20-Mar, The Final: [4] Lee Beachill (Eng) v [6] David Palmer (Aus) 15/11, 15/9, 15/10 (58m)
Beachill Bags Bermuda Title |
Watch all the Matches on PSA 'replay' Lee Beachill:
David Palmer: |
19-Mar, Semi-Finals: |
This is how you
Watch the Bermuda Semis
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18-Mar, Quarter-Finals: “It was probably more guts that
got me through in the end rather than great squash but sometimes that's the
case,” Matthew told the Royal Gazette. “I felt fine at the end but in the
third game I started to feel a bit tired but then I got a second wind and I
was fine after that. |
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17-Mar, Round
One: Lincou the only casualty as White & Palmer squeeze through The main draw action got under way on the glass court at Bermuda High School on Wednesday, with the first match on court producing a sensational upset as Nick Matthew ousted top seed Thierry Lincou in five games. Top seed sent crashing from the Royal Gazette "Yeah, it's not quite sunk in yet cause it was such a long match and tough. He was number one only last month and he is the top seed for this tournament so it's my best-ever win. I'm pretty pleased," declared a clearly jubilant Matthew Lincou was the only seed to fall, but former world champion and Bermuda resident David Palmer struggled to overcome qualifier Olli Tuominen and five, and world number one John White found himself 2-0 down against world junior champion James Willstrop before recovering to reach the semi-finals. Bermuda's local interest ended as wildcard Nick Kyme went down fighting to world number two and tournament favourite Peter Nicol.
Kyme in the Spotlight from the Royal Gazette
Kyme's Moment of Truth |
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16-Mar: Qualifying complete
Qualifying Finals
All the local Bermudian players predictably departed in the first round of
qualifying, leaving Tuesday's qualifying finals to a set of players many
tournament organisers would be proud to have as their main attractions. |
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16-Mar: World's Best head for Bermuda Howard Harding previews the Open A star-studded field, led by eight of the world's top ten players, will compete in the inaugural five-star Bermuda Open Squash Championship which is being held in the tiny city of Hamilton from 17-20 March. Young Bermudian professional Nicholas Kyme, ranked 92 in the world, will have an ideal opportunity to test his mettle after being drawn to meet England's world No3 Peter Nicol in the first round of the $56,000 event which is presented by Logic & Hewlett-Packard, and hosted by Endurance. Bermudians will no doubt support their rising young star, but wild card entry Kyme would face a daunting task against any of his fellow competitors in a tournament where the lowest-ranked player in the main draw is world No14 Ong Beng Hee, the former world junior champion from Malaysia! Even the cut off for qualifiers is 38 in the world. Top seed Thierry Lincou, who became France's first ever world No1 in January, will face off against England's new world top ten debutant Nick Matthew, while Egypt's newly-crowned world champion Amr Shabana is drawn against Ong Beng Hee. Perhaps the toughest first round match will be the battle between Scotland's new world No1 John White and the in-form James Willstrop. The 20-year-old reigning world junior champion from England caused a major upset in January's Kuwait Open when he beat White en-route to his first major final. The Scot, however, claimed his revenge last month, beating Willstrop in the quarter-finals of the Tournament of Champions in New York. White went on to reach his first ToC final, but the victory ensured that he would become world No1 for the first time in his career. England's Lee Beachill, the Qatar Classic champion who is now ranked four in the world, takes on a qualifier in the first round, as does former world No1 Jonathan Power, the Canadian who is the most successful north American squash player of all-time. Australians Joseph Kneipp and Bermuda-based David Palmer are also drawn against qualifiers. Gawain Briars, Executive Director of the PSA, and Robert Edwards, PSA World Tour Technical Director, recently completed a site visit of the tournament venue and expressed their delight with preparations made by the Bermuda Open organisers at a press conference held under swaying palm trees at the city's Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel. Bermuda is anxious to prove that it is an ideal location for premier squash, and is already looking at ways of enhancing the tournament in future years. Tournament Director Ross Triffitt added: "The key to success in any tournament is obtaining the support of sponsors and the Bermuda Squash Rackets Association has been fortunate in obtaining tremendous support from Bermuda's business community and the Bermuda Department of Tourism. In addition to Logic & HP, and Endurance, these include the Department of Tourism, The Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel, The ACE Group of Companies, Capital G, Miles Market and the HWP Group." |
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15-Mar: Chaloner Impressed PSA President Mark Chaloner talks to the Royal Gazette's Dan Rutstein “People are going to see some of the fittest and most unbelievably athletic sportsmen compete in some wonderful games of squash this week,” said Chaloner, a 31-year-old who has visited the Island three times before including a first round defeat to this year's number eight seed Joseph Kneipp in last year's Logic Open exhibition tournament. “Anyone who has any sporting background or sporting knowledge is going to be thoroughly entertained. Squash at this level is a game that can really grab the attention and I think people are going to be amazed by what they see. “It is an incredible venue and I think it will provide a superb atmosphere for squash.” Chaloner, who arrived on the Island on Friday, is one of an increasing number of top players in the sport who believes Bermuda provides the perfect venue for this kind of event - and even larger ones. “Bermuda is a very popular stop among the players,” he continued. “We get looked after very well here and the people are so friendly. The hospitality is amazing and everyone feels very welcome. “But it is also a very relaxing place. When you go to some places, like Hong Kong, everything is an effort because there are so many people and everything there is so frenetic. “Every player looks to prepare for tournaments in different ways, but the aim is not to do anything too tiring and some places, like big cities, are just tiring in themselves. You find yourself just seeing a hotel, a venue and the journey in between, nothing more. “But Bermuda is a beautiful place and it seems like an easy place to relax.” Although the top players seem to be sticking to the courts to help with their preparation, a number of the qualifiers seem to be taking a little bit more time to see the Island, with fishing, golf and visits to various Front Street nightspots, albeit just to drink fruit punch, among the activities being undertaken by the visiting sportsmen. Bermuda's enthusiasm for the event has impressed Chaloner, who believes the commitment being shown by tournament volunteers is one of the reasons that the sport is growing so quickly here. “I went down to look at the new court and there must have been 30 guys down there, all volunteers with a passion for squash, carrying around seating and various other things for the venue and they were drenched in sweat,” he added. “But everyone had a smile and seemed to be really keen to get the tournament running and running as well as it could. “It is that attitude that is going to go a long way to impressing visitors and with people like Ross (Triffitt, tournament director) at the helm, it is no surprise a tournament of this size is being held.” Full story from the Royal Gazette also: Stout Takes Centre Stage |
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15-Mar: PSA confirms live streaming from Bermuda The PSA is continuing with a further web streaming pilot scheme to bring live action from this week's Bermuda Open Squash Championship to squash fans all over the world. The inaugural five star Bermuda Open will take place in the island's city of Hamilton, from 17-20 March, and has attracted a star-studded field featuring eight of the world's top ten players. The Bermuda web streaming pilot, produced by the PSA in conjunction with Horizon Software, follows the first test at the Tournament of Champions in New York in February. Viewers logging on will be able to watch the action between the world's best professional players, live as it happens. "The PSA is once again underwriting this further pilot, on behalf of squash enthusiasts worldwide," said Chief Executive Gawain Briars. "Despite the teething problems we experienced in New York, we received much positive feedback from the initiative. It demonstrated that this is a facility that we believe the majority of fans would like to see us develop." The PSA urges viewers to be patient at this early stage in the system's development. "We are backing this initiative with our limited reserves," Briars points out. "No other Association is currently taking on development of this level of technology, so we are leading the whole game forward." Live streaming is scheduled to begin from Bermuda from the first round from Wednesday. "We also look forward to constructive and helpful comments from our fans," added Briars. 14-Mar: 07-Mar: |
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10-Dec-03: |