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[ Day ONE ] [ Day TWO ] [ Day THREE ] [ Day FOUR ] [ FINALS ] [ Roundup ] |
REPORTS
DRAWS & RESULTS
GALLERY
En Bref |
| Mon 3rd Jan - Day TWO |
Today brings two
rounds in the Under 19 and Under 17 events, with the quarter-finalists
decided this evening.
Framboise's reports on the U19 Boys and Girls events, with wins for
Basit Ashfaq, Simon Rosner,
Mattieu Castagnet, Lily Lorentzen, Sally Looi and
Charlotte Delsinne now posted ... |
Boys U19
Boys U19 Draw
The morning's second round saw all but one of the seeds reach the last
sixteen, the only surprise winner being Denmark's Grooss Jeppesen,
but Jeppen couldn't maintain his form and lost to Chris Simpson in
the evening (last 16) session.
The last 16 saw the first player seeded in the top eight to fall, as
Egypt's Tarek Mohamed Momen beat England's 5/8 seed James Wright
2-9, 9-4, 9-6, 9-1.
Pakistan's top seed Yasir Butt recovered from losing the first 10-9
to reach the quarters in four, while second seeded compatriot Basit
Ashfaq recovered from 2-1 down against England's Shaun Leroux to win
in five games.
The quarter-finals start at 19.00 on Tuesday. |
Ashfaq encouraged by
Rahmat Khan |
 "Last
time I played Matthieu, I lost in five. So today, I altered my game,
and put more pressure on him. I succeeded to play very good drop
shots. Last time, I just kept on playing him at his game. Today, I was
more in control."
Simon Rosner |
Simon with his new German coach
Simon Rosner (Ger) bt
Matthieu Castagnet (Fra)
9-2, 9-0, 1-9, 9-1 |
ROSNER IN ANOTHER
LEAGUE
 If
Matthieu Castagnet was impressive this morning, he wasn’t
tonight. The French boy was playing a very tall young German, Simon
Rosner, whose drop shots were stunning, who found his length, and who
intercepted and volleyed beautifully well.
The French boy didn’t. Not concentrated to start with, he sort of woke
up in the third, but his main answer was to hit the ball harder and
harder, which on a glass court, doesn’t give the effect expected. At no
time did I feel Matthieu was in control of the match. I saw him play one
beautiful drop shot all match, at 3/1 for him in the third.
His opponent was constantly attacking, and Matthieu was defending most
of the time. And at that level of game, it’s not good enough. Still,
the match lasted 52 minutes, so, they still gave us a pretty good show,
and some of the rallies were breathtaking with attacking /
retrieving / reflexes / interceptions / volleying…
Oh well, good days, bad days….
Better game next time for Castagnet, and a very happy Rosner…
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A CHANGED LE ROUX
A year ago, I saw Shawn le Roux
playing a small tournament in Wimbledon, and I was not impressed by his
behaviour on court… But my hat to him. The boy I saw playing today was a
changed player. Yes, there was one racquet incident, that cost him a
conduct stroke, but believe me, with the pressure he was under, it’s not
surprising that he had to let go of a bit of a steam…
I missed the two first games, and arrived as Basit Ashfaq, from
Pakistan (one of the passport story
boys) was leading 2/1, and had won the last one 9/0. The tension was
tangible. Shawn was taking advantage of the small lapse of concentration
of his opponent, and put the pressure on, playing some great straight
rallies, patiently waiting for the opportunity to place a lethal drop
shot.
Then, with reason I’m afraid, Basit questioned the glasses that his
opponent was wearing (well, if the rule is
strictly applied to the French Team,
it must be applied to the English as well, now, mustn’t it?...). Peter
Kramer, referee of the match, had to ask the English boy to change his
glasses, which did not conform to the WSF rule. Shawn had to stop several
times to take the steam out of the new glasses, getting a conduct warning
for time wasting in the process. But that didn’t prevent him from getting
the fourth, 9/6 in 10 minutes.
The fifth was a classic. The score was so close, the standard of play
excellent. But at 5/4 for Basit, Shawn threw his racquet, and got a
conduct stroke (I guess because he already had been warned??), 6/4 for his
opponent. And at 7/6, the handkerchief he was using for cleaning his
glasses fell to the floor, which cost him another point, giving his
opponent a match ball that he transformed, winning a long 1 hour and 37
minutes anthology match.
So, yes, well done Basit for keeping concentration (and for your perfect
behaviour on court as well), but a special congratulation to Shawn Le
Roux, who took the pressure very well, and didn’t lose his head. His
family was proud of him… |
Shawn Leroux's family
Basit
Ashfaq (Pak) bt
Shawn Leroux (Eng)
5-9, 9-3, 9-0, 6-9, 9-6 |
"I played Chris a few weeks ago at
the Belgian Open, so I had the chance to prepare for his game. He is
so good in front, so I didn’t want to give him any ball in the front
of the court, no boasting, for example. So, I tried to push him to the
back, and played as much as I could on his forehand, as he seemed a
bit loose today. But I was a bit tense, as his short game is so good.
"Tonight, I’m playing Simon Rosner, who I beat with difficulty last
time we played 3/2. But at least, now, I’ve reached my goal, to prove
I was 9/16. Now, I’m going to be able to play my game.
"My ambition for this year? To take the European Title in May in
Sweden…"
Matthieu Castagnet |
"I think I hit too many tins today,
mainly due to him putting me under pressure. Otherwise, it was quite a
good game. I got tired in the third.
"Matthieu is quite quick and fit, rather annoying really! But today,
I’ve realised I need to be more patient, especially with people like
him who return everything!"
Chris Hall |
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IMPRESSIVE CASTAGNET
Framboise at
Abbeydale
 Well,
sorry to blow a French Horn, but I must say I was impressed by
Matthieu Castagnet's victory today. It was the first time I saw him
play, and as he was up against a very young English player, Chris
Hall, I didn’t give him much of a chance.
Chris played extremely well today, as usual. His attacks, his drop shots
are basically lethal, no pace at all, and he keeps them coming. His
counterattacks in particular, are remarkable. But it’s on the fitness
front that the French boy got him today.
 The
first game was still at 3/3 after 11 minutes of play, and lasted 16
minutes, 9/3 for the French. The two boys were very close up to 5/5 in
the second, but Castagnet was just slightly stronger in the patience and
retrieving department. He takes the game, the longest of the
match, 9/6 17 minutes. The third was shorter, 11 minutes, 9/3.
If I have a criticism, I would say to Matthieu (and I already told him)
to watch his height in the defensive lob, and to take advantage of his
openings. Today, he was lucky to be fitter that his opponent, and too
often he didn’t take the chance to finish the rally, and had to rely on
his opponent’s mistakes to win it…
R2: Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) bt Chris Hall (Eng)
9-3, 9-6, 9-3
R3: Simon Rosner (Ger) bt Mathieu Castagnet (Fra)
9-2, 9-0, 1-9, 9-1
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Joshna Chinappa |
Girls U19
Girls U19 Draw
A number of suprises in the morning's second round, with Stephanie
Edmison (Can), Tenille Swartz (Rsa), Fiona Moverley
(Eng) and Charlotte Delsine (Fra) all reaching the last sixteen to
counfound their seedings.
But there were no problems for the top eight seeds in the evening session
though, with Charlie De Rycke and Joshna Chinappa both
coming through in four games to Tuesday's quarter-finals, and only the
USA's Lily Lorentzen taken to five games.
Quarter-finals start at 17.40 on Tuesday. |
NATALIE
GRAINGER BRAND…
Boy o boy does that girl Lily Lorentzen know how to attack a ball!
Under the nurturing look and vocal support of Natalie, the tall American
Lily was in a devastating form today against skinny French Soraya Renaï,
who fought extremely hard from the first ball until the last.
I don’t think anybody had any doubt about the outcome of the match, but
after leading 8/1 in the first, the American seemed to relax slightly, and
it took her 14 minutes to stop the French clawing back… Lily finally got
the game 9/7.
Same scenario in the second. Up 5/0, she let her opponent come back to
5/4, and it took her 10 minutes this time to win 9/5. The third was much
easier, but even at 0/7, and 2 games down, Soraya still believed she could
create an upset, and started accumulating the points, only to accept
defeat 9/3.
I was proud to see the young French girl fighting for every ball, and
every shot. Lily was too strong physically, attacking beautifully every
ball that came near her racquet, but maybe not used to having some of her
shots coming back one after the other, and maybe, maybe, could do with a
bit more patience?
What do I know anyway… |
R2: Lily Lorentzen (Usa)
bt
Soraya Renaï (Fra)
9-7, 9-5, 9-3
R3: Lily Lorentzen (Usa) bt
Fiona Moverley (Eng)
9-7, 2-9, 9-0, 0-9, 9-6
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NO SURPRISE THIS TIME
Framboise at
Abbeydale
The surprise winner against Keeley Peacock, Sara Anwan, couldn’t do
much today against her Malaysian opponent Sally Looi. The score
speaks for itself, 9/1, 9/6, 9/4, but even if she was slightly out of her
league, Sara fought well in the last two games, taking every advantage
possible of her opponent's drops in concentration.
Never mind, it’s all experience, Sara…
R2: Sally Looi (Mas) bt Sara Anwan (Pak) 9-1, 9-6, 9-4
R3: Charlie De Rycke (Bel) bt Sally Looi (Mas) 9-1, 9-1, 6-9, 9-4
"I was not very happy with my game today, I made far too many mistakes. I
was not concentrating enough…"
Sally Looi |
WELL PLAYED
CHARLOTTE
Yes, sue me, I’ve looked at a lot of French
players, as it’s the first time ever I had the chance to see my
compatriots…. Well, Charlotte Delsinne, you remember, half good,
half bad, supported by her English family, was playing a stunning English
young lady, Susannah King, from Hampshire.
I’m telling you, no wonder that are so many young men playing squash in
these junior tournaments, as the beauty of those girls is just
breathtaking… Not that I’m jealous of the fact they are 17, skinny, fit,
beautiful or anything …
And sorry I don’t have a picture of her, she was camera shy…
Anyway, last time those two girls played at the Belgian Open, Susannah won
3/1, so left handed Charlotte was not exactly the favourite. But as often
happens, it’s when you don’t have any expectation…
I didn’t see the whole match, as I was watching the American girl next
court, but I saw Susannah make far too many unforced errors and tins for
her own good. I guess the pressure was on her - her tournament, her crowd,
and sometimes, it’s just a bit too much…
At the end of her match, French Coach Fred Lecomte, had a big
smile, and simply said “It’s a beautiful victory”.
R2: Charlotte Delsinne (Fra) bt Susannah King (Eng)
9-4, 9-0, 5-9, 9-2
R3: Petra Hughes (Aus) bt Charlotte Delsinne (Fra)
9-6, 9-0, 9-4 |
 “Susannah
hits the ball very well, but she is not so much at her ease in front
of the court, so I tried to bring her to the front of the court as
much as I could.
“Maybe also, I had the feeling that today, I was just a bit stronger
that she was physically…”
Charlotte
Delsinne |
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Boys U17
Boys U17 Draw
Egypt's Top seed Mohamed Ali Anwar was taken to five games by
Canadian Andrew McDougal in the morning's second round before
claiming his place in the last 16, then cruised through in the evening to
reach the quarter-finals.
Seven of the top eight seeds are still in contention, with Pakistan's 9/16
seed Alamzeb the only interloper, set to take on Egypt's second
seed Omar Abou Zaid ... result to be confirmed in the
morning.
Quarter-Finals are at 17.00 on Tuesday |
Mohamed Anwar |
|
Raneem El Weleily |
Girls U17
Girls U17 Draw
This afternoon's second round (last 32) saw all the top seeds move
comfortably into Tuesday play, when the last 16 and quarter-finals will be
decided.
Egypt's top seed and defending champion Raneem El Weleily won in
straight games, as did England's second seed Rachel Willmot, with
similar scorelines for 3/4 seeds Joey Chan and Camille Serme
from Hong Kong and France.
Only Canada's Sarah Parsons beat a seed today, with a 9-6, 9-2,
10-8 victory over Welsh girl Bethan Williams, a 9/16 seed.
Last 16 starts 14.20 Tue, Quarters 20.20 Tue |
Boys U15
Boys U15 Draw
France's Lucas Vauzelle created on of three upsets in this
afternoon's second round, beating 9/16 seed Sam Wileman in the closest
manner possible - 10-9 in the fifth.
Vauzelle is joined in tomorrow's last 16 by his European-ranked #1
compatriot Grégoire March, who now faces Hong Kong's top seed
Leo Au.
Egypt's Ahmed El Mehelmy exceeded his seeding and meets
second-seeded compatriot Androw Wageh, and Pakistan's Tahir
Iqbal upset 5/8 seed Philip Tran in straight games.
Last 16 starts 10.45 Tue, Quarters 20.20 Tue |
Lucas Vauxelle |
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Girls U15
Girls U15 Draw
There are a few first round matches played this evening, with rounds two
and three (last 16) taking place on Tuesday from 9.00 and 19.00 |
Boys U13
Boys U13 Draw
In today's second round there was only one upset, as Egypt's Hisham
Essam Anwar beat 9/16 seed Alex Bowden in four games, 5-9, 9-1, 9-2,
10-8. Anwar earns a last 16 place against fellow Egyptian top seed Ali
Wael Farag.
Second seed Ramit Tandon maintained the prospect of an all-Egyptian
final, and with 3/4 seeds Fouad Khalifa and El Sherbeny also
progressing, all in straight games, it could even be four Egyptians in the
semi-finals.
Last 16 starts 12.20 Tue, Quarters 19.40 Tue |
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Girls U13
Girls U13 Draw
First round takes place from 11.00 Tuesday , Last 16 09.00 Wed |
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