times national champion, needed 55 minutes to achieve her 9-3, 9-4, 9-7 victory over England's third seed Dominique Lloyd-Walter.

“Dominique played really well tonight,” said the No1 seed.  “The third game was particularly tough. I had to work really hard and I’m just so pleased to have made it to the final.”

Second seed Laura Lengthorn-Massaro had an equally competitive match, taking just one minute less to overcome unseeded Orla Noom, the world No45 from the Netherlands, 9-1, 10-8, 9-0.

“I’m really pleased to be in tomorrow’s final and to have the opportunity of defending my title,” said the 23-year-old from Preston.  “Tomorrow will be a hard match and I’m really looking forward to playing Madeline who is obviously playing really well.”

Grant Stretched In Two-Hour Wolverhampton Marathon

England's second seed Adrian Grant endured a two-hour marathon men's quarter-final in the Wolverhampton Open before overcoming Italian number one Davide Bianchetti to reach the last four of the UK’s biggest club-based squash championships in Wolverhampton, England.

From a game down, the 26-year-old Londoner fought back to win 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 10-11 (2-4), 11-7 in 120 minutes - a match which was not only the second longest of his career, but the second longest on the Tour this year.

“There was always going to be a lot of talk on court between us,” said Grant, the first black player to represent England.  “There is a bit of history between us and at times the talk outshone the squash. The most important thing was the win - and to play that poorly and still win can’t be that bad!”

Grant will face fourth seed Cameron Pilley for a place in the final after the 6'3" Australian defeated Egyptian Omar Abdel Aziz 11-6, 11-10 (2-0), 11-6.

Top seed Lee Beachill, the three times British National Champion, twice Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist and former world No1, defeated fellow Englishman Bradley Ball with another impressive display, winning 11-9, 3-11, 11-10 (3-1), 11-4 in 59 minutes. The Yorkshireman will face Borja Golan in the semi-finals after the popular third seed from Spain brushed aside England’s seventh seed Stacey Ross 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 in just 38 minutes.

In the women's event, England’s defending champion Laura Lengthorn-Massaro cruised into the semi-finals with a confident 9-1, 9-4, 9-0 win over French qualifier Camille Serme.

“I feel really comfortable playing here," said the second seed from Preston in Lancashire.  “I’ve never played Camille before and was unsure exactly what to expect.  My length was good from the beginning and I was really pleased with how I played overall,” added the 23-year-old.

Lengthorn-Massaro will face Dutch opponent Orla Noom, who knocked out India’s No7 seed Joshna Chinappa 1-9, 9-4, 10-9, 9-2 in 46 minutes.

Top seed Madeline Perry from Ireland overcame an impressive Tenille Swartz from South Africa, but not without dropping a game.  The Irish No1 and world No8 showed great composure in a challenging fourth game to close-out the match 9-2, 9-0, 9-10, 9-2.

Perry’s semi-final opponent will be third seed Dominique Lloyd-Walter who defeated English compatriot Laura Hill 9-4, 9-5, 10-8 in 66 minutes.

Hill Fights Through To Wolverhampton Quarters

Derbyshire fire-fighter Laura Hill fought through to the women's quarter-finals of the Wolverhampton Open after upsetting fifth-seeded fellow Englishwoman Sarah Kippax in the first round of the UK’s biggest club-based squash championships in Wolverhampton, England.

The 31-year-old world No54 recovered from 2/1 down to overcome Kippax, ranked 19 places higher in the world, 9-7, 3-9, 9-10, 10-9, 9-1.  Hill now meets another English opponent Dominique Lloyd-Walter, the third seed from Harrow, for a place in the last four of the WISPA World Tour event.

French qualifier Camille Serme also pulled off a notable upset, beating sixth-seeded Dane Line Hansen 9-2, 6-9, 0-9, 9-6, 9-3 in 64 minutes - the longest match of the day.  The 18-year-old European Junior Champion will now take on England's No2 seed Laura Lengthorn-Massaro, the title-holder from Preston in Lancashire who despatched another French qualifier Celia Allamargot 9-0, 9-1, 9-3.

Ireland's top seed Madeline Perry secured her place in the quarter-finals with a confident performance over Jenna Gates of England, taking just 22 minutes to record a 9-2, 9-3, 9-1 victory.

In the men's $30,000 PSA Tour event, top-seeded Englishman Lee Beachill produced a typically clinical performance to overcome qualifier Jesse Engelbrecht.

The South African, who had reached the first round via an arduous qualifying competition, attacked his experienced opponent with forceful drives and volleys to capture the opening game.  But Yorkshireman Beachill - the three times British National Champion, twice Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist and former world No1 - countered with almost faultless squash to quickly close out the match for the loss of only nine further points, winning 10-11 (0-2), 11-1, 11-5, 11-3.

Mathieu Castagnet, the 20-year-old Frenchman who also claimed his place in the main draw via the qualification competition, kept Englishman Adrian Grant on court for more than an hour before the No2 seed from London prevailed 11-6, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6.

Chris Ryder, the Head Squash Coach at Wolverhampton’s premier tennis and squash club, was unable to exploit the vociferous support from the partisan crowd - and went down 11-10 (2-0), 11-10 (2-0), 11-8 to Australian Cameron Pilley.

Egyptian Omar Abdel Aziz caused the only upset in the men's event when he beat Pakistan's No8 seed Shahid Zaman 11-4, 11-10 (2-0), 11-4.  The 24-year-old from Cairo now meets fourth seed Pilley for a place in the semi-finals.

Harford Is Lone English Qualifier In Wolverhampton

Gloucestershire's Jonathan Harford became the lone English player to qualify for the Wolverhampton Open when he beat compatriot Joel Hinds 3-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-4 in the men's qualifying finals of the UK’s biggest club-based squash championships in Wolverhampton, England.

The Leeds-based 24-year-old will now face Spain's third seed Borja Golan in the first round of the $30,000 3-star PSA Tour event in its second year.

Mathieu Castagnet led a strong group of four French players through to the main draws of both the men's and women's events - the 20-year-old from Le Mans beating England's Ben Ford 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 to set up a first round clash with England's No2 seed Adrian Grant.

There was disappointment for Malaysian Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan playing in his first PSA Tour event outside Asia and Australasia.  The 21-year-old from Kuala Lumpur went down 11-6, 11-9, 11-6 to Jesse Engelbrecht, who joins fellow South African Stephen Coppinger in the men's first round.

In the women's event, Celia Allamargot celebrated her first ever breakthrough into the main draw of a WISPA World Tour event via the qualifiers when she beat Ireland's Kerri Shields 9-1, 9-4, 9-0. 

The 21-year-old from Aix-en-Provence now takes on England's defending champion Laura Lengthorn-Massaro, the world No12 from Lancashire.

The French domination of the women's qualifiers included Soraya Renai, who recovered from two games down to beat Czech Republic's Lucie Fialova 6-9, 6-9, 9-2, 9-6, 9-7, and European Junior Champion Camille Serme who battled for 67 minutes to defeat Dutch opponent Karen Kronemeyer 9-3, 4-9, 8-10, 9-7, 9-2.

Preview

Elevated Wolverhampton Open Attracts High Class Entries

Elevation of the status of the men's and women's events in the forthcoming Wolverhampton Open Squash Championships has attracted high class international fields in both categories.

Stewart Boswell, the world No12 from Australia, heads the draw in the men's $30,000 3-star PSA Tour event, while record eight times Irish champion Madeline Perry, ranked eight in the world, is top seed in the women's WISPA World Tour Silver event.

The 2007 Wolverhampton Open will take place at the Wolverhampton Lawn Tennis & Squash Club in the West Midlands of England from 11-16 September.

Introduced 12 months ago, the Wolverhampton Open now provides a perfect bridge between this week's Prince English Grand Prix – Birmingham 2007, and the Dunlop British Open - Manchester 2007, which will be held in Manchester from 18-24 September.

Squash legend Jonah Barrington, the six times British Open champion, is heartened by the idea of these three events becoming part of a revival mini-tour.   "A British circuit?  It works very well.  It sets in motion sensible thinking people into talking about squash in a positive way for the first time for years and years.  It’s now going to happen for more than just a two-week period!"

Boswell, who will play all three events, is a well-known figure in the West Midlands:  The 29-year-old from Canberra represented Birmingham club Edgbaston Priory with distinction in the Premier League - establishing a league-record 25-match unbeaten run over four seasons.  With 17 PSA Tour titles to his name to date, Boswell opens his Wolverhampton campaign against Frenchman Jean-Michel Arcucci.

Home interest will be led by Yorkshireman Lee Beachill, the three times British National champion from Pontefract who is the No2 seed.  The former world number one is expected to face England team-mate Adrian Grant in the semi-finals en-route to a showdown with Boswell in Sunday's final.

Grant, the London-born No3 seed from Halifax, opens his bid for success in Wolverhampton against Chris Ryder, the World University champion who is based at the club.

Spaniard Borja Golan is the defending champion and is en-route to Wolverhampton from Colombia where he won the Bogotá Tennis Club Circuito Mundial De Squash last week.  Seeded four, the 24-year-old faces Pakistan's Shahid Zaman in the first round.

Madeline Perry will arrive in Wolverhampton full of confidence - after stretching Malaysia's world No1 Nicol David to four games in last week's Dutch Open in Amsterdam.  The 30-year-old from Belfast begins her bid to win a seventh WISPA Tour title with a first round match against England's Jenna Gates, from Brighton in Sussex.

In the women's final, Perry is expected to meet second seed Laura Lengthorn-Massaro, the England international from Lancashire playing for the first time with a new hyphenated surname acquired after marrying Danny Massaro in the summer.