Qualifying for the 2014 Atlanta Open is underway as four qualifying and two lucky loser main draw spots are up for grabs at Life Time Fitness Atlanta. The $10,000 Professional Squash Association (PSA) event marks the first stop on the 2014 Life Time Fitness Grand Prix Series, following up a successful, inaugural 2013 Life Time Fitness Grand Prix Series that involved six PSA 10 tournaments hosted at Life Time Fitness facilities across the United States.
The lone American, Adrian Leanza, narrowly missed out on a spot in the qualifying finals falling to Cayman Islands international Cameron Stafford in five games 11-2, 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 11-5.
English Junior Champion Ollie Holland (pictured right) marked his U.S. Pro Series debut with a three-game win against Grand Prix Series Tour Director Andre Maur (pictured left) 11-3, 11-7, 11-8.
After seven appearances in the 2013 U.S. Pro Series, twenty-two-year-old Reuben Phillips returned stateside and started his 2014 PSA campaign defeating Egyptian Ahmed Hamza 11-5, 11-5, 11-8.
Also making his U.S. Pro Series debut is twenty-three-year-old Englishman Adam Murrills who defeated twenty-six-year-old Nigerian Baba Tunde Ajaqbe 11-8, 11-7, 11-7.
Twenty-two-year-old South African Jean-Pierre Brits recorded the most emphatic result of the round, eliminating Malaysian Le Roy Leong 11-1, 11-3, 11-6.
Six of the eight remaining qualifiers will reach the main draw via two lucky loser spots as a result of two withdrawals.
Mexican World No. 43 Cesar Salazar leads the main draw field and is seeded to meet Pakistani two seed Nasir Iqbal. Iqbal is one of two previous U.S. Pro Series champions coming off his U.S. debut, the Emerson Racquet Club Pro Series victory last weekend in St. Louis.
The nineteen-year-old joins fellow Pakistani and three seed Farhan Zaman, who won the 2013 Chicago Open at Life Time Fitness Vernon Hills, Illinois.
Baltimore-based Pakistani Yasir Ali Butt is the four seed and faces a lucky loser in the first round. The two lucky loser positions will be determined by a random selection of the four losing qualifying finalists.
First qualifying round:
Geoffrey Demont (FRA) v bye
Ollie Holland (ENG) bt Andre Maur (IRL) 11-3, 11-7, 11-8
Cameron Stafford (CAY) bt Adrian Leanza (USA) 11-2, 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 11-5
Adam Auckland (ENG) v bye
Reuben Phillips (ENG) bt Ahmed Maged Hamza (EGY) 11-5, 11-5, 11-8
Adam Murrills (ENG) bt Baba Tunde Ajagbe (NGR) 11-8, 11-7, 11-7
Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) bt Le Roy Leong (MAS) 11-1, 11-3, 11-6
Aqib Hanif (PAK) v bye
Qualifying finals:
Geoffrey Demont (FRA) v Ollie Holland (ENG)
Cameron Stafford (CAY) v Adam Auckland (ENG)
Adam Murrills (ENG) v Reuben Phillips (ENG)
Aqib Hanif (PAK) v Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA)
Main draw first round:
[1] Cesar Salazar (MEX) v Lucky Loser
[7] Sebastiaan Weenink (NED) v Qualifier
[5] Declan James (ENG) v Syed Ali Mujtaba Shah Bokhari (PAK)
[3] Farhan Zaman (PAK) v [WC] Sean Conroy (IRL)
[4] Yasir Ali Butt (PAK) v Lucky Loser
[8] Joe Chapman (IVB) v Qualifier
[6] Abdullah Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) v Qualifier
[2] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) v Qualifier