All posts by U.S. Pro Series

Coppinger Claims Charlottesville Open Title

Coppinger (R) and Cuskelly in the Charlottesville Open final. (image: Virginia Squash)
Coppinger (R) and Cuskelly in the Charlottesville Open final. (image: Virginia Squash)

Charlottesville Open Main Draw

U.S. Pro Series Live

South African Stephen Coppinger defeated Australian Ryan Cuskelly to win his ninth PSA title Saturday evening—the 2015 U.S. Pro Series Charlottesville Open at the McArthur Squash Center at Boar’s Head Resort in Virginia. 

The final video stream is available for replay on U.S. Pro Series Live.

L-R: champion Stephen Coppinger, tournament director Mark Allen, finalist Ryan Cuskelly. (image: Virginia Squash)
L-R: champion Stephen Coppinger, tournament director Mark Allen, finalist Ryan Cuskelly. (image: Virginia Squash)

Second-seeded Coppinger entered the match having won all three previous tour encounters against eighth-seeded Cuskelly, and made it four on the University of Virginia’s blue and orange glass court, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3.

“Very happy with my week in Charlottesville,” Coppinger said afterwards. “Ryan has also been playing great squash and made it very difficult in the final. Thankfully I had a bit more left in the tank and was able to pull away in the end. Huge thanks to all, especially the crazy South Africans, my family included, who stayed up till the early hours to follow on the live streaming”

The 2015 Charlottesville Open was the third edition of the tournament headlining the McArthur Squash Center Festival of Squash. All weekend players from adult, junior, and doubles draws played alongside the professionals on the facility’s eight international singles and two hardball doubles courts.

#CharlottesvilleOpen

Hanson Wins First PSA Title in Santa Fe

Hanson (L) in Sunday's final against Camacho. (image: Matthew Wilson)
Hanson (L) in Sunday’s final against Camacho. (image: Matthew Wilson)

Kiva Club Open Draw

Team USA’s Chris Hanson won his first career PSA title Sunday afternoon—the inaugural $5,000 U.S. Pro Series Kiva Club Open in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Hanson entered the tournament seeded first and was untested through the first two rounds with two, three-game victories. Jordanian Ahmad Alzabidi pushed the twenty-four-year-old American to five games in the semifinals, but the Dartmouth graduate prevailed to reach his first career PSA final.

Another first-time PSA finalist in the form of Mexican teenager Jesus Camacho awaited Hanson in Sunday’s final. Unseeded Camacho had upset the tournament’s two seed Fred Reid in the first round, then upset fourth-seeded American Faraz Khan in Saturday’s semifinals.

Sunday’s final was level at 1-1 after two games, Hanson winning the first 11-9, and Camacho responding to win the second 11-4. Hanson regained control in the third, which was level until 4-4, at which point Hanson pulled away to earn a 2-1 advantage 11-7. Early in the fourth game, Camacho slammed into the side wall and stayed on the ground with a leg cramp. Once play resumed, Hanson sped to win the match an title 11-4 in a final clocking in at one hour.

The Kiva Club Open is Hanson’s first PSA World Tour title. Hanson now travels to San Francisco where he is a qualifier in the NetSuite Open Wednesday, September 23.

The Kiva Club Open was the first PSA event in the state of New Mexico in sixteen years. The players will be competed at the strenuous elevation of more than 7,000 ft above sea level.

“Most of our membership have never seen the professional level of squash in person, and we have some promising juniors so I’m excited to expose them to the international level of squash for the first time,” said Walter Burke, Tournament Director and New Mexico Squash President before the tournament.  “I’ve always enjoyed whenever I’ve traveled to professional tournaments, getting to meet players and then actually watch it in person, so I’m looking forward to giving our community that opportunity.”

From 1992-1999, Albuquerque hosted the most recent PSA events—a 5k satellite—while the Kiva Club Open marks the first time Sante Fe has brushed its shoulders with the professional singles tour.

“Years ago when Albuquerque hosted its PSA events, players like Ong Beng Hee came through as a sixteen-year-old, Peter Nicol as a sixteen-year-old, and Thierry Lincou as a seventeen-year-old. I was able to see those players at the dawn of their careers. I think we’ll be seeing similar young, upcoming players have the opportunity to earn some money and valuable rankings points at the dawn of their promising careers as they go forward.”

#KivaClubOpen

Hanson Reaches First PSA Final in Santa Fe

Chris Hanson (R) with his first-round opponent, Mark Broekman. (image: New Mexico Squash)
Chris Hanson (R) with his first-round opponent, Mark Broekman. (image: New Mexico Squash)

Kiva Club Open Draw

U.S. Pro Series Live

American Chris Hanson will compete for his first PSA title Sunday afternoon—which is also his first PSA final appearance—in the $5,000 U.S. Pro Series Kiva Club Open in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Hanson, who reached a career-high world ranking of eighty-five this month, edged past Jordanian Ahmad Alzabidi in a five-game semifinal Saturday evening to reach the final.

Hanson will take on Mexican teenager Jesus Camacho, who is also making his PSA final debut. Unseeded Camacho knocked out two seed Fred Reid in his first-round match, and upset fourth-seeded American Faraz Khan in Saturday’s semifinals.

The final will be scored live from the Kiva Club at 3pm ET, 1pm local time, on U.S. Pro Series Live powered by www.clublocker.com.

#KivaClubOpen

Coppinger and Cuskelly to Contest Charlotesville Open Final

Coppinger (R) has won all three of his previous encounters against Cuskelly, including on the Qatar Classic's glass court in 2013. (image: Steve Line/squashpics.com)
Coppinger (R) has won all three of his previous encounters against Cuskelly, including on the Qatar Classic’s glass court in 2013. (image: Steve Line/squashpics.com)

Charlottesville Open Main Draw

U.S. Pro Series Live

South Africa’s Stephen Coppinger and Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly will contest the $35,000 U.S. Pro Series Charlottesville Open final Saturday evening at the McArthur Squash Center at Boar’s Head Resort in Virginia.

Coppinger, the tournament’s two seed, and eighth-seeded Cuskelly both advanced through Friday’s semifinals in three games to reach the final.

Cuskelly held off Egyptian Harvard graduate Ali Farag in his semifinal, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8, in forty-one minutes, after both players endured grueling five-game quarterfinals Thursday night. Farag had upset top-seeded world No. 111 Karim Abdel Gawad to reach the semifinals Thursday night.

Coppinger, world No. 14, needed over an hour to dispatch unseeded New Zealander Campbell Grayson 11-9, 11-8, 11-5.

The final will be the fourth time Coppinger and Cuskelly have met on tour, with Coppinger having won all three previous encounters.

The match will be streaming and scored lived at 6:30pm ET on U.S. Pro Series Live powered by www.clublocker.com.

 

 

Hanson and Khan on Track in Santa Fe

Khan (R) against Mauricio Sedano in his opening Kiva Club Open match. (image: Kiva Club Open)
Khan (R) against Mauricio Sedano in his opening Kiva Club Open match. (image: Kiva Club Open)

Kiva Club Open Draw

U.S. Pro Series Live

Americans Chris Hanson and Faraz Khan had a winning start to their $5,000 U.S. Pro Series Kiva Club Open campaigns Thursday in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

Playing at more than 7,000 feet above sea level, top-seeded Hanson and fourth-seeded Khan eased to three-game victories over Mark Broakman and Mauricio Sedano respectively to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.

Hanson, who reached a career high ranking of eighty-five this month, will play Paraguayan Pan American Games representative Nicolas Caballero in Friday’s quarterfinals at 5pm local time. Khan will take on Englishman Anthony Graham who eliminated Franklin & Marshall alum Dylan Cunningham in his four-game first-round match.

Mexican teenager Jesus Camacho pulled off the upset of the round against Canadian Fred Reid, who at one point was ranked as high as 107, in three games. Camacho will contest his quarterfinal against France’s U.S. Junior Open finalist Auguste Dussourd.

For match-by-match reports and pictures, follow New Mexico Squash Racquets Association on Facebook.

Friday’s quarterfinals begin at 5pm local time, with live scoring on U.S. Pro Series Live powered by www.clublocker.com.

#KivaClubOpen

Farag Shocks World No. 11 Gawad in Charlottesville

Farag against world No. 1 Elshorbagy in May's El Gouna Open. (image: Steve Line/squashpics.com)
Farag against world No. 1 Elshorbagy in May’s El Gouna Open. (image: Steve Line/squashpics.com)

Charlottesville Open Main Draw

U.S. Pro Series Live

Egyptian Harvard graduate Ali Farag pulled off the largest upset of his young career Thursday night by defeating world No. 11 and Charlottesville Open top seed Karim Abdel Gawad in a dramatic quarterfinal at the McArthur Squash Center at Boar’s Head Resort in Virginia.

“Throughout the match Gawad was always pressing forward and so strong around the center of the court,” said Mark Allen, Tournament Director and McArthur Squash Center Director of Squash. “But Farag absorbed so much of what was thrown at him, and landed plenty of effective counter punches to always keep himself in contention. You could tell the two of them have been competitors for years; it was tight all the way without either play ever edging more than three points in front of their opponent from start to finish. Gawad had three match balls and a strong opportunity to finish on the third one of them, but his short ball into the front right off a poor serve return from Farag clipped the tin by millimeters. Farag then took the next two points to close out the match.”

Farag’s victory had been the second of the night in which the lower-seeded player fought off match balls down 10-8 in the fifth game to come back and win the match. After losing both of his previous matches against Gawad in 2015, Farag finally got the better of his compatriot 8-11, 14-12, 12-10, 5-11, 13-11.

“A hot and sticky day made for a long and physically tough battle between the two Australians,” said Allen. “With little reward for taking the ball in short it was a long and scrappy affair, punctuated by plenty of lets and strokes (going in both directions). Pilley looked like he’d done enough to secure the victory with two match balls in the fourth, but couldn’t finish on either. He had another couple in the fifth too, but it was Cuskelly who took the match, and with his first opportunity. It was a harsh finish for Pilley, with a stroke against for 9-10, followed by a no let at 10-all, and followed by another stroke against on match point—after battling hard for over 110 minutes it was a very unfortunate way to end.”

After upsetting world No. 25 Tom Richards in his first-round match, American qualifier Chris Gordon’s run in Charlottesville came to an end at the hands of New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson. Grayson recovered from losing the first game 11-8, to win the match in four games 11-2, 11-7, 11-2.

Grayson will face second-seeded South African Stephen Coppinger in the second semifinal Friday night after the world No. 14 defeated Scotland’s Alan Clyne in three games.

“Coppinger came through in three games and forty-nine minutes and always looked the likely winner,” Allen said. “His line and length into the back two corners of the court was superb tonight, hitting hard and low, barely clipping the side wall, and hardly ever over hitting—not an easy thing to do on this hot glass court at UVA. As a result Clyne struggled to get any kind of foothold in the match, and became increasingly frustrated. On this form Coppinger looks favorite for the tournament, but tomorrow is always another day.”

The semifinals matches will be streaming live at 6:15pm ET on U.S. Pro Series Live powered by www.clublocker.com.

Schedule:
6:15pm: Ali Farag (EGY) vs. [8] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
7:30pm: Campbell Grayson (NZL) vs. [2] Stephen Coppinger (RSA)

#CharlottesvilleOpen

Hanson Seeded First in Santa Fe’s Inaugural Kiva Club Open

Americans Dylan Cunningham (L) and top seed Chris Hanson (R) training at the Kiva Club.
Americans Dylan Cunningham (L) and top seed Chris Hanson (R) training at the Kiva Club.

Kiva Club Open Draw

U.S. Pro Series Live

After a sixteen year hiatus, professional squash returns to New Mexico this week in the form of the inaugural $5,000 U.S. Pro Series Kiva Club Open in Santa Fe.

Team USA’s Chris Hanson, who reached a career high ranking of eighty-five this month, is seeded to win what would be his first career PSA title. Hanson is seeded to meet Nigerian Babatunde Ajagbe in the semifinals. American world No. 170 Faraz Khan is seeded fourth, and predicted to meet Canadian Fred Reid in the semifinals.

Club players, club professional Drewe Williams, and Americans Dylan Cunningham and Sam Gould are among qualifiers aiming for four sports in the main draw in Wednesday’s qualifying.

The players will be competing at the strenuous elevation of more than 7,000 ft above sea level.

“Most of our membership have never seen the professional level of squash in person, and we have some promising juniors so I’m excited to expose them to the international level of squash for the first time,” said Walter Burke, Tournament Director and New Mexico Squash President.  “I’ve always enjoyed whenever I’ve traveled to professional tournaments, getting to meet players and then actually watch it in person, so I’m looking forward to giving our community that opportunity.”

From 1992-1999, Albuquerque hosted the most recent PSA events—a 5k satellite—while the Kiva Club Open marks the first time Sante Fe has brushed its shoulders with the professional singles tour.

“Years ago when Albuquerque hosted its PSA events, players like Ong Beng Hee came through as a sixteen-year-old, Peter Nicol as a sixteen-year-old, and Thierry Lincou as a seventeen-year-old. I was able to see those players at the dawn of their careers. I think we’ll be seeing similar young, upcoming players have the opportunity to earn some money and valuable rankings points at the dawn of their promising careers as they go forward.”

Thursday’s main draw begins at 12pm local time, with live scoring on U.S. Pro Series Live powered by www.clublocker.com.

Gordon Upsets Richards to Reach Charlottesville Open Quarterfinals

Chris Gordon (R) against Chris Hanson in the 2015 S.L. Green semifinals.
Chris Gordon (R) against Chris Hanson in the 2015 S.L. Green semifinals.

American Chris Gordon produced one of three major upsets that saw three of the world’s top twenty-five players make first-round exits in the $35,000 U.S. Pro Series Charlottesville Open Wednesday at the McArthur Squash Center at Boar’s Head Resort in Virginia.

After advancing to the main draw after two rounds of qualifying in Richmond earlier this week, world No. 59 Gordon entered the match having lost all three previous encounters with fifth-seeded Tom Richards, world No. 24. After Gordon edged out the first game 11-8, the English international earned a 2-1 advantage winning the second and third games 11-9, 11-4. Gordon then ground through the fourth and fifth games to win the match in five games 11-9, 11-9.

Gordon’s quarterfinal opponent is New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson, who eliminated defending champion and four seed Alister Walker in his first round match. Grayson, world No. 49 and the 2014 U.S. Pro Series champion, had never defeated Walker in his career prior to Wednesday, and completed his first victory over the Botswana world No. 23 in four games 11-6, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7.

“Happy to win my match today,” Grayson said afterwards. “Never easy playing against a good friend and we know each others games well. I like the court conditions here and looking forward to my match tomorrow against Chris.”

“Campbell was too good today,” said Walker, the 2014 Charlottesville Open champion. “I had my opportunity in the third to go 2-1 up but once that moment passed I was always behind.”

Harvard graduate Ali Farag pulled off the third major upset of the first round, defeating Mexican world No. 25 Cesar Salazar in four games 11-7, 10-12, 11-8, 11-6. Farag, world No. 48, takes on fellow Egyptian and top seed Karim Abdel Gawad in the quarterfinals.

The Charlottesville Open is headlining the third annual Festival of Squash at the Boar’s Head Resort. Adult, juniors, and doubles draws will be contested on the McArthur Squash Center’s surrounding eight international singles and two hardball doubles courts throughout the weekend. All matches are free admission and open to the public.

Professional matches are streaming and scoring live on U.S. Pro Series Live powered by www.clublocker.com. Match play begins at 5pm ET.

Streaming Schedule:
5pm: [3] Cameron Pilley (AUS) vs. [8] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
6pm: [1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) vs. Ali Farag (EGY)
7pm: [2] Stephen Coppinger (RSA) vs. [7] Alan Clyne (SCO)
8pm: Chris Gordon (USA) vs. Campbel Grayson (NZL)

#CharlottesvilleOpen

James Wins First U.S. Pro Series Title in Houston

IMG_4661
Finalist Danish Atlas Khan (L) and champion Declan James. (image: Martin Langley)

Report courtesy of PSA.

England’s Declan James produced an assured performance to see off number four seed Danish Atlas Khan in the final of the Champion Fiberglass Open, PSA M10 tournament to win his second successive PSA World Tour title—and first U.S. Pro Series title—at Downtown Club at Met in Houston, TX.

Nottingham-born James prevailed over Eric Galvez in a tense quarterfinal fixture before sweeping past Eddie Charlton in an all-English semifinal. Khan was also forced to go the full distance against compatriot Farhan Zaman in their quarter-final tie before dispatching top seed Henrik Mustonen in straight games.

James took the first game, putting his rangy 6’ 4” stature to good use as he covered all areas of the court before Khan battled back to level things up in the second.

Zaman started well in the third but James responded magnificently and started slowing down the rallies on the backhand. This worked in the World No. 51’s favor as an impatient Khan began to hit a number of unforced errors in a bid to change the pace up, resulting in the second game going to James.

The fifth game saw much of the same as James continued on to an impressive 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 11-4 victory – lifting his sixth PSA World Tour title in the process.

Result – Final: Champion Fiberglass Open 2015
[3] Declan James (ENG) bt [4] Danish Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 11-4 (52m)

Harrity Seeded Sixth in Houston’s Champion Fiberglass Open

Harrity following his three-game first-round victory.
Harrity at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto

The 2015 U.S. Pro Series resumes this week with its first event since May—the second $10,000 Champion Fiberglass Open at the Downtown Club at Met in Houston, TX.

The inaugural Champion Fiberglass Open hosted by Houston Squash was held in 2013 when German Raphael Kandra won the title. 2013 finalist and U.S.-based South African Clinton Leeuw returns in 2015 and begins his tournament in qualifying Tuesday night.

Finnish world No. 58 Henrik Mustonen leads the main draw as the top seed, and is seeded to face English world No. 53 Eddie Charlton in the final.

U.S. Champion Todd Harrity makes his first competitive appearance since earning a team bronze medal in the 2015 Pan American Games this summer. Harrity reached his highest career world ranking of sixty-one this month, and enters the main draw seeded sixth. The twenty-four-year-old from Wayne, PA, will play Canadian world No. 90 Andrew Schnell for the second time in their careers, Thursday at 7:15pm local time. Harrity defeated Schnell in their only previous encounter during the 2011 Men’s World Team Championship.

“I’m impressed with the quality of players that came down for the tournament in both qualifying and the main draw considering there are a few other major events going on around the world this week,” said John Leavy, Tournament Director and President of Houston Squash.

“Maybe it’s because they just like Houston! We have a few returning players in Clinton and Declan. Our two see, Eddie Charlton, is playing this event for the first time. His fiancee, Emma Beddoes, had such a great time here for the Texas Open that Eddie had to check it out for himself. On top of the high quality of professionals, we’ve also ended up with great numbers in our Amateur draw so there’s a great tournament atmosphere right now at the club.

“I think Texas hospitality really sets this tournament, and all Texas tournaments, apart. I think word is spreading of how much of a great time players have down here and the good nature of Houstonians. Houston is in the news a lot these days with how much it’s growing, the oil business, and I think the world is starting to notice what’s going on here.

Leavy emphasized the importance of relationships between players and amateurs at smaller PSA events such as the Houston Open.

“I get a lot of comments from everyday players about how much watching a pro event or watching a pro event improves their game. They’re so happy so see the pro players up close and personal, and then be able to interact with them. The appreciation is pretty great, I must say.

“Of course, we’d like to thank our title sponsor Champion Fiberglass once again for their tremendous support.”

Follow the action @CFOSquash on Twitter.

For more information on the Champion Fiberglass Open, visit the official tournament page.

Main Draw:
[2] Eddie Charlton (ENG) v [Q] Anthony Graham (ENG)
[Q] Clinton Leuuw v [6] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
[8] Eric Galvez (MEX) v [WC] Shahid Hussain (PAK)
Shahjahan Khan (PAK) v [3] Declan James (ENG)
[4] Danish Atlas Khan (PAK) v [Q] Cameron Stafford (CAY)
Arthur Gaskin (IRL) v [7] Farhan Zaman (PAK)
[5] Todd Harrity (USA) v Andrew Schnell (CAN)
[Q] Leandro Romiglio (ARG) v [1] Henrik Mustonen (FIN)