10-Apr-05:

Final:
[3] Daryl Selby (Eng) bt [Q] Miguel Rodriguez (Col)
      11/6, 5/1, 11/3, 11/1 (49m)   
  
Selby Takes First Title In Quebec
Steve Wren reports from Gatineau

The “2005 La Sporthèque Pro-Am Squash Championships” has crowned a new champion, third seeded Daryl Selby from England, and first time winner on the PSA Tour.

Selby (world # 117), the # 2 Junior in England, and playing in his first year on the PSA international tour, proved his mark amongst some of the strongest opposition this tournament has witnessed in its 3 year tenure. And he did so with relative ease.

In his semi-final Selby outgunned 2004’s Pro-Am champion and top seed, Shawn De Lierre (world # 81) of Canada, 11/10 (2-0) 11/6 11/2, in a one sided affair. De Lierre held even to lose the first game, but allowed Selby far too much opportunity to control the match from the second game on, and close the match in just 34 minutes.

Surprise Colombian Qualifier
The tournament’s #2 seed, Jose Angel Becceril (world # 108), from Mexico, became the next seeding casualty in the other semi final. But surprisingly his exit was at the hands of a player whom most had paid little attention to. Lowly ranked Miguel Angel Rodriguez (world # 252) from Colombia started the event in the first round of qualifying had to play two matches to even reach the first round of the Pro event. But by then it was apparent, Rodriguez was a threat to anyone on his side of the draw. Rodriguez raised his game upon each round; in the quarter-final he eliminated the local hope and 4th seed, Robin Clarke (world 129) from Canada 3/1.

And in the semi-final, Rodriguez and Becceril put together a terrific display of athleticism and creative shot making. Yet Rodriguez held the upper hand, with superior retrieving, and wonderful touch in his short court game, winning the match 11/9 11/8 3/11 11/4 in 61 minutes.

The Final
With the final set between two newcomers to the tour, who certainly deserved to be competing for the title, the question remained if Rodriguez had the stamina to handle the clinical and efficient style of Daryl Selby? Compare the accumulated time spent on court by both players to this point, Selby 103 minutes, and Rodriguez 234 minutes. While it appeared Rodriguez relished the endurance requirements to beat his opponents, he would need fresh legs to construct an attack to overcome Selby’s confident drive to a tour title win.

The opening game set the tone for what Rodriguez was up against. Selby covered everything Rodriguez could throw at him, and made the point that Rodriguez would have to play a higher standard again if was to have a chance to win this match. Rodriguez did exactly that; he counterpunched and came back with a fantastic display of full court coverage, change of pace, frontcourt flicks, and deceiving ground stokes. Rodriguez took the game 11/5.

It was from here though that over 4 hours of squash was about to catch up. And Selby always knew this. He reapplied the pressure that won him the fist game, by patiently moving Rodriguez to all corners of the court, while not rushing his intent to finish the match. The points came naturally as Rodriguez was visibly tiring, and he lost his polish witnessed earlier. Third game to Selby 11/3, and the 4th game looked much the same. Selby never let Rodriguez back in to the game, again pushing him to all corners, and the last game was a formality, closing it 11/1.

Two fine firsts
The result should excite both of these young stars. A first for a Colombian player to reach a world tour event final, and a first tour win for Daryl Selby. Both of these players will see significant improvements to their world ranking as a result of this week's work.
  

Miguel Angel Rodriguez

Jose Angel Becceril

 Qualifying
  Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) bt Daniel Sibley (Can)   11/3, 11/8, 11/2 (37m)
  Mario Aguilar (Mex) bt Armando Olguin (Mex)            11/4, 11/0, 11/8 (20m)
  Nick Wall (Eng) bt Manuel Fregoso (Mex)        9/11, 11/9, 11/10(10-8), 1/11, 11/10(4-2) 95m)
  Darren Lewis (Eng) bt Kristen Johnson (Sco)   11/10(2-0), 9/11, 11/8, 4/11, 11/10(2-0)  68m)

 First Round:
   Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) bt Robbie Temple (Eng)  11/6, 11/10(2-0), 11/5 (45m)
 

MY FIRST TITLE !
Daryl Selby's diary from Gatineau

Daryl apologises for the late arrival of his diary ...
but celebrating his first PSA Tour title came first !!

The final was at 2pm yesterday and Steve the organiser gave us a nice introduction each. The stands behind the court were full and it made for a good atmosphere.

I started the match at a high tempo because i knew Miguel had played a lot of squash to get to the final so would be fairly tired. The rallies were long but I felt like I was in control of them and I had him moving to the front a lot.

I was glad to get the first game as it settled some nerves and I felt like I was going to win 3-0. But credit to him, he dug in and got in front of me in the second and
controlled the T, and put the ball in short a lot earlier.

So after losing the second game I pushed up the court again and was trying to volley as much as possible. After some close rallies at the beginning of the third I pulled ahead after a really long, brutal rally where Miguel did a couple of diving
gets, much to the appreciation of the crowd, and myself after I could see
him getting really tired and a bit of cramp!

I closed out the third and played well again in the fourth to win the tournament, which was a really proud moment for me.

The tournament was fantastic, not just because I won! but the organisation was superb, the people at the club were very friendly and everyone enjoyed a great weekend of squash with a lot of squash loving people.

I'm just lucky that I get to travel to all these places and have the support at home that allows me to do it. Just a pity that us squash pros aren't on the same wage as the tennis pros or else I'd be flying home tonight first class!

Daryl Selby

Selby Makes First Final
Daryl Selby's diary from Gatineau

I arrived on Wednesday night and was lucky enough to be picked up by a white stretched limo at the airport along with some of the other players. So that
was a good start!

Thursday was qualifying so I had a chance to practice and try and get used to the courts over here. They take a bit of getting used to because instead of being 21 feet wide they are 20 feet wide. This makes a
huge difference.

Anyway I played Nick Wall in the first round and won 3-0, fairly comfortably, although Nick had a 90 minute match in qualifying the night before so I think he was bit tired.

The quarter final was this morning at 10am. Nice and early start which isn't good for me as I'm usually not
very good in the mornings. Today was different, I was focused and I knew Tom [Richards] would try to attack from the word go, so I had to keep it nice and tight, and try and frustrate him.

The first two games were close but I just played the crucial points a bit better than him. Tom played well though and made it hard for both those games which eventually took its toll on him and the last was more comfortable.

So onto the semis which was at 4.30 today against Shawn Delierre. I started a bit slow in this and got caught up playing short too early which you can't do against Shawn because he is so talented at the front of the court. I managed to grind the first out on a tie-break and after that Shawn's head went a bit and more and more errors crept in, which I was loving.

I won in three, so it keeps me fresh for my first
PSA final against a good Colombian who came through qualifying. I will let you know how that goes tomorrow.

I would also just like to say how well run this tournament is, largely thanks to Steve Wren who is doing a great job looking after the players, and the club has been packed with people watching throughout each day which is great.

Daryl Selby

First Round:
Top Seeds  Safe in Sporthèque

The Sporthèque Pro-Am got under way in Gatineau, Quebec, with the top five seeds all progressing to the quarter-finals.

Shawn De Lierre and Jose Becerril, seeded one and two, were somewhat tested, but third and fourth seeds Daryl Selby and Robin Clarke both scored comfortable wins.

Two seeds fell, as England's Tom Richards beat seventh seed Lefika Ragontse to set up a match against compatriot Selby, while Columbian qualifier Miguel Angel Rodriguez upset France's sixth seeded Bertrand Tissot. Rodriguez now meets the host nations' Clarke.

Further home representation in the quarters was provided by Pat Bedore and Sabir Butt, who meet the top seeds for a place in the semis.

Take Two In Quebec

 Hot on the heels of the Quebec Open, the La Sporteque Pro-Am provides fans in Quebec with another chance to see top quality squash. Hopes of another home victory are high, with Shawn De Lierre top seed.

Steve Wren reports from Gatineau

For the 3rd year, La Sporthèque in Gatineau, Quebec, is hosting a professional and amateur squash tournament that will create significant local and provincial interest. The “2005 La Sporthèque Pro-Am Squash Championships” will both showcase an extremely exciting level of international squash, and draw interested fans wishing to participate in the A, B, C, D amateur grades, providing a showcase of some of the highest level of squash to ever be played in the region.

This year’s event has attracted an international group of 28 players from Quebec, Mexico, Australia, England, Egypt, and beyond, vying for a share of the $4000 USD purse. It will truly be the best level of Championship squash seen in the Ottawa region for many years. The Pro-Am is also a circuit event on the prestigious PSA World Tour, allowing pro-players competing on the tour to gain valuable world ranking points.

Leading the pack to defend his title is Quebec’s #1 player Shawn De Lierre from Montreal. Shawn was the losing finalist in 2003 to Brazil’s Luciano Barbosa, and the champion in 2004 over Quebec’s # 2 player David Phillips. He will find stiff competition from 2nd seed new-comer Jose Becceril, but also from unseeded players, Egypt’s Ahmed Al Amir, and Michael Corren who has successfully competed previously at the highest level world events.