WORLD SQUASH NEWS

RESULTS: Berkshire Squash Open, Williamstown, Mass, USA

Quarter-finals:
[1] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [Q] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-4, 11-5, 11-5
[3] Bradley Ball (ENG) bt [Q] John Russell (ENG) 11-5, 11-0, 11-4
[6] Liam Kenny (IRL) bt Kumail Mehmood (PAK) 11-8, 11-6, 11-10 (5-3)
[2] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [Q] Niall Rooney (IRL) 11-7, 11-6, 11-8

Seeds Prevail In Berkshire Open

The success of the three qualifiers who claimed unexpected victories in the first round of the Berkshire Squash Open was short-lived as four seeds progressed to the semi-finals of this new US PSA Tour event in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Spanish favourite Borja Golan defeated English qualifier Daryl Selby 11-4 11-5 11-5 and now meets another Englishman Bradley Ball for a place in the final.  Ball, the third seed, ended compatriot John Russell's run in an 11-5 11-0 11-4 scoreline.

The other semi-final will feature Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema, the No2 seed, and sixth-seeded Irishman Liam Kenny.  Anjema gained control of his quarter-final against Ireland's Niall Rooney from the outset, refusing to move from the tee and slamming sharp, low drives to the back corners. With a quick snap, Anjema had several drops that nicked, but Rooney refused to let the game slip away and fought back from 10-4 to 10-7, but couldn't displace Anjema, falling 11-7 in the first game.

Rooney came out strong in the second game, determined not to let any of Anjema's winners die. The fans were constantly gasping as Rooney flung his body around the court to retrieve any and every shot. He ricocheted off the back and side walls, miraculously returning the shots and continuing play after what looked like serious impacts.  Rooney made some incredible retrievals, twisting and contorting to disguise his shots.  Despite his best efforts, however, Rooney couldn't prevail over Anjema as the Dutchman strode towards his 11-7 11-6 11-8 victory.

The final match proved to be the closest and the most heated of the day's play.  Pakistan's unseeded Kumail Mehmood seemed the victor at the start, lunging across the court incredibly fast, demolishing Liam Kenny's attempt to use frequent crosses to control play.  Mehmood's strengths were his crisp crosscourt drop and lob-cross-a shot that would consistently land in that perfectly irretrievable spot, cushioned between the side wall and the bottom nick of the back wall.  Both players had devastating drop shot and nicks that were too frequent to be called lucky.

Kenny would become the apparent victor mid-match, as he remained poised, never showing any sign of anger or exhaustion, while Mehmood became visibly and audibly flustered. After several contentious lets and protests from Mehmood, Kenny held the lead and seemed ready to close out the match after a string of incredible overhead, backhand volley-lobs. However, Mehmood refused to be defeated, making two diving saves to retrieve Kenny's seemingly un-gettable shots.  The match came down to a nail-biting tiebreaker of back-and-forth winners from both players, with Kenny ultimately prevailing 11-8 11-6 11-10 after the tie-break went to 5-3.