Forrex Dutch Open 2009

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Final

Selby survives marathon to claim Dutch Open title

Daryl Selby
is the new Dutch Open champion after the English fourth seed prevailed over Cameron Pilley in a 102-minute marathon encounter at the Victoria club in Rotterdam.

With both players taking few risks in the early stages, the opening game alone took 30 minutes, which finally went Selby’s way after trailing for most of the game. The Australian came out firing in the second though, putting in more attacks and taking the game comfortably in just 11 minutes to level the match. It was back to business in the third, as Selby kept his opponent on a much tighter leash. From 6-all the Englishman took the initiative and after another 30-minute game it was 2-1 to Selby.

The fourth was another grueling game, mixing the long rallies of the first and third, but both more eager to pounce on a good opportunity now. There was nothing in it up to 8-all, when Selby played a long drop shot and got a stroke to take him to 10-8. However the fourth seed tinned on the next two rallies, before regaining his third match point shortly after. Five scrambling rallies, five lets, but finally Selby put in a shot that was too tight for Pilley to retrieve. Game and match to Daryl Selby: 11-9, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10.

The winner was naturally delighted with the biggest win of his career. "It was pretty crucial to come back and take the first game, because he just played too well in the second. Then it was just a question of hanging in there. We both wanted to win obviously, it's a big tournament, a four star, which means lots of points,” said Selby. “It feels great to win the Dutch Open and I would like to thank Tommy and his team who always organize them so well,” added the 27-year old.
 


2008 Event Page


. DRAW
. Qualifying

Reports
. Final
. Semis
.
Quarters


. Previews





 

 

Draw
Dutch Open 2009
24-29 Nov, Victoria Squash, Rotterdam
Round One
26 Nov
Quarters
27 Nov
Semis
28 Nov
Final
2
9 Nov
[1] Laurens Jan Anjema (Ned)
11/4, 11/5, 11/4 (35m)
[Q] Nicolas Mueller (Sui)
Laurens Jan Anjema
11/3, 14/12, 11/7 (41m)
Simon Rosner
Laurens Jan Anjema
11/2, 3/0 rtd (8m)Daryl Selby
 
Daryl Selby
11-9, 4-11,
11-7, 12-10

Cameron Pilley
[5] Joey Barrington (Eng)
9/11, 12/10, 11/4, 7/5 rtd (60m)
Simon Rosner (Ger)
[4] Daryl Selby (Eng)
12/14, 11/5, 7/11, 11/4, 11/4 (75m)
Kashif Shuja (Nzl)
Daryl Selby
6/11, 15/13, 11/4, 11/9 (80m)
Julian Illingworth
[8] Julian Illingworth (Usa)
9/11, 11/13, 11/9, 11/5, 11/5 (69m)
Chris Ryder (Eng)
Piedro Schweertman (Ned)
11/4, 11/5, 4/11, 11/7 (40m)
[6] Tom Richards (Eng)
 Tom Richards
11/3, 11/2, 11/7 (37m)
Azlan Iskandar
Azlan Iskandar
6/11, 11/8, 11/3, 12/10 (65m)
Cameron Pilley
[Q] Steve Finitsis (Aus)
11/9, 11/4, 11/6 (33m)
[3] Azlan Iskandar (Mas)
[Q] Dylan Bennett (Ned)
11/5, 11/4, 9/11, 11/8 (67m)
[7] Davide Bianchetti (Ita)
 Davide Bianchetti
11/3, 11/3, 11/8 (46m)
Cameron Pilley
[Q] Ryan Cuskelly (Aus)
11/9, 11/8, 11/7 (52m)
[2] Cameron Pilley (Aus)

Qualifying

25th Nov, Finals:

Last Round Qualifying Results
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) bt Chris Simpson (Eng)        17/15, 11/6, 13/11 (65m)
Nicolas Mueller (Zwi) bt Stephane Galifi (Ita)       9/11, 11/4, 11/8, 11/5 (44m)
Steve Finitsis (Aus) bt Julien Balbo (Fra)            11/7, 11/6, 6/11, 11/5 (48m)
Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt Robbie Temple (Eng)      11/8, 11/8, 8/11, 7/11, 11/5 (66m)

24-Nov, Round One:

Chris Simpson (Eng) bt Bradley Hindle (Mlt)  8/11, 11/8, 5/11, 11/4, 11/6 (71m)
Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) bt Frank Hartkoren (Ned)               11/6, 11/8, 11/6 (26m)
Stéphane Galifi (Ita) bt Rene Mijs (Ned)                      11/7, 11/7, 13/11 (33m)
Nicolas Mueller (Sui) bt John Rooney (Irl)          11/13, 11/7, 11/8, 12/10 (49m)
Steve Finitsis (Aus) bt Rob Sutherland (Wal)                  11/4, 11/9, 11/8 (35m)
Julien Balbo (Fra) bt Bastiaan Meulenbelt (Ned)              11/7, 11/6, 11/3 (41m)
Robbie Temple (Eng) bt Bart Ravelli (Ned)                     11/6, 11/9, 11/9 (34m)
Dylan Bennett (Ned) bt Jan Koukal (Cze)                      11/7, 11/7, 11/2 (26m)

/4, 7/11, 11/6 (35m)

Reports
 

Semi Finals

LJ limps out as Pilley powers into Dutch Open final

There was disappointment for the packed crowd at Victoria Squash in Rotterdam who had turned up to spur local favourite Laurens Jan Anjema into the final of the Dutch Open Squash 2009.

England's Daryl Selby, the fourth seed, dominated the opening game against the top seed, leaving him for dead on several occasions. Something was clearly wrong as the Englishman took the game 11-3, and when he opened up a 3-0 lead in the second all became clear as Anjema offered his hand to concede the match. "In my match yesterday I dived after the ball and jarred my right knee. I didn't really feel it at the time but it stiffened up later, and was stiff and sore this morning," he explained to the crowd.

"I had a physio look at it and he tried a few things. I had a good warm-up and went on hopeful that the ball would be warm and that it would ease off once I got into the match. But every time I tried to change direction I could feel it, and against someone as good as Daryl if I'm not 100% then it's hopeless - I might have been able to get through an early round, but not at this level. It's a pity, I was playing well in the earlier rounds, so it's very disappointing."

Selby was grateful for the opportunity to reach the final fresh, especially after two very tough earlier rounds, but had sympathy for his injured opponent. "It's a real shame and I feel so sorry for him, in front of a good home crowd too. I'm happy to get through obviously, but wouldn't have wanted to get to the final this way. Still, at least I'll get a bit more recovery time after two tough matches in the earlier rounds."

His opponent in the final will be Cameron Pilley, the Dutch-based Australian who was runner-up in last year's event in Amsterdam. The second seed dropped the first game against Malaysia's Mohd Azlan Iskandar, the third seed, but recovered to take the next three, finishing in style with an outrageous overhead into the nick: 6-11, 11-8, 11-2, 12-10.

"That's a good win, and a good way to finish it," said a delighted winner. "I was a bit nervous at the start, my previous matches were against people I'd beaten, but Azlan has beaten me in all the tournament matches we've played, so I wanted to keep it tight at the start. In the fourth I just had to hang in there, trying to pull it back point by point. Then at 10-all I stuck one to the wall, and when the ball came up on match ball I thought I might as well go for it!"

Quarter Finals

Top favourites contest Dutch Open semi’s

The top four seeds will contest the semi-finals of the Dutch Open Squash 2009 after contrasting quarter-final victories tonight at the Victoria Club in Rotterdam.

Third seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar opened proceedings with an impressive win over Englishman Tom Richards. Iskandar was in control from the outset and denied Richards the opportunities to get a foothold in the match. "I felt quite comfortable in the first two, I was content to put him under pressure, trying to make him heavy-legged," said Iskandar. "I knew he would come into it, I expected it in the second, but in the third he definitely made the court longer and I panicked a bit after winning the first two so comfortably, but I managed to get it back together."

Iskandar will meet second seed Cameron Pilley for a place in the final. The Australian was in equally impressive form, demolishing Italy's Davide Bianchetti for the lost of just six points in the first two games, and although the Italian made it tougher in the third the second seed always looked the likely winner. "Davide's very talented with the racket as he showed in the third," said the victor. "I'm seeded to get to the final but it's going to be tough - I played Azlan a few weeks ago in Hong Kong and he got me 3/0 so it's good to get a chance of revenge."

Home favourite Laurens Jan Anjema delighted the packed home crowd when he also won in straight games. But the Dutchman was made to work hard in the last two of them by young German Simon Rosner, with Anjema having to come from 10-6 down to take the second on extra points. "I needed to come back to get the second," said a relieved top seed. "It was a make or break moment and two-nil was a big plus for me and a disappointment for him. He played well, but I'm not too unhappy with how I played either.”

Anjema's semi-final opponent will be Englishman Daryl Selby, who also needed to mount a recovery to claim his expected place in the last four. Trailing the USA's number one Julian Illingworth by a game and 8-6, Selby displayed determination and patience to eventually prevail in four games after 80 minutes of exhausting play. "Winning the second was really important," said Selby. "Then I got really annoyed when he sent me the wrong way on a simple crosscourt to go 4-1 up in the third. I thought come on, you're not going down without a fight here and just dug in. It wasn't the tightest game of squash, we can both play better than that, but you can't play well all the time. If you can come out of a match where you don't play at your best with a win, that's the most important thing. At least you give yourself a chance of playing well in the next round."

First Round
Anjema powers into Dutch quarters

Seven of the top eight seeds progressed to the quarter-finals of the Dutch Open Squash 2009 in Rotterdam's Victoria Club, but it was far from easy going for several of them.

Third seed Azlan Iskandar opened proceedings with a comfortable enough win over qualifier Steve Finitsis, and will meet young Englishman Tom Richards for a place in the semi-finals after Richards denied local wildcard Piedro Schweertman in four games. Iskandar was surprised at the pace of the match: "After watching the matches last night I was waiting for the ball to start dying, but it never did, it was so fast," he said. "That's a good start though, to get off in three in half an hour, I can look forward to the rest of the tournament now."

Richards started well against Schweertman, who took his time to get going but gave the Englishman a hard time of it in the third game. "You could see he got confident, he got a lot of balls back and hit some great shot, made it difficult for me which is what I expected," said Richards. "I'm glad to get through, now it's my training partner Azlan, we always hit together when we're in London, so it should be interesting."

There was further Dutch disappointment when last night's hero Dylan Bennett fell narrowly short against Davide Bianchetti, the seventh seed. After a slow start Bennett found his range and took the match to a decider, which the fiery Italian narrowly won. "I struggled in the first two, I just couldn't get it past him," said Bennett. "Tommy [Berden] kept telling me I had to find a way to get the ball deep, and I did that in the third and fourth, and he got frustrated. Overall I'm happy, considering where I was ten days ago it's a big improvement."

Bianchetti meets second seed Cameron Pilley who won an entertaining match against fellow Aussie Ryan Cuskelly. Although they lived close to each other in Australia they had strangely never played a serious match against each other before tonight.

In the top half of the draw local favourite and top seed Laurens Jan Anjema was in impressive form as he dispatched Swiss qualifier Nicolas Mueller. The pressure of being the home favourite doesn't seem to be affecting ‘LJ’: "I felt exactly the right level of nervousness," he said. "I was relaxed but knew it was important, it felt good and I hope I can keep that feeling for the rest of the week."

Anjema's quarter-final opponent is the only unseeded player left in the draw, after Germany's Simon Rosner upset fifth seed Joey Barrington. After a tough three and a half games that took exactly an hour the Englishman retired injured - cumulative rather than anything dramatic - with Rosner leading 2/1 and 7/5.

The top half of the draw is completed by England's Daryl Selby and USA number one Julian Illingworth, both of whom survived five game encounters. Selby needed all his determination to suppress the racket skills of New Zealand's Kashif Shuja, while Illingworth had to come from two games down to beat England's Chris Ryder. "I was annoyed losing the first game from so far up," said Selby. “But I have to give a lot of credit to Kashif, he played really well and put me under a lot of pressure. I was proud of myself mentally, of how I dug in though," he added.

Illingworth was similarly relieved to progress: "I'm happy to get through, this is the first time I've made the second round of a four or five star event, so it will be good to get a match against one of the top boys - probably Daryl, but I wouldn't be too disappointed if a qualifier upset him!"


Qualifying

Bennett boosts local interest at Dutch Open

It was a day of upsets in Rotterdam as the qualifying finals for the Dutch Open Squash 2009 – which offers a total prize fund of US $40,000 - saw two Australians, one Swiss and one Dutchman reach the main draw of the biggest men's event to be held on Dutch soil this century.

Ryan Cuskelly opened proceedings with a hard-fought win over Chris Simpson, who will feel aggrieved not to have at least taken a game. "I'll have to be at the top of my form tomorrow if I draw one of the top three boys, but we'll see how we go," said Cuskelly, whose reward is a matchup against fellow Aussie Cameron Pilley, the second seed.

Rising Swiss star Nicolas Mueller used pace to overcome the guile of Stéphane Galifi. "I'd lost to him two or three times, so I knew what I needed to do to beat him, keep the pace up and make him work," said Mueller. "Even if he won the first game or the first two games I had to keep that going, and today it worked," said the former European Junior Champion who meets top seed and Dutch favourite Laurens Jan Anjema tomorrow

Dutch-based Australian Steve Finitsis utilized the same tactics to upset France's Julien Balbo and earn an unexpected place in the main draw. "I can enjoy it now, especially since I came here as first reserve, I didn't know if I was even going to get a game," said a delighted Finitsis who will now play Mohd Azlan Iskandar in tomorrow’s first round.

The final match of the day saw Dylan Bennett boost local interest in the main draw as he prevailed in a see-saw contest with England's Robbie Temple. "Tough,” said the victor. "It was more of a mental game really. In the first two I was more relaxed and he was doing the arguing, then it was the other way round in the next two. I got a good start in the fifth, he argued a couple of decisions and that cost him a few more points, I just needed to push through and close it out." Bennett goes through to meet eighth seed Davide Bianchetti in the first round which starts Thursday at 1pm at Victoria Squash in Rotterdam.
 

 

Previews

Injured Barker Withdraws From Dutch Open

Top seed Peter Barker has been forced to withdraw from the Dutch Open Squash 2009, the 4-Star PSA World Tour championship which starts in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. The England international is struggling with an ankle injury which he aggravated last weekend in his semi-final match against compatriot Nick Matthew in the Qatar Classic.

The 26-year-old is clearly disappointed with his withdrawal from the $40,000 event which is being staged at Victoria Squash, the club Barker represents in the Dutch league.

"Unfortunately I have been advised to pull out of the forthcoming Dutch Open," said the world number nine. 

"My ankle clearly needs some attention, so I can’t compete in the tournament this week.  I am gutted I am not playing," added the left-hander from London, who sustained the injury in Spain en-route to winning the Santiago Open earlier in the month.

The late withdrawal elevates Dutch champion Laurens Jan Anjema to top spot in the biggest men’s tournament on Dutch soil this century.  Australia’s Cameron Pilley, Malaysia’s Mohd Azlan Iskandar and England’s Daryl Selby are the three other highest ranked players in the draw.

Julian Illingworth from the USA is now seeded to reach the quarter-finals, while New-Zealand’s Kashif Shuja avoids the brutal qualifying competition due to Barker’s absence.

The Dutch Open Squash 2009 starts today with first round of qualifying action and runs through to Sunday with the men’s final scheduled for 2pm.  More information about the championship can be found at the official tournament site www.dutchopensquash.nl

Anjema faces tough task at Dutch Open

 

The Professional Squash Association (PSA) has today announced the draw for the Dutch Open Squash 2009 which will take place from November 24-29 at Victoria Squash in Rotterdam. The championship, which boasts a total prize fund of US$40,000, features five world top-20 players.

 

Home favourite Laurens Jan Anjema, who won the most prestigious men's tournament to be held on Dutch soil in 2004, starts his Dutch Open campaign against a qualifier. If the 26-year old from The Hague wins his opening match he will face the winner of England’s Joey Barrington, the sixth seed, and Mexico’s Eric Galvez in the quarters. The projected semi-final opponent of the four-time Dutch champion, who is seeded two for the PSA 4 Star championship, is Australia’s third seed Cameron Pilley. The world number fifteen is expected to play England’s Daryl Selby, who is ranked just two spots lower than the Aussie, in his quarter-final.

 

Top seed Peter Barker from England and Malaysia’s Mohd Azlan Iskandar, seeded four, are hot favourites to reach the semi final stage in the top half of the draw, which also features Dutch number two Piedro Schweertman. Strangely enough Barker and Iskandar are now the two highest ranked players in the strong field after the Malaysian rose an incredible seven places to number 13 in the November rankings, after making the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open last month. Barker is currently world number nine and the November rankings mark an unbroken year in the world's top ten for the left-hander from Essex.

 

More information about the Dutch Open Squash 2009 can be found on the official tournament website www.dutchopensquash.nl.

 

Strong field for Dutch Open

 

The Professional Squash Association (PSA) has announced the line-up for the Dutch Open Squash 2009 which will take place from November 24-29 at Victoria Squash in Rotterdam, the Dutch capital of sports.

 

England’s Peter Barker, the world number nine, heads the entry list for the biggest men’s event on Dutch soil in this century. Dutch ace Laurens Jan Anjema (15) is seeded second in front of Australia’s Cameron Pilley (17) and Malaysia’s Mohd Azlan Iskandar (20). Daryl Selby (Eng, 21), Joey Barrington (Eng, 28), Tom Richards (31) - all from England - and Italy’s Davide Bianchetti (32) are the other top-eight seeds.

 

Piedro Schweertman is the second Dutch participant in the main draw of the Dutch Open Squash 2009. The 26-year old world number 131 received a wildcard for next month's event in Rotterdam which offers a total prize fund of US$40.000 as well as valuable world ranking points. Local stars Dylan Bennett, Rene Mijs, Bart Ravelli and Bastiaan Meulenbelt will have to qualify for the PSA 4 Star championship. The draw for the Dutch Open Squash 2009 will be announced on Monday November 9th.

 

Tournament promoter Tommy Berden is upbeat about the quality of entries for the Dutch Open: “Looking at the players who signed up, the Dutch Open shapes up to be another exciting event. Many of the guys who entered are on their way up and will be in the top-ten within the next few years,” said the former world number 22. “The quality of players ensures that we will witness some great matches, and as we only have limited seating available I would like to advise everybody to reserve their tickets early,” said the 30-year old Berden.

 

Tickets for the Dutch Open Squash 2009 are now for sale through the official tournament website www.dutchopensquash.nl. Prices vary between € 5,00 and € 20,00 a day. Tournament passes are also available for squash fans all around the world, which gives access to all main draw matches.

 

Entry list (30 October 2009)

1

M

Peter Barker

ENG

9

2

M

Laurens Jan Anjema

NED

15

3

M

Cameron Pilley

AUS

17

4

M

Mohd Azlan Iskandar

MAS

20

5

M

Daryl Selby

ENG

21

6

M

Joey Barrington

ENG

28

7

M

Tom Richards

ENG

31

8

M

Davide Bianchetti

ITA

32

9

M

Julian Illingworth

USA

33

10

M

Chris Ryder

ENG

36

11

M

Eric Galvez

MEX

37

12

M

Piedro Schweertman

NED

131

 

1

Q

Simon Rosner

GER

40

2

Q

Kashif Shuja

NZL

42

3

Q

Chris Simpson

ENG

45

4

Q

Jan Koukal

CZE

47

5

Q

Julien Balbo

FRA

53

6

Q

Stephane Galifi

ITA

57

7

Q

Nicolas Mueller

SUI

59

8

Q

Ryan Cuskelly

AUS

63

9

Q

Robbie Temple

ENG

66

10

Q

Rob Sutherland

WAL

71

11

Q

Bradley Hindle

MLT

73

12

Q

Dylan Bennett

NED

77

13

Q

Rene Mijs

NED

167

14

Q

Bart Ravelli

NED

177

15

Q

Bastiaan Meulenbelt

NED

212

16

Q

To be confirmed

 

 

 

 

   

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