Sept 18 Nash Cup
NASH CUP DAY 3:
LADIES QUARTERS + MENS 1ST ROUND MAIN
Today was the best day of squash the Nash Cup has had in years! 12 matches were played on 2 courts, over 520 minutes of wonderful squash which included 2 titanic battles (one from the ladies draw and one from the mens), as well as some clinical performances from some very talented players. Local favourite Jan Koukal who has been playing the Nash Cup for the past 5 years came through in 5 against Muhd Asyraf Azan from Malaysia whilst Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar dazzled us all with some pure Egyptian magic.
MILOU VAN DER HEIJDEN (NED) vs JULIA LECOQ (FRA): 8-11; 11-4; 8-11; 11-6; 12-10 (45 mins)
What a match! Julia made the better start to the game and quickly built up a good lead with powerful hitting, taking the ball early and great movement. She held on to this lead to win the first. Milou used the break to gather her thoughts. She got a better length and adjusted to the pace. Julia continued to take the game to Milou but at a cost – errors. Julia re-asserted her authority in the 3rd and the lower error rated made a huge difference. The 4th was a similar pattern to the 2nd in that Milou steadied up and Julia made errors. The 5th was a summary of the first 4 games, with a hitch! They traded points to 5-5 at which point Julia found another gear and forced Milou into a string of errors. She raced from 5-5 to 10-5. At 10-5, Milou hit a ball back in her direction which I have seen many refs give a stroke for. The ref decided it was a let. Milou then rattled off the next 7 points to clinch the match 12-10. One had to feel for Julia but credit to Milou for coming back. Fantastic match.
ALEX NORMAN (CAN) vs HOLLY NOUGHTON (CAN): 11-5; 11-4; 11-5 (23 mins)
On paper, this could have been a close encounter, but Alex had other ideas! She did not let her younger opponent settle at all in this game. She mixed it up well, made very few errors and retrieved well. Hollie by contrast was uptight and snatched at the ball, often leaving it open, and often hitting the tin! Would love to see these 2 play on another day, but it was Alex’s day and she played well.
NIKKI TODD (CAN) vs ALYSSA MEHTA (CAN): 11-6; 9-11; 11-3; 11-7 (34 mins)
This was an eagerly awaited battle, not only by the players (they had trained over the summer together and the last 2 practise games both went to 5), but the crowd too. Both players took out seeds last night so were riding high in confidence. Nikki got off to the better start, flying around the court and pounding the ball into all areas of the court. It took half a game for Aylssa to adjust to the pace by which time it was too late. First blood Nikki. The second game was a contrast of well constructed rallies by Alyssa and unforced errors from Nikki which eventually cost her the game. Nikki re-grouped and controlled the match from this point on, cutting down the errors and upping the pace, and ran out a 3-1 winner. Alyssa has a great future and could well be contesting the semis or final here in a ye
ar or two!
MARIA TOORPAKAI WAZIR (PAK) vs CECILIA CORTES (USA): 11-4; 11-4; 11-5 (21 mins)
Maria was dominant right from the start. She absorbed every punch Cecelia threw at her and counter punched well. Cecelia played well but she would probably agree that she lost to a stronger opponent. Maria has not played a competitive game since January! I look forward to seeing her play next January!
SCOTT ARNOLD (AUS) vs MOHAMED ABOUELGHAR (EGY): 12-10; 11-5; 11-4 (27 mins)
Mohamed started the game with 2 outright winners. Scott settled into the game and lengthened the rallies and kept the court closed with good length and volleyed well. They shared points to 10 all but Scott gifted his younger opponent the game with 2 errors. Mohamed never looked back from this point on and reeled Scott in with some incredible racket work, as well as some phenomenal retrieving. Definitely a player to look out for, not just in this event, but over the next few years!
EDDIE CHARLTON (ENG) vs LEWIS WALTERS (ENG): 11-5; 11-6; 13-11 (58 mins)
Lewis stayed with Eddie to 5-5 in both the first 2 games before Eddie closed them out with good error free, positive squash., which forced Lewis into taking a few risks which didn’t play off. The 3rd was a great game. The rallies were longer, more accurate and had everything in the – pace, variation, retrieving, winners, you name it. Lewis held a couple of game balls but Eddie was definitely “steady Eddie” today!
SHAIER RAZIK (CAN) vs DAVID LETOURNEAU (CAN): 6-11; 11-7; 11-6; 11-3 (43 mins)
Dave started this game in a perfect fashion, making the court long and then firing in a short ball which Shahier was slow to respond to. It was clear to all that Shahier was getting better with every point. Dave took the first and tried to play the same way in the second. The only problem was that Shahier was now firing on all cylinders and if the short ball was slightly loose, it was inevitably punished. Winning the second seemed to fuel Shahier’s confidence and at the same time, drain Daves’. The rallies were still competitive but Shahier’s experience on the tour showed through – the moment he saw an opening, he put the ball there with perfect weight of shot. Impressive performance.
DECLAN JAMES (ENG) vs JOEL HINDS (ENG): 9-11; 11-3; 11-7; 11-5 (63 mins)
This was a very athletic affair! Both players are superb athletes and covered the court superbly. Joel raced to 8-2 in the 3rd and had he closed that game out early, this match could have been a different story. Instead Dec rallied hard and got it back to 9-9 before Joel eventually closed it out. Dec maintained this momentum and raced through the 2nd. He got a 3-0 lead in the 3rd and this proved to be crucial as the exchanged points to 10-7 before Dec closed it out with a volley winner. The 4th was nip and tuck till 4-4 but Dec then reeled off 4 winners, including a cross court roller to lead 8-4. Joel managed to pull back a point but the mountain was too high at this point and Dec took it 11-4 to make it 2-2 on the PSA tour between the 2.
JOE LEE (ENG) vs NICK SACHVIE (CAN): 11-7; 11-2; 11-6 (40 mins)
Number 1 seed versus the wild card! Nick Sachvie is a multi Canadian junior champion and a player Canada are looking to for the future. He did not disappoint! The rallies were long and thoughtful with both boys patiently working the ball. Both were hunting the volley and positively taking it in short. Joe had the better length and was able to recover the ball with more interest when under pressure than his younger opponent. After Joe led 2-0 it looked like Nick would lie down but he didn’t. He slowed it down and made Joe win the points. Great performance from both players.
JAN KOUKAL (CZE) vs MUHD ASYRAF AZAN (MAL): 11-6; 5-11; 9-11; 11-8; 11-8 (82 mins)
Match of the day! Jan is a huge crowd favourite having played this event for the past 5 years. In many ways they played a similar game, not afraid to work the ball, and both great movers around the court. Jan does have one extra quality though in that he is so calm. Never afraid to take it in and confident in his ability to recover if his opponent applied pressure from it. All the rallies were long, explosive and exciting. At 9-9 in the 3rd, it was clear the crowd had a real game on their hands. Jan finished the game off by hitting a tin and hitting out on the lob. 2-1 Muhd. They shared points to 6-6 in the 4th before Jan took a small advantage of 8-6 and 9-7 before taking it 11-8. So to a 5th! Muhd built a 5-2 lead and it looked like Jan was down and out. The crowd were behind him and he went from 2-5 to 9-5, 7 points in a row, and managed to close it out 11-8. Popular victory from the Czech.
BEN COLEMAN (ENG) vs LUCAS SERME (FRA): 11-8; 11-7; 11-3 (66 mins)
I won’t mention the player, but I asked one of the English pros what they thought the outcome of this match would be: 3-0 or maybe 3-1 Serme! Well, I witnessed a near perfect game of squash from Ben. From the first point he played every shot with so much purpose. He moved superbly and made very few errors. The squash contained everything. Both played patiently, volleyed, varied the pace, accurate into the front but Lucas did not have an answer today. Even Ben acknowledged this was probably the best squash he has ever played!
SHAWN DELIERRE (CAN) vs ANDREW SCHNELL (CAN): 11-3; 11-9; 11-3 (42 mins)
The last match of the night featured Canadian national champion, Shawn Delierre, and Canadian national team player, Andrew Schnell. Shawn started this game at an incredibly high pace which Andrew was clearly not used to. Not only was the pace high, but Shawn was flying around the court like a man possessed! He duly won the first but the 2nd was a different story – Andrew had adjusted to the pace and was able to control the ball more. The rallies were longer, and shared to 9-9 but Shawn closed out this game with 2 winners. The 3rd was very one sided – Andrew made about 6 unforced errors – Shawn 3-0.