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TODAY at the Nationals: Mon 8th,
Day TWO |
Qualifying continues ...
Day Two saw sixteen men's matches from noon and the winners were
one match away from a place in the main draw - those matches
started at 17.00. Also this evening, it was the women's first
round of qualifying.
Men's Qualifying Finals:
updated draw
Phil Rushworth (Yorks) bt Sam Wileman (Yorks)
11/6, 11/5, 11/5 (22m)
Andrew Birks (Shropshire) bt Tom Pashley
10/12, 11/6, 11/6, 11/5 (46m)
Anthony Graham (Glos) bt Adam Murrills (Cheshire)
11/6, 10/12, 11/5, 11/6 (41m)
Dominic Hamilton (Oxon) bt Richard Birks (Shropshire)
9/11, 11/6, 12/10, 11/8 (48m)
Chris Hall (Surrey) bt Andrew Widdison (Yorks)
11/8, 11/8, 11/9 (45m)
Jamie MacAulay (Scotland) bt Nic Birt (Wales)
11/4, 8/11, 11/3, 11/8 (41m)
Stephen Siveter (Merseyside) bt Stuart Crawford (Scotland)
11/5, 11/7, 11/4 (28m)
Peter Billson (Lancs) bt James Earles (Yorks)
11/6, 8/11, 11/3, 11/2 (39m)
Women's Qualifying Round
One:
Victoria Bell (C'bria) bt Katherine Quarterman (Oxon)
4/11, 6/11, 11/1, 11/3, 11/9 (29m)
Zephanie Curgenven (Hants) bt Gemma Davies (Wales)
11/6, 11/9, 11/9 (19m)
Julianne Courtice (Glos) bt Heidi Walters (Notts)
11/2, 11/9, 11/9 (19m)
Carrie Ramsey (Yorks) bt Kirsty West (Cheshire)
11/9, 11/3, 11/6 (23m)
Emily Whitlock (Cheshire) bt Stacey Preece (Wales)
w/o
Kimberley Hay (Northumbria) bt Natalie Pritchard (Wales)
11/6, 11/9, 12/10 (20m)
Round Two:
Millie Tomlinson (Derbyshire) bt Brogan Lane (Herts)
11/3, 11/5, 11/7 (19m) |
NOTE:
Man City are at home on Tuesday night, so get here early ...
Photo Gallery |
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Men's
Qualifying Finals
First through to the main draw was Phil Rushworth,
eschewing his normal nailbiting grueller to see off Sam Wileman
in three quick games. "I played well there," he said. "He made a
lot of errors but I kept him under just enough pressure to force
a lot of them.
 "It's
my second time in the main draw, I got a Lucky Loser last time,
so it's good to get there properly this time."
Andrew Birks, who had never won a nationals qualifying
match, made it three wins in two days as he came from behind to
score an upset win over Tom Pashley.
"I sat back too much in the first," he said, "he moved me around
and made me do too much work. I had a chat with Richard [his
twin brother] after that game and he told me to step it up. I
got more aggressive from the second and it seemed to work."
There wasn't to be two Birks in the main draw though, Andrew won
the first game against Dominic Hamilton, but it was the
30-year-old who took the next three, reaching match ball, just
as he had this afternoon, by smashing a service return into the
nick.
"That was just more desperation," he said afterwards.
They then played out a huge rally which ended in a let, and
Dominic took the replayed point to win the match. "I was really
tired, but I could see that he was too, so I just kept telling
myself one more ball, one more ball."
Asked who he fancied in the main draw, the answer was instant:
"Nick Matthew. We used to play on Yorkshire junior teams
together, and I beat him when I was 12. He's got a bit better
since then, but it would be good to play him again!"
Also through is Anthony Graham, 3/1 winner over Adam
Murrills.
 Chris
Hall, whose first match was so quick I missed it completely,
again won 3/0 but Andrew Widdison made him work much harder for
it this time, 45 minutes for an 8, 8 and 9 victory.
"It's very hot and bouncy on there today," explained Chris, "so
I was reluctant to go in short. I felt in control when the pace
was high but he has some good flicks and drops at the front."
Chris's name hasn't been prominent in recent tournaments, why?
"I was at Uni until last July, and now I'm coaching full time at
three clubs in Warwickshire, but I'm starting to play some
tournaments again." Solved.
The celtic clash was won by Scotland's Jamie Macaulay,
beating Wales' Nic Birt in four to make the main draw for the
first time. "No preferences as to who I get," he said, "as long
as it's not another Scotsman!" [you guessed it, he drew Alan
Clyne].
It certainly couldn't be Stuart Crawford as the Scottish number
two went out in straight games to Merseyside's Steve Siveter.
While Crawford looked well below his best, Siveter was well
pleased to qualify for 'the umpteenth time'. "I don't know I've
ever played better than that," he beamed.
 Last
man through was local favourite Peter Billson, who
overcame the age gap to beat James Earles in four games. "He's
very good, he's improved a lot since we last played," he said.
"I have to get the wins in while I can!"
By the time he came off court the draw had already been made,
and Billson, who was having to qualify for only the second time
in six consecutive appearances, found out as he came off
court that he was playing Laurence Delasaux .
"Not a bad draw," he mused. "I know Laurence is playing well and
shooting up the world rankings, but it could have been worse."
The best draw went to 'lucky loser' Nic Birt, who takes
the place of the injured Robbie Temple and gets to play a
qualifier, Phil Rushworth.
Round one starts tomorrow at noon. First on ... Peter Billson. |
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Men's Round Two:
Phil Rushworth (Yorks) bt Charles Sharpes (Surrey)
6/11, 11/7, 11/7, 8/11, 11/9 (61m)
Sam Wileman (Yorks) bt Declan James (Notts)
10/12, 11/8, 7/11, 11/8, 11/5 (47m)
Tom Pashley (Sussex) bt Robert Downer (Hants)
11/4, 11/7, 11/8 (29m)
Andrew Birks (Shropshire) bt Chris Tasker-Grindley (Glos)
10/12, 11/5, 11/8, 12/10 (40m)
Anthony Graham (Glos) bt Adam Auckland (Lincs)
11/6, 11/2, 11/6 (21m)
Adam Murrills (Cheshire) bt Joshua Harris (D&C)
7/11, 11/8, 9/11, 11/6, 13/11 (52m)
Dominic Hamilton (Oxon) bt David Barnett (Northumbria)
12/10, 6/11, 11/9, 11/8 (48m)
Richard Birks (Shropshire) bt Rory Pennell (Essex)
9/11, 1/11, 11/8, 11/9, 11/6 (53m)
Chris Hall (Surrey) bt Alex Phillips (Hants)
11/3, 11/1, 11/4 (16m)
Andrew Widdison (Yorks) bt Liam Foster (Cheshire)
11/0, 11/3, 11/9 (27m)
Nic Birt (Wales) bt Ben Coleman (Essex)
7/11, 14/12, 11/9, 11/9 (68m)
Jamie MacAulay (Scotland) bt Lewis Walters (Notts)
13/11, 11/5, 9/6 rtd (36m)
Stephen Siveter (Merseyside) bt Nicholas Hopcroft (Surrey)
11/4, 11/8, 11/2 (38m)
Stuart Crawford (Scotland) bt Nick Wall (Yorks)
12/10, 11/3, 11/2 (29m)
James Earles (Yorks) bt Chris Fuller (Northants)
7/11, 11/3, 11/8, 11/8 (50m)
Peter Billson (Lancs) bt Ollie Holland (Notts)
11/6, 11/6, 11/8 (29m)
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Some
easier than others ...
 The
first round of matches of the day saw a mix of results - Tom
Pashley eased through in three against Robbie Downer. "It
took me a couple of weeks to recover from the injury I picked up
in LA," said Tom, "so I haven't had a lot of practice or
training so I had to rely more on my racket skills.
"I knew if I kept it tight he would make mistakes, we were all
juniors once ..."
Andrew Birks recovered from dropping the first game to
beat Chris Tasker-Grindley in four, although the fourth was nip
and tuck all the way, Birks taking it 12/10. "I haven't played
Tom for a while now," said the victor. "I felt a bit sluggish
today, I'll have to be sharper than that tonight.
Sam Wileman and Phil Rushworth both needed five
games to progress, although it took Rushworth considerably
longer, as it always seems to do. Sam was "happy in parts" with
his match. "I've been coaching a lot and only decided to enter a
month ago, so I've put in a month's hard training and it
certainly helped me in that match.
For Birks ands Wileman they've now bettered their previous
Nationals' performances, so victory tonight would be a real
bonus.
 Round
two saw much the same story, as European Junior Champion (until
April) Anthony Graham was well in control against a
willing-to-run Adam Aukland. "We train a bit together, he's a
very promising player and getting better all the tine," said
Graham. "I enjoyed it but I'm pleased to get through in three
and looking forward to tonight.
Dominic Hamilton, obviously recovered from last weekend's
excesses in Edinburgh, edged past Dave Barnett in a close
encounter, taking the third game on a stroke that Barnett
thought was a winner, and reaching match ball in the fourth with
a risky return of serve into the nick. "I never go for those
shots," explained Dominic, "but I was pretty tired, he's a
strong opponent, so I thought I'd give it a go." It worked, and
he only needed one chance to progress.
 Again
there were two five-setters, Adam Murrils coming from 2/1
down and Richard Birks making it a family double coming
from 2/0 down. "They shoot horses don't they", was how one
observer described Rory Pennell's collapse from the middle of
the third as Birks made his comeback.
Quickest match so far (I missed it entirely) was Chris Hall's
16-minute win over Alex Phillips, and also coming in under the
half-hour was Andrew Widdison's victory over Liam Foster.
Lim was improving every game though, from 0, to 3, to 9. "It
takes time get used to this court," he said. "The first game was
a write-off, but I thought if I could have taken the third I
would have had him."
 Scotland
got their first win of the day as Jamie Macaulay overcame
Lewis Walters. Flinging himself around the court as he does,
Jamie took the first two games and led 9/6 in the third when
Lewis called it a day as his troublesome shin splints - that may
need an operation - got the better of him.
Wales joined in when Nic Birt won the longest match of the day
so far, 68 minutes for a 3/1 win over Ben Coleman.
 "The
ball comes at you so fast off these front walls," said Nick.
"I'm used to slower, colder courts where you get more time, I
just had to rally it out. Good game though."
Rounding out the session were straightforward enough wins for
local favourites Steve Siveter and Peter Billson,
a second win for Scotland as Stuart Crawford saw off Nick
Wall, and an impressive win for young James Earles over
Chris Fuller.
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TODAY at the Nationals: Sun 7th,
Day ONE |
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Billson Leads Local
Interest
In British Nationals' Qualifying
 Peter Billson leads
local interest in the men's qualifying competition of the British
National Squash Championships after
beating Dorset's Michael
Hopkins in
today's first qualifying round of the country's leading domestic
championships at the National
Squash Centre in Manchester.
 The
Manchester-based 29-year-old, aiming to make the main draw for
the sixth year in succession, battled for 43 minutes to overcome
Hopkins 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5.
The unranked
Billson now faces Nottingham's 15-year-old Ollie
Holland, the British Junior U117 champion ranked 368 in the
world, for a place in the qualifying finals.
Cheshire's Adam
Murrills will
also compete in the second qualifying round after beating Darren
Vickery 11-7,
11-3, 11-5. The 19-year-old former England junior international
from Bowden will now take on fellow 19-year-old Joshua
Harris, from County Durham.
 Yorkshire's world
number two Nick
Matthew heads a
star-studded men's field competing for the title of 2010 British
National Champion. The 29-year-old defending champion from
Sheffield boosted his chances of success for the second year in
a row today when he won the prestigious Swedish
Open title after
beating fellow Yorkshireman James
Willstrop in the
final.
The top two
world-ranked Englishmen are expected to line up in next Sunday's
British Nationals' final - but some doubt may now be cast on
this dream final after Willstrop was forced to retire from the
Swedish Open climax suffering with a shoulder injury.
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Day One
Results
Updated Qualifying Draw
1/8* Phil Rushworth (Yorkshire) beat Michael Potter (Cheshire)
11-5, 11-3, 11-4 (23m)
Charles Sharpes (Surrey) beat Matthew Sidaway (Lancashire) 11-8,
12-10, 11-3 (27m)
Declan James (Nottinghamshire) beat 9/16* Mark Fuller
(Northamptonshire) Walkover
Sam Wileman (Yorkshire) beat Paul Carter (Cheshire) 11-5, 11-2,
11-4 (18m)
1/8* Tom Pashley (Sussex) beat Ahmed El Refee (Cambridgeshire)
13-11, 11-7, 12-10 (26m)
Robert Downer (Hampshire) beat Blake Bettley (Cheshire) 11-2,
11-3, 11-2 (16m)
9/16* Andrew Birks (Shropshire) beat Matthew Parson (Lancashire)
11-4, 11-5, 10-12, 11-7 (32m)
Chris Tasker-Grindley (Gloucestershire) beat Simon White
(Wiltshire) 11-3, 11-2, 14-12 (25m)
1/8* Anthony Graham (Gloucestershire) beat Ky Hibberd
(Lancashire) 11-8, 11-6, 11-4 (36m)
Adam Aukland (Lincolnshire) beat Michael Waight (Cheshire) 11-8,
12-10, 6-11, 7-11, 11-9 (52m
9/16* Adam Murrills (Cheshire) beat Darren Vickery 11-7, 11-3,
11-5 (20m)
Josh Harris (Durham + Cleveland) beat Theo Woodward (Dorset)
11-2, 11-7, 11-6 (25m)
1/8* David Barnett (Northumbria) beat Nick Murrills (Cheshire)
11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-7 (34m)
Dominic Hamilton (Oxfordshire) beat James Jacobsen Walkover
9/16* Richard Birks (Shropshire) beat David Wardle (Surrey)
11-6, 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 12-10 (50m)
Rory Pennell (Essex) beat Joseph Edwards (Cheshire) 11-2, 11-1,
11-2 (15m)
Alex Phillips (Hampshire) beat Robert Dadds (Cambridgeshire)
11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (18m)
9/16* Chris Hall (Surrey) beat Jacob Robinson (Cheshire) 11-4,
11-5, 11-4 (24m)
Andrew Widdison (Yorkshire) beat Morgan Hibberd (Lancashire)
11-5, 14-12, 7-11, 11-7 (59m)
Liam Foster (Cheshire) beat 1/8* Olivier Pett (Sussex) Walkover
Nic Birt (Wales) beat Jon Hunter (Cheshire) 11-6, 11-8, 11-9
(28m)
9/16* Ben Coleman (Essex) beat James Matthews (Surrey) 11-8,
8-11, 11-9, 11-5 (45m)
James Macaulay beat Ben Rodgers (Devon) 11-7, 11-4, 16-14 (41m)
1/8* Lewis Walters (Nottinghamshire) beat Lee Brownson
(Cheshire) 11-2, 11-5, 11-4 (25m)
Nicholas Hopcroft (Surrey) beat Sean Hunter (Cheshire) 11-6,
11-6, 11-3 (39m) ;9/16* Stephen Siveter (Merseyside) beat Tom
Dwyer (Lancashire) 11-8, 11-1, 11-3 (30m)
Nick Wall (Yorkshire) beat James Asher (Cheshire) 11-8, 11-7,
11-4 (25m)
1/8* Stuart Crawford (Scotland) beat Chris Clinton (Northumbria)
11-3, 11-3, 11-1 (15m)
James Earles (Yorkshire) beat Nathan Lake (Gloucestershire)
Walkover
9/16* Chris Fuller (Northamptonshire) beat Robert Taylor
(Cheshire) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (28m)
Oliver Holland (Nottinghamshire) beat Jason Pike (Wiltshire)
11-5, 11-8, 12-10 (32m)
1/8* Peter Billson (Lancashire) beat Michael Hopkins (Dorset)
11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 (43m)
Updated Qualifying Draw
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