Hosts Netherlands enjoyed a highly successful opening day today (Wednesday) in the European Team Squash Championships at Frans Otten Stadion in Amsterdam.
After Dutch Squash Bond President Frits de Leeuw declared the championships open after striking the first ball on the 21-court centre's spectacular three-sided-glass showcourt with the Netherlands number one Laurens Jan Anjema, world number No19 Anjema led the hosts' men's team to a convincing 4/0 victory over tenth seeds Switzerland.
Lucas Buit, the squad's No4 who announced his decision to retire from international squash on the eve of his record 20th successive appearance in the championships, scored an impressive 9-6, 9-1, 9-5 win over Swiss opponent Marcel Straub.
Later, second seeds Netherlands beat Hungary, the 15th seeds - again 4/0 and again winning all matches in straight games - to finish the day at the top of Pool B.
"It was a terrific start, especially winning both our ties 4/0 - so we're on our way!" said men's team manager Peter Berden. "And, as we speak, Switzerland and Sweden are killing each other on nearby courts - which is good!"
Indeed, the final tie of the day in Pool B produced a 2/2 draw - leaving the hosts needing to beat seventh seeds Sweden in Thursday's final qualifying tie.
Defending men's champions England, the top seeds, also scored two resounding 4/0 wins - against Denmark and Belgium to head the Pool A standings. Joey Barrington, son of the former British legend Jonah Barrington, made a successful international debut with straight games wins in both ties.
The first upset in the men's event took place in Pool C where 11th seeds Spain beat Ireland, the sixth seeds, 3/1. Irish number one Liam Kenny - who earlier surprisingly lost to top Austrian Aqeel Rehman - was beaten in straight games by Spanish number one Borja Golan. Later in the tie, Irish veteran Derek Ryan, who made his European Championships' debut in 1988, was unable to hold onto a two-game advantage, going down 5-9, 3-9, 9-4, 9-1, 9-2 to Spaniard Alejandro Garbi Caro.
Perhaps the most surprising men's result of the day came from veteran Italian Jose Facchini in his opening match against Alex Gough, the number one of fourth seeds Wales. Gough, currently ranked 22 in the world - but a former world No5 - took the opening game against Facchini. But, despite being ranked more than 340 places lower, the 36-year-old Italian romped to a 1-9, 9-3, 9-6, 9-3 upset. Gough's team-mates went on to reverse the trend - ultimately forging a 3/1 win for Wales.
There were some notable upsets in the women's event - with both of the top two seeded teams suffering surprising losses.
Hosts Netherlands - runners-up for the past six years - first beat Switzerland 3/0. But in the later tie against seventh seeds France, team No1 Vanessa Atkinson went down 3-9 10-9 1-9 9-0 9-3 to French No1 Isabelle Stoehr.
Favourites England also dropped a rare match in the tournament in their opening tie against Ireland, the fifth seeds. Vicky Botwright, the world no8, twice led Madeline Perry. But the Irish star fought back to win 2-9 9-3 3-9 9-2 9-5 .
"The old Madeline's back!" exclaimed Perry, who has been fighting back to full fitness after sustaining a serious head injury last year. "I've had a few 3/2s with Vicky over the years so it's great to come out on top in that one.
"I've got a lot sharper and I'm volleying more, it's getting better each tournament I play. My squash is back to where it was, I just need to work on my concentration now, that's still a bit up and down like it was today - hopefully I'll get lots of practice with all the matches this week!"
RESULTS: European Team Squash Championships, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Men's 1st qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[1] ENGLAND bt [9] DENMARK 4-0
James Willstrop bt Rasmus Nielsen 9-3, 9-5, 9-2
Adrian Grant bt Kristian Frost Olesen 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Peter Barker bt Kasper Gross Jeppesen 9-5, 9-0, 9-0
Joey Barrington bt Kim Poulsen 9-3, 9-2, 9-1
[8] SCOTLAND bt [16] BELGIUM 4-0
Alan Clyne bt Wim van Asten 9-1, 9-5, 9-3
Chris Small bt Mats Raemen 9-1, 9-2, 9-0
Stuart Crawford bt Gregory Lecerf 9-5, 9-0, 9-0
Jamie MacAulay bt Sam van Brusselen 1-9, 9-1, 9-6, 9-6
[8] SCOTLAND bt [9] DENMARK 3-1
Alan Clyne bt Morten W Sorensen 9-2, 9-3, 9-0
Chris Small bt Kasper Gross Jeppesen 9-6, 9-2, 9-3
Stuart Crawford bt Rasmus Nielsen 7-9, 10-8, 9-3, 9-3
Alistair Gorrie lost to Kristian Frost Olesen 8-10, 9-6, 1-9, 0-9
[1] ENGLAND bt [16] BELGIUM 4-0
Peter Barker bt Wim van Asten 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Adrian Grant bt Mats Raemen 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Lee Beachill bt Gregory Lecerf 9-2, 9-0, 9-2
Joey Barrington bt Bart Verhoeven 9-1, 9-0, 9-1
Pool B:
[2] NETHERLANDS bt [10] SWITZERLAND 4-0
Laurens Jan Anjema bt Nicolas Mueller 9-3, 9-3, 9-1
Lucas Buit bt Marcel Straub 9-6, 9-1, 9-5
Dylan Bennett bt Andre Holderegger 9-0, 9-0, 9-3
Piedro Schweertman bt Benjamin Fischer 9-2, 9-3, 9-3
[7] SWEDEN bt [15] HUNGARY 3-1
Badr Abdel Aziz lost to Mark Krajcsak 0-9, 1-9, 4-9
Rasmus Hult bt David Reiser 9-1, 9-0, 9-6
Christian Drakenberg bt Marton Szaboky 9-0, 9-1, 9-2
Carl-Johan Lofvenborg bt Daniel Varga 9-0, 9-1, 10-8
[2] NETHERLANDS bt [15] HUNGARY 4-0
Laurens Jan Anjema bt Mark Krajcsak 9-1, 9-3, 9-4
Piedro Schweertman bt David Reiser 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Tom Hoevenaars bt Marton Szaboky 9-1, 9-6, 9-5
Rene Mijs bt Daniel Cseffalvay 9-3, 9-2, 9-2
[10] SWITZERLAND drew with [7] SWEDEN 2-2
Michael Muller bt Badr Abdel Aziz 9-7, 9-2, 10-9
Andre Holderegger lost to Rasmus Hult 3-9, 2-9, 7-9
John Williams lost to Christian Drakenberg 9-10, 7-9, 9-1, 9-2, 4-9
Marco Datwyler bt Anders Thoren 9-5, 9-0, 9-4
Pool C:
[3] FRANCE bt [11] SPAIN 4-0
Thierry Lincou bt Borja Golan 9-2, 9-0, 9-3
Julien Balbo bt David Vidal 9-0, 9-2, 9-1
Renan Lavigne bt Alejandro Garbi Caro 9-3, 9-6, 9-2
Mathieu Castagnet bt Eduardo Gonzalez 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
[6] IRELAND bt [14] AUSTRIA 3-1
Liam Kenny lost to Aqeel Rehman 9-6, 6-9, 3-9, 4-9
Arthur Gaskin bt Stefan Brauneis 9-6, 9-0, 9-0
Derek Ryan bt Jakob Dirnberger 4-9, 9-6, 9-2, 9-0
Niall Rooney bt Klaus Pfeifer 9-7, 9-4, 9-1
[3] FRANCE bt [14] AUSTRIA 4-0
Thierry Lincou bt Aqeel Rehman 9-6, 9-3, 9-0
Julien Balbo bt Stefan Brauneis 9-3, 9-2, 9-1
Renan Lavigne bt Jakob Dirnberger 9-2, 9-1, 9-2
Mathieu Castagnet bt Klaus Pfeifer 9-1, 9-2, 9-0
[11] SPAIN bt [6] IRELAND 3-1
Borja Golan bt Liam Kenny 9-4, 9-3, 9-3
David Vidal bt Arthur Gaskin 9-0, 9-3, 9-6
Alejandro Garbi Caro bt Derek Ryan 5-9, 3-9, 9-4, 9-1, 9-2
Victor Montserrat lost to Steve Richardson 9-4, 6-9, 3-9, 3-9
Pool D:
[4] WALES bt [12] FINLAND 3-1
Alex Gough lost to Olli Tuominen 7-9, 5-9, 2-9
Jethro Binns bt Henrik Mustonen 9-2, 9-1, 9-10, 9-1
David Evans bt Matias Tuomi 9-3, 9-4, 9-1
Rob Sutherland bt Erno Teitti 9-2, 9-2, 9-3
[5] GERMANY bt [13] ITALY 4-0
Simon Rosner bt Jose Facchini 9-2, 9-2, 9-2
Stefan Leifels bt Simone Rocca 9-10, 4-9, 9-5, 9-1, 9-4
Tim Weber bt Andrea Capella 8-10, 4-9, 9-8, 9-1, 9-1
Patrick Gaessler bt Mirko Pareccini 9-3, 9-2, 9-6
[4] WALES bt [13] ITALY 3-1
Alex Gough lost to Jose Facchini 9-1, 3-9, 6-9, 3-9
Jethro Binns bt Mirko Pareccini 6-9, 10-8, 9-1, 9-1
David Evans bt Andrea Torricini 9-2, 8-10, 9-5, 9-3
Rob Sutherland bt Domenico Cerabona 9-2, 9-1, 9-1
[5] GERMANY bt [12] FINLAND 3-1
Simon Rosner lost to Olli Tuominen 1-9, 2-9, 7-9
Patrick Gaessler bt Henrik Mustonen 9-1, 9-0, 9-6
Stefan Leifels bt Matias Tuomi 9-0, 9-0, 9-1
Moritz Dahmen bt Hameed Ahmed 9-4, 7-9, 9-4, 5-9, 9-3
Pool E:
[17] ISRAEL bt PORTUGAL 3-1
Nadav Tannen bt Andre Lima 9-6, 9-2, 9-1
Ari Gitelband lost to Matthew Theodoris 2-9, 7-9, 3-9
Nir Arkin bt Joao Caiano 1-9, 6-9, 9-2, 9-3, 9-2
Nir Zisman bt Ivo Mendes 9-3, 9-6, 3-9, 9-3
Pool F:
[18] CZECH REPUBLIC bt SERBIA 4-0
Pavel Sladecek bt Ivan Djordjevic 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Jaroslav Cech bt Vukasin Petrovic 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Lukas Jelinek bt Bratislav Zivadinovic 9-1, 9-4, 9-0
Ondrej Ertl bt Vladislav Farkas 9-2, 9-0, 9-0
Pool G:
[19] SLOVAKIA bt SLOVENIA 3-1
Marek Manik lost to Klemen Gutman 1-9, 4-9, 3-9
Tomas Toth bt Martin Mosnik 9-6, 9-4, 7-9, 9-3
Peter Kviecinsky bt Matic Kavas 8-10, 10-8, 8-10, 9-4, 9-2
Marek Zvoncek bt Rozie Langus 9-0, 9-0, 9-6
Pool H:
LUXEMBOURG bt [20] UKRAINE 3-1
Nathan Sneyd bt Roman Dolynych 9-5, 9-1, 9-1
Stephane Ayache lost to Artem Shandybin 4-9, 7-9, 8-10
Sanjay Raval bt Dmytro Shcherbakov 9-1, 9-3, 9-5
Daniel Hutchines bt Kostyantyn Rybalchenko 9-1, 6-9, 3-9, 9-3, 10-8
Women's 1st qualifying rounds - Pool A:
[1] ENGLAND bt [5] IRELAND 2-1
Vicky Botwright lost to Madeline Perry 9-2, 3-9, 9-3, 2-9, 5-9
Jenny Duncalf bt Aisling Blake 9-0, 9-5, 9-2
Alison Waters bt Laura Mylotte 9-0, 9-2, 9-4
[4] GERMANY bt [8] SPAIN 3-0
Kathrin Rohrmueller bt Elisabet Sado Garriga 9-4, 9-7, 9-5
Sina Wall bt Stela Carbonell 9-6, 9-1, 9-0
Katharina Witt bt Xisela Aranda Nunez 9-1, 7-9, 9-6, 7-9, 9-1
[1] ENGLAND bt [8] SPAIN 3-0
Jenny Duncalf bt Stela Carbonell 9-2, 9-1, 9-1
Alison Waters bt Xisela Aranda Nunez 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Laura Lengthorn-Massaro bt Alicia Alvarez Riaza 9-3, 9-2, 9-1
[5] IRELAND bt [4] GERMANY 3-0
Madeline Perry bt Simone Korell 9-0, 9-5, 9-1
Aisling Blake bt Sina Wall 9-4, 9-2, 9-7
Laura Mylotte bt Katharina Witt 10-8, 8-10, 8-10, 9-3, 9-6
Pool B:
[2] NETHERLANDS bt [6] SWITZERLAND 3-0
Vanessa Atkinson bt Olivia Hauser 9-3, 9-4, 9-2
Annelize Naude bt Gaby Schmohl 9-2, 9-0, 9-3
Dagmar Vermeulen bt Sara Guebey 9-6, 9-5, 9-3
[7] FRANCE bt [3] DENMARK 1-2
Isabelle Stoehr lost to Line Hansen 1-9, 9-6, 2-9, 3-9
Camille Serme lost to Ellen Petersen 6-9, 1-9, 8-10
Maud Duplomb bt Marie-Louise Feddern 7-9, 9-2, 9-0, 9-1
[2] NETHERLANDS bt [7] FRANCE 2-1
Vanessa Atkinson lost to Isabelle Stoehr 9-3, 9-10, 9-1, 0-9, 3-9
Annelize Naude bt Camille Serme 9-7, 9-2, 9-7
Karen Kronemeyer bt Maud Duplomb 6-9, 9-5, 9-0, 9-0
[3] DENMARK bt [6] SWITZERLAND 2-1
Line Hansen bt Olivia Hauser 9-2 ret.
Ellen Petersen lost to Gaby Schmohl 9-4, 9-4, 7-9 ret.
Marie-Louise Feddern bt Gabriela Hegi 9-5, 9-5, 9-6
Pool C:
[9] WALES bt [15] SCOTLAND 3-0
Deon Saffery bt Frania Gillen-Buchert 9-4, 10-8, 9-2
Natalie Pritchard bt Claire Kidd 7-9, 9-5, 6-9, 9-3, 9-6
Stacey Preece bt Lisa Aitken 0-9, 9-4, 9-4, 9-3
[14] FINLAND bt [15] SCOTLAND 2-1
Elina Kononen bt Claire Kidd 9-2, 9-1, 9-3
Lotta Vuorela bt Caron Lawrie 9-4, 5-9, 9-7, 9-2
Saara Valtola lost to Lisa Aitken 3-9, 4-9, 1-9
Pool D:
[10] ITALY bt [16] RUSSIA 3-0
Manuela Manetta bt Irina Assal 9-0, 9-1, 9-2
Sonia Pasteris bt Ekatarina Glinchikova 9-0, 9-2, 9-2
Veronica Favero Camp bt Alina Tuzlukova 9-0, 9-0, 9-1
[13] AUSTRIA bt UKRAINE 3-0
Birgit Coufal bt Nina Taraschkevych 9-1, 9-0, 9-0
Pamela Pancis bt Anastasia Spivak 9-1, 9-1, 9-2
Theresa Gradnitzer bt Anastasiya Netrebchuk 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Pool E:
[11] BELGIUM bt SWEDEN 3-0
Kim Hannes-Teunen bt Anna-Carin Forstadius 9-2, 9-2, 9-5
Charlie de Rycke bt Anna Detter 9-5, 10-9, 9-2
Annabel Romedenne bt Josefa Bertilsson 9-1, 9-1, 9-2
[12] CZECH REPUBLIC bt GREECE 3-0
Lucie Fialova bt Zeta Tzamalouka 9-2, 9-0, 9-6
Olga Ertlova bt Eliza Kargioti 9-0, 9-0, 9-0
Hana Vagnerova bt Nikol Pozidou 9-0, 9-0, 9-1