11/10(2-0), 11/4, 11/2 (27m)



Stacey Ross

Ben
Garner

11/7, 11/4, 11/3 (32m)

Peter Genever

Qualifying (Thu 31st):

Thursday 31st March 2004

Chris Hall bt Jamie Matthews                         11/5 11/4 11/1
Daryl Selby bt Alex Ingham                          11/6 11/3 11/8
David Harris bt Neil Baker                            11/6 11/5 11/4
Ricky Davies bt John Freeman                      11/6 11/3 11/2
Phil Nightingale bt Sam Howell                      11/6 12/10 11/4
Joel Hinds bt Martin Knight                            9/11 11/8 7/11 11/8 11/4
Nick Wall bt Neil Hitchins                              11/6 10/12 (2/4) 11/6 11/5
Shahid Khan bt Issa Kamara                        11/5 11/4 11/4
Tom Richards bt Buzby Williams                   11/6 11/7 11/6
Jamie Wilde bt Alex Preston                         11/6 10/12 2/11 11/7 11/9
Kris Johnson bt James Snell                         7/11 11/3 11/6 11/5
Jessie Engelbrecht bt Paul Rawden               W/O
Tom Pashley bt Mick Biggs                          11/5 111/4 11/5
James Wright bt Colin Payne                       11/3 11/6 11/6
Toby Mortimer bt Steve London                   11/8 11/6 11/8
Darren Lewis bt Mark Steeden                     11/7 11/4 11/7
Chris Tasker-Grindley bt Chris Truswell        11/4 12/10 (2/0)11/4
Ben Ford bt Oliver Clay                               11/9 11/6 11/9
Peter Creed bt Oliver Davidson                    10/12 (0/2) 9/11 11/4 11/5 11/6
James Robbins bt Robbie Temple                 11/8 11/3 11/2
Tim Arnold bt Tom Phipps                            11/7 11/5 12/10 (4/2)

Club e-mail

Club Information

Pete Smith
020 8253 1316
Previous ESPORTA Events

ONE SCALP PER
DAY, STACEY…
Framboise Gommendy at
Esporta for the semi-finals ...

In the semi-finals, Adrian Grant had to face Stacey Ross, winner over Steve Meads in the quarters for the first time in his career. And I’m delighted to report that there was a pretty good crowd to watch this first semi-final. People would keep on coming, and Pete Smith, in charge of the Squash Section here at Esporta Croydon (a lovely man, as he fed me at lunch time, and kept the teas coming) had to bring more and more chairs…

After the marathon battle of the quarters, I feared Stacey would be a bit tired. And when he lost the first set 15/4, I thought that this match was going to be pretty quick. But by now, I’m sure you’ve learned to ignore my instincts…

In the second, Adrian started very well, and the score shot very quickly to 4/0, then 5/1. He was playing long, drives, cross courts, and he did find some pretty good angles in the back of the court. But Stacey stuck to his opponent, well determined to get another scalp for his collection. 10/10. Grant was playing beautiful boasts, varying the pace, changing direction, but more than anything, was finding the perfect angles for his drives and cross courts. Ross was playing some awesome drop shots as he knows to polish them up, and saved a lot of points by  excellent anticipation and actually won this 2nd set 15/11.

In the next two games, Stacey Ross displayed some pretty good drop shots, but what impressed me the most was his determination, his calm, and his legs! The man ended up with 3 hours of squash today, and never ever gave up. He finally admitted defeat 8/15, 8/15, but it was overall a very good performance from the world number 74.

“I think I played pretty well in parts. But Adrian's width and length precision was just amazing. I had to work very hard to get his shots out of the back court. I played much better this week than I played last week, and I was still “fresh” when I started the match. But at 8/8 in the 4th, my legs just went.”

So, there we were. As expected, Adrian was in the final, but against who? Solid game Genever or Mad Dog Whipp?

GENEVER:
BACK IN GOOD SPIRIT!
For the ones who are living on Mars, I will have to remind them than last night, France was playing England in the Six Nations Tournament. Being a fervent rugby fan, I didn’t want to miss the event, and as I NEVER watch a French against British contest in a public place for obvious reasons (it’s full of British everywhere in this country, quite amazing really), I had to be home.

Grant vs Ross took 76 minutes, so it was nearly 8.00pm when Peter Genever vs Andy Whipp started in front of a much smaller audience, most of the spectators having decided to go and enjoy the ruby. I had given the two players my instructions: “Win or lose as you wish, but do it in 3 sets please!”

Andy Whipp told me “I’ll see what I can do”, but Peter’s answer was the sweetest: “I’m here to please”. Bless him!

31 minutes.

Peter, you are an angel.

Genever played a solid game, not too much variation, but good length, good width, hitting hard and with great precision. Whipp tried to apply the same game plan as in his previous match against Scott Handley, but this time, he made too many mistakes. In the first set, he tried to match Peter’s game shot for shot, but after that, he shortened the rallies, going for volley kills that sometimes were successful, but most of the time found the tin.

In the last set, Peter was cruising in front, 7/1, but Andy decided he wanted to stick around a bit longer, and just went for EVERY shot, attacking and hitting as hard as he could. Peter did lose a few points, and from 12/6, we found ourselves at 11/13. But Whipp just ran out of steam, and Peter ended the match 15/11.

I flew to my car, put French radio station on, and the rest is of no importance.

MOVE OVER, STEVE,
HERE I COME !
Framboise Gommendy at Esporta
for the quarter-finals ...

When I arrived this morning at Esporta, I have to say a bit blurry from lack of sleep (by the way, last night, when I tried to get my car out of Canary Wharf Parking, my ticket wouldn’t work, and it took them 24 minutes to sort out the problem, then the Blackwall Tunnel was closed, and also Camberwell for resurfacing works starting just then, so a journey which, at that time of night, takes me normally 35 minutes, took me 1hour 30!).

But very quickly, I was brought back to reality.

“The word is that Stacey Ross was not happy about his defeat last week at Wimbledon. He thinks that Steve Meads blocked too much and was not sanctioned enough, and he is up for revenge”, I was told by different sources. And I have to say, when Stacey arrived (a bit late), on his face were printed the words:

“I mean business.”

Just to paint the atmosphere, the first point, the FIRST POINT was a rally of 99 shots, won by Ross. The second, 82 shots, was won by Meads, after a tin from Ross.

This was going to be a looooong one, and my lunch was far far away!

Steve was up 7/2, but couldn’t really use the advantage, and Stacey came back 10/10. He reduced little by little the number of his mistakes but Meads was still in control of the rallies, playing his straight game, slowing down the pace. Then Ross stopped giving points away, and got into the rallies with Steve. Backhand drive, and drive, and drive, and drive…. and drive…. Again a few tins from Ross, but eventually, after a few “explanations” with the ref, he got the 1st set in 35 minutes 15/14.

In the second, at 3/6 Ross’ serve, we had 8 lets. At the 3rd one, Steve argued and said “I can’t play the ball, he blocks!”. Stacey laughed, and, looking at Steve said “You have to laugh at that one!”. “I know” admitted Steve, himself smiling!

By the way, if anybody questions Steve Meads' fitness, they would have had to be there at 11/5, Steve on serve. What he saved on that one could feed a whole continent for a month! He very rightly took the 2nd set 15/7 in 23 long minutes.

After that, Stacey was in control and never looked back. Steve was still playing well, but the mistakes started to creep in, and Stacey’s fantastic drop shots and volley kills seemed further and further away. The last two games were15/5 and 15/6.

Steve was gracious in his defeat: “He played better today than last week. I played as well, but at my age, it starts to be difficult to do it twice in two weeks (he is now 34). If I had won the 1st game, the result might have been different, but Stacey is very dangerous when he plays on confidence. I was a bit off, and he played very well. Oh well, I just have to do it again next week then, haven’t I?”

Stacey Ross was not unhappy about his victory: “I knew it had to happen someday, it was just a matter of when! I was very tactical today, I attacked more than I did last week. Also, the game floated much more today [translation: I didn’t get blocked today….], and I was allowed to hit the ball!

ADRIAN: NO SWEAT
I could only glance at the match between Adrian Grant, world number 17,  and Tim Vail, the player from Chichester, as I was following Meads/Ross game. I saw some pretty good shots from Tim, but it seemed that Adrian, who actually plays for Esporta in the Surrey League, was always in control. He won 3/0, and was quite happy about the result:

“Tim Vail is a very dangerous shot player, so I had to keep my game straight. If you give him any ball to attack, he can really put them away. Sometimes, I opened my game, and he got a few points. So I came back to my game, and he just run out of steam. I felt comfortable, and I’m happy with a 3 set victory, as those two [pointing at Steve and Ross who were still very much in the middle of it] are still battling!”

Don’t think for a moment that I envy Stacey Ross, as Adrian has the firm intention of wining his home tournament. Actually, the young Grant went to have his hair cut (and boy did he need one!) to be fresh for his semi-final . And now you mention hair cut, I also know somebody in the World top 3 who could do with one….

PETER GENEVER: JUST ENOUGH
A good workout, I thought, once again from the side, as the 2 lunatics were still battling when Peter Genever vs Chris Simpson started.

“My motivation is starting to come back!” said Peter, as I asked him if he felt a bit better than he did last week at the Wimbledon Cup, where he lost in semi-final against John Rooney in 4 sets.

Well, pleased to hear it, Mr Genever. Can’t wait to see you against Andy Whipp. That could be a pretty could meeting.

ANDY WHIPP: I’M A BIT STUPID REALLY
Ross vs Meads was a pretty long match, and instead of Andy Whipp/Scott Handley starting on the same court after it finished, they went onto another court, and were 1/1 when I joined them - 15/12 Whipp, 17/14 Handley.

Whipp was attacking every ball, hitting, dropping… Handley was doing a lot of retrieving and lobbing and running. The rallies were fierce and at a very high pace. The third set was very close again, and Andy served us with a few nice changes of direction and pace. 12/12, 13/12, 13/13, 14/13, 14/14, 15/14, 15/15. Scott played a cross court in the middle of the court, a dream opportunity for Andy, all too happy to attack it. 16/15. And a last drop shot, 17/15 for Whipp.

In the last one, we were still at 10/10, and Scott was retrieving and defending beautifully. Mistakes started to creep in, but Handley was still running. 13/13. 14/13. And on a last beautiful and lethal backhand volley kill, Andy Whipp took the game 15/13.

“I went for every shot, which was a bit silly really, but it worked! I should have been more careful, but I’m famous for being a bit stupid”, laughed Andy Whipp.

And pretty open, I’d say!

Scott Handley was a bit sad after his defeat. “I was just exhausted from last night. I had a hard 3/2 with Ben Ford and we didn't finish until 10.30. For the 1st two games, I was just doing the minimum, and with an attacker like Whipp, that’s not good enough. You can’t afford it. I did my best, but I was just too tired.”

You know what? The BSPA events don’t have the glamour of the big ones like the beautiful Canary Wharf Classic we just saw. But the sweat is the same. The players are working as hard, and for much less recognition.

And for much less money.
 
God I love Squash, and Squash Players.
 

Where are they all Gone?
Top seed Adrian Grant watches the opposition  drop like flies ...

Today, Framboise ...
it's Stacey's turn!
Ross beats Meads for the first time ever in the quarters
 

Stacey's turn to look mean

Peter Genever
"Here to please ..."
(see semi-finals)

2nd Round - Friday 26th March
[1] Adrian Grant bt Laurent Elriani 
     15/14, 15/7, 15/6
Tim Vail bt Tom Richards
     15/11, 15/9, 15/4
Stacey Ross bt David Barnett 
      15/4, 15/1, 15/4
[3/4] Steve Meads bt Daryl Selby 
     15/7, 15/9, 15/10
[3/4] Scott Handley bt Ben Ford 
     13/15, 15/7, 16/17, 15/3, 15/7
Andy Whipp bt Guy Olby
     15/13, 15/11, 11/15, 15/9
Chris Simpson bt Peter Billson 
     15/9, 8/15, 7/15, 15/13, 15/6
[2] Peter Genever bt James Robbins 
      15/12, 15/9, 15/6

1st Round - Fri 26th March
Adrian Grant bt Tom Pashley 
     15/9, 15/6, 15/7
Laurent Elriani bt John Freeman
     15/9, 15/4, 17/14
Tom Richards bt Jago Nardelli 
     8/15, 10/15, 15/11, 15/5, 15/7
Tim Vail bt Toby Mortimer 
     15/9, 15/5, 15/3
Stacey Ross bt Jethro Binns 
     15/13, 13/15, 15/3, 15/7
David Barnett bt Scott Fitzgerald
     W/O
Daryl Selby bt Darren Lewis
     15/5, 15/11, 15/7
Steve Meads bt Phil Nightingale
     15/4, 15/6, 15/7
Scott Handley bt David Harris 
     15/6, 15/6, 15/4
Ben Ford bt AJ Janzic 
     15/10, 15/12, 15/9
Guy Olby bt Simon Pickering 
     15/11, 15/6, 15/2
Andy whipp bt Chris Truswell 
     15/8, 15/8, 15/9
Chris Simpson bt Joey Barrington
     W/O
Peter Billson bt Colin Payne 
     12/15, 15/8, 15/8, 15/11
James Robbins bt James Wright 
     10/15, 15/10, 15/10, 13/15, 15/12
Peter Genever bt Tom Phipps 
     15/5, 15/6, 15/11

Qualifying, Thursday 25th March:
Tom Pashley bt Alistair McGill 
15/13, 15/2, 15/12
John freeman bt Roy D'Cunha 
15/7, 15/8, 15/4
Jago Nardelli bt Mark Steeden 
15/10, 15/7, 15/4
Toby Mortimer bt Chris Clark 
15/5, 12/15, 15/6, 15/9
Jethro Binns bt Stuart Webster 
15/5, 15/9, 15/2
David Barnett bt Buzby Williams 
15/11, 15/9, 13/15, 15/9
Phil Nightingale bt James Smith  W/O
David Harris bt Rob Sutherland  W/O
AJ Janzic bt Neil Baker 
11/15, 10/15, 15/9, 15/14, 15/14
Chris Truswell bt Marcus Lobb 
15/11, 15/11, 15/5
Chris Simpson bt Oliver Davidson 
15/7, 15/8, 8/15, 15/7
James Wright bt Jamie Haycocks 
15/9, 15/7, 15/11
Tom Phipps bt Martin Ballands 
15/2, 15/3, 15/2

Esporta Health & Rackets, Croydon
Tel: 020 8253 1300

Club e-mail

Club Information

Final: Simon Parke bt Azlan Iskandar  15/6, 15/14, 15/6

This was the 3rd Esporta Open held at the prestigious Esporta Health and Racquets Club in Croydon. A bid thank you to Millfield Partnership, PCL Security and Kelong sponsored the event this year.

We had an excellent entry with a very high standard of players and gets better each year. The weekend started with drama with last years winner Bradley Ball having to retire from his 1st round match due to injury, so we were definitely going to have a new champion.

One highlight of the tournament was Aslan Iskander (9/16 seed) who defeated Adrian Grant, Alex Gough (1 Seed) and Peter Genever to make it all the way to the final. Through the bottom draw a very impressive Simon Parke (Seed 2) came all the way through to the Final without dropping a game.

The final was a very well competed match, fantastic squash with a very accomplished performance from Simon Parke to win 3-0. Congratulation s to Simon and also to Aslan for a fantastic tournament.

See you next year!  Pete Smith

Millfield Partnership
Esporta Open 2003

15/10 15/13 15/4

Azlan Iskandar








Alex Stait

15/11 15/8 15/6

Peter Genever

Azlan Iskandar

17/14 9/15 15/7 10/15 15/4

Peter Genever








Azlan Iskandar

15/6, 15/14, 15/6

Simon Parke









 

Dan Jenson

15/10 15/8 15/7

Simon Parke

12/15 6/15 15/10 15/5 15/5

Stephen Meads


 

Tim Garner

15/13 15/13 15/2

Simon Parke

1st Round Results - Thurs 27th March
 B Ford bt J Barry (3-0) 15/11 15/14 11/15 15/11; B Howell Bt T Mortimer (3-0) 15/9 15/8 15/7; J Nardelli Bt G Harraway (3-(15/6/15/9/15/5; Ben Garner Bt D Harris (3-0) 15/4 15/5 15/5; P Billson Bt X Myburgh (3-0) 15/2 15/6 15/4; L Anjema Bt C Gordon (3-0) 15/5 15/13/15/7; C Payne Bt N Baker (3- 0) 15/6 15/5 15/9; R Bhattachatra Bt S Webster(3-0) 15/5 15/2 15/3; S Ross Bt M Ballands (3-0) 15/3 15/10 15/13; J Robbins Bt O Davidson (3-0)15/9 15/5 15/7; J Engelbreccht Bt S Defries(3-0)15/4 15/3 15/4; M Elford Bt B Ball 14/9 Ret; D Enahalo Bt M Lobb (3-0) 15/3 15/6 15/5; J Barrington Bt D Rannard (3-0) 15/5 15/4 15/12; A Iskander Bt D Barnett (3-0) 15/6 15/4 15/12; G Olby Bt T Gomez (3-2) 8/15 5/15 15/10 15/12 15/7; M Selishio Bt K Johnson (3-0)15/6 15/8 15/2; A Whipp Bt R Mawar (3-0) 15/3 15/6 15/6; C Broadlet Bt P Hughes (3-0) 15/7 15/8 6/0 Ret; A Grant Bt A Learoyd (3-0) 15/9 15/4 15/6; L Elriani Bt T Richards (3-0) 15/9 15/9 15/13; A Stait Bt P Thomas (3-0) 15/9 15/11 15/11; S Ayling Bt A Taylor (3-0) 15/10/15/9 15/3; S Handley Bt D Lewis (3-0) 15/3 15/6 15/11; P Allen Bt M Millar (3-1) 8/15 15/11 15/4 15/11; S Khan Bt M Biggs (3-1) 15/10 15/5 11/15 15/13

ESPORTA OPEN 2002

FINAL:
Bradley Ball bt Peter Genever  15/11, 15/12, 15/8

Suffolk's Bradley Ball claimed his first Prince BSPA Grand Prix title with a comprehensive 3-0 win over top seed Peter Genever to book a place in the end-of-season Grand Prix Finals in Nottingham.

Semi-Finals:
Top seed Peter Genever avenged his defeat at the hands of Stacey Ross in last week's Wimbledon Cup, recovering from a game down to take a 2-1 lead before Ross was forced to retire injured. The Chichester man then faced Adrian Grant in the semis, who had himself recovered from 2-0 down against 3/4 seed Derek Ryan in the quarters. Grant was clearly tired from his efforts, and was unable to withstand Genever's attacks as the top seed went through to his first BSPA final of the season..

Genever's final opponent is Bradley Ball, who scored an emphatic quarter-final victory over 3/4 seed Stephen Meads, followed by a nail-biting semi-final win over second seed Tim Garner. After a tight first game Meads simply collapsed in the quarter, as did Garner in the semis, but not until last week's Wimbledon winner had reached match-ball for a 3-0 victory. Once Ball had taken the third 15/14 Garner had nothing left to give as Ball cruised through to his second BSPA final.

Second Round:
Bradley Ball Bt David Harris 15/2 15/6 15/7
Adam Stevenson Bt Chris Tomlinson 15/10 15/13 15/7
Mohmd Azlan Bt Shahid Khan 15/13 13/15 15/11 15/13
Steve Meads Bt Ben Ford 11/15 15/4 15/9 15/14
Tim Garner Bt Paul Allen 15/10 15/12 15/5
Ben Garner Bt Danny Weights 15/7 15/2 15/8
R Bhattachayra Bt Jason Dodd W/O
Stacey Ross Bt Andrew Learoyd 15/7 15/10 15/5
Peter Genever Bt Nick Wall 15/1 15/8 15/11
Chris Ryder Bt Colin Payne 13/15 15/5 15/4 15/8
Lee Drew Bt Daryl Selby 15/10 15/10 16/17 15/7
Adrian Grant Bt Jesse Engelbrcht 15/6 15/6 15/11
Mick Robberds Bt Lee Jemmett 15/7 15/5 15/13
Ben Howell Bt Steve Richardson 15/11 15/10 15/6
Derek Ryan Bt Jason Robbins 10/15 15/13 13/15 15/12 15/6
Andy Whipp Bt Martin Ballands 15/8 15/10 15/12

Thursday Results:
Nick Wall Bt James Smith 15/13 15/14 13/15 12/15 15/12
Colin Payne Bt Paul Thomas 17/15 15/3 15/12
Chris Ryder Bt Clinton Gallard 15/9 15/10 15/2
Lee Drew Bt Jago Nardelli 15/7 15/6 15/6
Daryl Selby Bt Steve Defries 15/13 15/5 15/11
Andrew learoyd Bt Buzby Williams 15/7 15/5 15/10
Adrian Grabt Bt Toby Mortimer 15/6 15/4 15/8
Jesse Engelbrecht Bt Mark Steeden 15/7 15/9 15/5
Mick Robberds Bt Richard Rowley 10/15 15/9 15/13 15/13
Ben Howell Bt Jason Barry 17/14 15/11 15/6
Steve Richardson Bt David Mann 15/9 15/6 15/6
James Robbins Bt Matt Crowley 15/10 15/8 15/10
Shahid Khan Bt Steve Ayling 15/9 12/15 15/11 14/17 15/12
Mohmd Azian Bt Mathew Bolt 15/10 15/9 15/10
Adam Stevenson Bt Adrian Ezra 15/1 15/7 15/6
Chris Tomlinson Bt Nic Birt 15/12 15/8 15/3
David Harris Bt Mo Soliman 15/9 15/10 17/15
Ben Garner Bt Will Jones 15/9 15/2 15/4
Danny Weights Bt Adham Abou-Taleb 9/15 15/9 15/8 10/15 3/2 ret
R.Bhattachayra Bt David Barnett 15/8 15/7 15/8
Martin Ballands Bt G.Tippings W/O
Andy Whipp Bt Chris Hawkes W/O
Jason Dodd Bt David Rannard 11/15 11/15 15/6 15/8 17/16
Paul Allen Bt Guy Olby 14/17 15/10 13/15 15/7 15/7

2001 Event

Esporta Open - 30-Mar~01-Apr

The impressive Esporta Health & Fitness Club in Croydon played host to the fifth event on the Prince Grand Prix. After different winners in the previous four tournaments, Tim Garner repeated his success in the Proctor Memorial, picking up the inaugural Esporta Open, with a hard fought win over Irish no.1 and top seed Derek Ryan.

On his way to the final Garner had won over the local support despite knocking out both Esporta club coaches James Robbins and Ben Ford! In the semis, Garner faced Bradley Ball, who had been equally ruthless in despatching Eric McAlpine and Lee Jemmett in straight games. Ball had knocked Garner out at the same stage of the Youngs Wimbledon Cup and looked to be on his way to a repeat victory. He raced to a two game lead as Garner lost his way after a couple of suspect refereeing calls. However, the Prince Grand Prix leader was not done and dug deep to extend the rallies and test Ball's fitness. It looked as though this had paid off as he drew level and then opened up a 12-6 lead in the fifth, but Ball bounced back to trail 11-12 before Garner was able to close out the match.

Meanwhile in the top half of the draw, Irish Champion Ryan dropped the first game against Julian Wellings in the quarters before turning it around and then followed a similar pattern to defeat Paul Lord in the semis. Lord led 1-0 and 13-10 but that was as close as he came, seeming to tire, perhaps the result of tough four game battle with Adam Stevenson in the morning.

In the final, it was Ryan who this time won the first, cleverly controlling the pace with lobs and drops. Garner upped the pace in the second to level at one apiece, but was unable to get away. Ryan pegged him back and it was tight all the way to the wire. Ryan squandered game balls at 14-13 and 16-14 and after tinning the return of serve at 16-16 looked to be a spent force. The pattern of the match was marred by once again some inconsistent refereeing and, whilst Ryan was hard done by on several occasions, he used the arguments and resulting disruptions to get back from 7-12 to lead 13-12. At 14-13 he had a game ball to tie things up but Garner kept his calm to claim his second title of the year, 17-15 in the fourth after 95 minutes.

Head pro & tournament organiser Pete Smith did a fantastic job on his first professional tournament and nowhere was this more evident than the grassroots junior tournaments that were run alongside the BSPA event. Over 40 juniors battled it out for prizes supplied by Prince and they were also rewarded by a visit from World Champion Peter Nicol to the club on the Saturday. Nicol signed T-shirts and posters for the youngsters and commented how great it was to see so many kids enjoying the sport.