Sun 4th Mar, Day TWO:
Best of Three
Qualifying at Wimbledon
04-Mar, Qualifying Finals:
[5] Greg Lobban (Sco) 2-0 [1]
Declan James (Eng)
11-9, 11-3
(27m)
plays Willstrop
[4] Grégoire Marche (Fra) 2-0 Chris Simpson (Eng)
11-9, 13-11
(41m)
plays Momen
[3] Nicolas Mueller (Sui) 2-0 [8] Tom Richards (Eng)
14-12, 11-6
(31m)
plays Rosner
[6] Mazen Hesham (Egy) 2-0 Ben Coleman (Eng)
14-12, 11-4
(27m) plays
MoElShorbagy
Qualifying Finals: English bow out
There was no joy for any of the four English players in
today's qualifying finals at Wimbledon Racquets and Fitness, as
the last four places in the $100k main draw - and matches on the
glass court at the East Wintergarden venue - were claimed.
The day started with a big upset as Scotland's Greg Lobban
beat top seed Declan James in straight games while the other
three matches all went to seeding.
Match reports on the CWC BLOG
Sat 3rd Mar, Day
ONE
Best of Three
Qualifying at Wimbledon
Coleman conquers 2016 Champ Castagnet
Alan Thatcher reports, photos by Patrick Lauson
Today Best of Three was introduced to a PSA World Tour knockout event for
the first time as 16 players began to battle for the four
available places in the main draw of the Canary Wharf Classic.
 Top qualifying seed Declan James, from Nottingham, took
just 29 minutes to beat Charlie Lee in straight games but
Greg Lobban and Egypt’s Youssef Soliman were on court for
almost an hour before the Scotsman prevailed.
The 24-year-old James, who has been selected to play for England
in next month’s Commonwealth Games, said:
“The best-of-three format makes the squash very intense.
You have to focus on every point and can’t ease up for a moment.
Hopefully that makes it more interesting for the spectators.
"Playing in the qualifiers, it certainly helps if you have two
massive matches to get through before reaching the main draw, so
it’s important to have a bit of energy left in the tank.”
On the adjacent court, the score seesawed dramatically in the
opening two games.
 Lobban led 10-3 in the first before Soliman produced a
phenomenal comeback to win it 12-10. In the second, Soliman led
6-2 but then surrendered eight points in a row as Lobban hit
back to take the game 11-7 before closing out the match 11-6 in
the third in 54 minutes.
Qualifying fourth seed Grégoire Marche beat Welsh number
one Joel Makin in a volatile encounter lasting 54 minutes.
Some absorbing, tactical squash was punctuated by the
Frenchman’s frequent discussions with the referee before he
clinched his qualifying final appointment tomorrow with Simpson,
winning 11-7, 8-11, 11-7.
Tom Richards enjoyed the shorter format, taking just 21
minutes to overcome Ireland’s Sean Conroy 11-5, 11-5.
Swiss number two qualifying seed Nicolas Mueller was
detained much longer before nullifying the threat of home
favourite Lyell Fuller. He earned the biggest cheer of the day
when he won the second game but Muller stepped up the pace to
win the third 11-2.
Mazen Hesham served up a nick-fest with Josh Masters
adding a few of his own as the Egyptian won 11-5, 11-6, also
taking 21 minutes. With some outrageous winners from the Black
Falcon, the crowd definitely wanted this one to go on much
longer.
The final match to finish served up the biggest shock of the day
as England’s Ben Coleman beat the 2016 Canary Wharf
champion Mathieu Castagnet 14-12, 5-11, 11-9 in 68 minutes, the
longest match of the day.
REPORT: Coleman conquers 2016 Champ Castagnet |
Tournament Director Tim Garner was
pleased with the new scoring system. Midway through the opening
day schedule, he said:
“This has delivered everything we hoped it would. The sell-out
crowd is watching some really exciting, entertaining squash and
the format gives the winners the opportunity to put in a really
good performance again tomorrow without being too physically
drained.”
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