Men's Final:
Rodney Durbach bt Renan Lavigne 15/10 15/7 15/9

Women's Final:
Linda Charman bt Jenny Tranfield 9/3 9/3 3/9 9/1

The sixth Annual Boston Open proved to be a great success for Boston Squash Club who hosted the event last weekend – December 13th – 15th. Play began on the Friday morning with the Men’s first round. The initial disappointment of No. 1 seed, Simon Parke withdrawing at the last minute due to reaching the Quarter Finals of the World Open in Antwerp soon disappeared with the arrival of Rodney Durbach from South Africa as the replacement No.1 seed, Rodney being ranked in the World Top 20. The first round produced only one surprise with Andy Learoyd from Yorkshire defeating David Barnett from Northumbria in five hard fought games.

Friday afternoon saw the start of the Ladies competition. Comfortable wins for No. 3 seed, Jenny Tranfield (the current holder), Linda Charman, seeded No. 1 for the event, and recent World Open finalist and Lincolnshire’s Tania Bailey currently ranked 6 in the World.

The men’s last 16 provided some exciting squash for a good crowd on the Friday evening although there were no major surprises as the top seeds all advanced to the quarter finals.

The Ladies and Men’s quarter finals began on Saturday morning with the highlight being a highly exciting five set match between the No. 2 seed and World No. 21, Renan Lavigne from France and up an coming young star, Andy Whipp. Lavigne coming out winner 15/8 in the fifth game. The Ladies quarter finals did provide one surprise as Lincolnshire’s Tania Bailey had to retire when one game down against Jenny Duncalf due to illness.

In the afternoon, the Club also staged a successful mini Junior Tournament for all the County Juniors, and whilst there were no winners from Boston, there were good performances from them all - Michael Mitchell, Lee Harrison and Jamie Goodacre in the Under 13’s, Adam Hildred in the Under 11’s and Scott Mitchell and Aidan Harrison in the Under 15’s.

The Ladies Semi Finals turned out to be rather one sided with comfortable victories for Charman and Tranfield to set up what promised to be a hard fought final. Rodney Durbach then produced a highly controlled performance in defeating Paul Hargrave, but again Lavigne was involved in the match of the round showing incredible levels of energy in defeating Ben Howell in yet another five setter to set up the eagerly anticipated final between the top two seeds.

Both Finals proved to be hard fought affairs in front of a good crowd. In the Ladies event, Charman justified her top seeding, her strong all round game just proving too much for Tranfield, Charman winning 9/3 9/3 3/9 9/1. The Men’s Final followed, whilst Lavigne put in a strong performance despite the previous days exertions, he was eventually overpowered by the relentless tight squash of Durbach who ran out winner 15/10 15/7 15/9.
 

Final:
R Durbach bt R Lavigne 15/10 15/7 15/9

Semi Finals
R Durbach bt P Hargrave 15/13 15/11 15/8
R Lavigne bt B Howell 16/17 15/6 15/7 9/15 15/9

Quarter Finals
R Durbach bt L Elriani 15/13 15/5 15/13
P Hargrave bt S Cowie 15/9 15/7 15/4
B Howell bt D Selby 15/10 15/9 15/12
R Lavigne bt A Whipp 15/10 10/15 12/15 15/8 15/8

Last 16
R Durbach bt P Allan 15/6 15/3 8/15 15/7
L Elriani bt P Billson 15/13 15/2 15/12
P Hargrave bt S Khan 12/15 15/11 15/8 15/13
S Cowie W/O
D Selby bt M Cook 12/15 15/5 15/6 15/13
B Howell bt J Engelbrecht 17/15 14/17 15/7 15/6
A Whipp bt N Wall 15/13 15/9 15/8
R Lavigne bt A Learoyd 11/15 15/5 15/9 15/10

Round 1
R Durbach bt D Harris 15/3 15/5 15/12
P Allan bt W Khan 15/12 15/6 15/7
P Billson bt M Elford 15/10 15/13 17/14
L Elriani bt P Hughes 15/3 15/10 15/10
P Hargrave bt M Hildred 15/5 15/5 15/9
S Khan bt D Lewis 15/13 15/8 13/15 15/7
S Cowie bt O Davidson 15/10 15/13 15/6
R Rowley vs P Lord Scratch
M Cook (M Berrett W/D) W/O
D Selby bt R Mawar 15/1 17/14 15/7
J Engelbrecht bt M Bolt 15/9 15/10 17/4
B Howell bt J Haste 15/2 15/8 15/6
A Whipp bt J Barry 15/13 17/15 17/15
N Wall (C Gallard W/D) W/O
A Learoyd bt D Barnett 15/2 15/8 4/15 12/15 15/8
R Lavigne (A Taylor (W/D) W/O
 

Final:
L Charman bt J Tranfield 9/3 9/3 3/9 9/1

Semi Finals
L Charman bt L Hill 9/1 9/2 9/4
J Tranfield bt J Duncalf 9/4 9/3 9/1

Quarter Finals
L Charman bt H Easton 9/3 9/1 9/1
L Hill bt L Briggs 10/8 2/9 0/9 9/6 9/5
J Tranfield bt C Khan 9/5 9/0 9/2
J Duncalf bt T Bailey 9/6 retired

Last 16
Linda Charman bt Carolyn Roylance 9/2 9/0 9/1
Helen Easton bt Wendy Maitland 9/2 9/10 9/6 9/7
Lauren Briggs bt Anna Vaughan 9/0 9/3 9/2
Laura Hill bt Cheryl Beaumont 9/6 9/1 9/2
Jenny Tranfield bt Fran Wallis 9/0 9/1 9/0
Carla Khan W/O
Jenny Duncalf bt Sarah Kippax 9/7 9/1 9/7
Tania Bailey bt Laura Dedic 9/1 9/2 9/0
 

BOSTON BOASTS STRONGEST EVER FIELDS
Tim Garner previews the Boston Open ...

** UPDATE:  Nick Taylor replaces Simon Parke in Men's draw, and several changes in revised Women's draw

The last event in 2003 on the Prince Grand Prix, the Boston Open, is shaping up to be an absolute cracker. Responding to the increase in prize money the Men's & Women's events boast their strongest ever fields.

Making her debut on the Prince Grand Prix, World no.4 Linda Charman spearheads a field that contains no less than six full internationals. Her main challenger will be Tania Bailey, though the draw has thrown up a potentially explosive collision in the semis between Charman & Rebecca Macree. In their most recent encounter at Lexden in the National League, Charman was eventually disqualified by the referee, while Macree has only just finished serving a 3 month international ban! In the bottom half, Bailey will face a stiff challenge in a projected semi-final clash with the in-form Jenny Tranfield. However, all the top seeds will be wise to treat their early opponents with respect as the Boston Club has been the scene of many an upset over the years.

The Men's event also boasts a world class field. With Simon Parke and Renan Lavigne, World numbers 26 & 20,  as top seeds, the locals are ensured of some quality squash. They will be severely tested by the return to Boston of 1999 Champion Marcus Berrett, Prince Grand Prix stalwart Paul Lord and Derby's Paul Hargrave. The latter makes a welcome return to the Prince Grand Prix after an extended break from tournament play and there is no doubt that he will be looking to transfer some excellent national league form into tournament play.

Last year, it was youngster Alister Walker who upset the odds and the seeds to get to the semis, who will be this year's rising star ...?