19-Jul-07, Qualifying Finals:     Draw & Results

Eight go through to Saudi
Danny Lee reports from St George's

Eight matches today at the St George's Hill club in Surrey, with the winners earning places in the main draw of the 2007 Saudi International in Al Khobar this coming October.

Hisham Ashour showed that he has the potential to emulate the achievements of his younger brother with an impressive display of attacking squash to defeat Australia's Aaron Frankcombe.

Omar Mosaad proved a little bit too wily for Jonny Harford who took the second game but overall was made to work too hard by the young Egyptian.

An Egyptian hat-trick was prevented by the explosive Jonathan Kemp who kept up a relentless pace against the wonder kid Mohamed El Shorbagy. El Shorbagy had his chances in the first game but squandered them through inexperience and after that Kemp was dominant. El Shorbagy is one to watch for the future and Kemp by no means outclassed him.

The win of the day came from Chris Simpson, the Guernsey youngster, who defeated the experienced Frenchman Renan Lavigne in four games. Lavigne was seeded to qualify and Simpson hung on in the fourth game to quash an attempted comeback by his spirited opponent.

Joey Barrington, egged on by his legendary cornerman, his father Jonah, was too strong and determined for Robbie Temple, yesterday's beneficiary of Stacey Ross's wife's untimely labour (Mrs Ross eventually gave birth to a healthy boy!).

Davide Bianchetti beat a slightly below par Scott Handley in three games but still managed to entertain the crowd with his amusing remonstrations and wide eyed incredulous looks. Always a good picture there eh Fritz ?!

St George's Hill's PSL player Daryl Selby dispatched Czech republic number one Jan Koukal in similar fashion to take up his place in the main draw of the World's richest event.

St George's Hill's PSL number one Alister Walker delighted the local squash fans with a determined performance against Chris Ryder. Ryder looked to have the flow when he stormed through the fourth to level the match at two games all.

It was Walker who came out of the blocks faster in the fifth and gamely though Ryder battled Walker's physical presence proved decisive in gaining the early lead. Poor Chris was left pointless having gone into the final game confident and upbeat.

One consolation for Ryder is that he was the first name pulled out of the hat for a lucky loser spot. Lucky Loser two was Jonny Harford and three Renan Lavigne.

Saudi awaits the winning 8 ...

Action is under way at the St George's Hill Club in Surrey to determine the last eight places for the 2007 Saudi International in October.

Top seeds are Egypt's Hisham Ashour and young Englishman Alister Walker, who receive byes into Thursday's finals - as does Joey Barrington - while the rest battle through two rounds.

Hisham will face Aussie youngster Aaron Franckomb who enjoyed a fairly comfortable passage against Jason Barry, while Jonny Harford and Omar Mosaad both had testing matches before setting up their meeting in the finals.

Experience will face youth when Jonathan Kemp meets Mohamed El Shorbagy, the Egyptian BJO champion who in the past year has already claimed the scalps of several well-ranked Englishmen.

Chris Simpson exerted his authority over Joe Lee, his successor as England's top junior, meets Renan Lavigne, the sole Frenchman in the draw, who eased past Darren Lewis in three.

Perennial qualifier Davide Bianchetti overcame one English obstacle in young James Snell, but now meets a much more experienced one in Scott Handley, who showed no mercy in his match with Ryan Thompson, at 26 minutes the quickest of the day.

Joey Barrington, beneficiary of a bye today, had been hoping to face a tired opponent tomorrow but when the Ross family's impending new addition didn't materialise in time Stacey had no option but to give a walkover to Robbie Temple.

Daryl Selby took his time to subdue little Alex Ingham, who took the first game from his more experienced opponent, but Daryl's opponent in the finals, Jan Koukal, took even longer - as he is wont to do - coming from 2-1 down to deny Philip Nightingale in 66 minutes.

The final match of the day saw world university champion Chris Ryder book a match against Alister Walker as he beat Northumbria's David Barnett in straight games.

"Turn the heat down !! He played well and could have taken the second when I tried to finish it too quickly. I got him quite tired in the end because I kept holding him and pushing him back."



"He was too accurate and I struggled because I have not played enough matches of this calibre lately."

"Didn't start too well but got back in it by attacking more. His length was great. I played ok overall."



"I surprised myself but didn't quite go for it enough when my chance came. The match shows that my hard training is starting to pay off. Bit of a shame that I didn't quite pull it off but I have gained confidence from this match."

Many thanks to Tournament Director and resident club coach Danny Lee for keeping us up to date with results, quotes and photos ... 

Only one day to go Danny, and we'll have Fritz there tomorrow to take over the photographic duties ...

St George's
Quote Box ...

"Just back from Oz and it's my first match so I'm happy to get through. The conditions were very hot but I took it short well. I'm looking forward to playing Hisham tomorrow."

"Pleased to get through. I didn't feel great but I have been working hard in the summer and it paid off in the end."

"I played well in the first game but couldn't concentrate properly. Second game was better but it was neck and neck and I just sneaked it on a tie break. The third and the fourth were easy because he was tired. I hope to win tomorrow."

"Glad to get first match over and done with. It's hard in the middle of summer. I am looking forward to El Shorbagy."

"I played ok. Alex played well in first. I needed to play at a good sustainable tempo which I did ok. I just need to be a bit more positive at the front."



"I'm brain dead after that, but he played better than me on the day."

"The courts were so different from South Africa where I have just been playing Jarvis Cup. I needed that to get into it."



"I was not great and I am disappointed. He was a bit quick and kept catching me with his boast. He was solid and consistent."

SAUDI
QUALIFYING
2007

St George's Hill

Draw at 12.00 Wed

Play commences at 1pm
Wed and Thu

2006 qualifying event